Description
Providing a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of higher education this book steps nimbly through the field, leading it into new areas and advancing an imaginative ecological realism.
Each chapter takes the form of a short essay, tackling a particular topic such as values, knowledge, teaching, critical thinking and social justice. It also examines key issues including academic freedom, the digital university and the Anthropocene, and draws on classic as well as contemporary texts in the field.
Composed of five parts, the book travels on a compelling journey:
- Part one identifies foundations of the field, distinguishing between the ideas of university and higher education,
- Part two examines key concepts, including research, culture, academic freedom and reason,
- Part three focuses on higher education as a set of educational practices and being a student,
- Part four is concerned with the university as an institution and includes the matters of leadership and the spirit of the university,
- Part five turns to the university in the world, and argues for an ecological perspective.
Written in a lively and accessible style, and ideal for anyone coming to the field for the first time but also of interest to experienced scholars, this book offers sightings of new possibilities for higher education and the university.
Table of Contents
Part One: Foundations 1. The philosophy of higher education 2. Higher education and university: conflicts on the three planes 3. Values and higher education, and ethical evolution 4. Knowledge and truth: matters of interest Part II: Key concepts 5. Research: towards an ecological transdisciplinarity 6. Culture: sighting a culture of constructive argument (CCA) 7. Academic freedom – and academic responsibility 8. Thought and reason - and their dilemmas Part III: Teaching, learning and the student 9. Teaching: a provocative matter 10. Curriculum - making it explicit 11. Being a student: a committed uncertainty 12. Critical thinking: the three crazy escalators Part IV: The university as an institution 13. The place of the university 14. The spirit of the university 15. Academic leadership and management – and keeping clear water between them 16. Time, space and the digital university Part V: Higher education and the world 17. Higher education and the university: two very public matters 18. The lure of engagement: traps for the unwary 19. Social justice - and onwards to ecological justice 20. Beyond the Anthropocene
