Abstract
Have you ever wondered about public intellectuals and their rights to act as ‘critic and conscience of society ’? To address the concerns of readers, and mine, we explore here the origins of the research university, academic tenure and academic freedom and propose two underlying principles that may validate those who choose to act as ‘critic and conscience of society ’. On the way, we critique the construct of ‘critic and conscience of society ’, individual’s qualifications and rationales for being a critic and the structural conditions within New Zealand that support the process; all in the context of education for sustainability of course. We make links to the prospect of higher education researching its own practices and explore the impacts that criticism may have within communities and within institutions. Most importantly we ask how well situated within scholarship is the practice of being a critic.
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Notes
- 1.
Section 162, 4 b iii, tells us that: ‘A university is characterised by a wide diversity of teaching and research , especially at a higher level, that maintains, advances, disseminates, and assists the application of, knowledge, develops intellectual independence , and promotes community learning: … ’
- 2.
Aldo Leopold was appointed Professor of Game Management in the Agricultural Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin in 1933 although many of his formative years were spent in government forestry service.
- 3.
It seems to me that many of my university colleagues do not appreciate the difference between research -based enquiry, and managerial, compliance -motivated evaluation . It may be that this difference, and higher education’s inability to appreciate the difference, is at the heart of my fundamental concern; that higher education inadequately researches its own practices, so inadequately understands itself.
- 4.
Philosophers who have found their way to these pages will note Weberian undertones to these thoughts. The German Philosopher Webber writing in the early twentieth century emphasised the need for scientists to separate their science from how society might choose to use the science. Since then of course, lines between facts and values, episteme and morals, are more likely to be blurred. Sustainability, it could be argued, is the ultimate blurred concept. But surely, sustainable development is even more so?
References
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Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. (2015) A nation of curious minds—He Whenua Hihiri i te Mahara. Retrieved August 1, 2018, from http://www.curiousminds.nz.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. (2016). National science challenges. Retrieved August 1, 2018, from http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/science-innovation/funding-info-opportunities/investment-funds/national-science-challenges/.
New Zealand Government. (2018). Education act 1989, Section 162. Retrieved July 27, 2018, from http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0080/latest/DLM183668.html.
Virgo, G. (2017). Opinion: Being society’s critic & conscience. Retrieved July 31, 2019, from https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/opinion-being-societys-critic-conscience.
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Shephard, K. (2020). University Teacher as Critic and Conscience of Society. In: Higher Education for Sustainability. Education for Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1940-6_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1940-6_3
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