Description
Book SynopsisTracing the shift from liberal to neoliberal education from the nineteenth century to the present day, this open access book provides a rich and previously underdeveloped narrative of value in higher education in England. Value and the Humanities draws upon historical, financial, and critical debates concerning educational and cultural policy. Rather than writing a singular defence of the humanities against economic rationalism, Zoe Hope Bulaitis constructs a nuanced map of the intersections of value in the humanities, encompassing an exploration of policy engagement, scientific discourses, fictional representation, and the humanities in public life. The book articulates a kaleidoscopic range of humanities practices which demonstrate that although recent policy encourages higher education to be entirely motivated by outcomes, fiscal targets, and the acquisition of employability skills, the humanities continue to inspire and aspire beyond these limits. This book is a historically-grounded and theoretically-informed analysis of the value of the humanities within the context of the market.
Trade Review“Bulaitis’s analysis of the values conveyed both in higher education speech and policies provides a useful study of how they are perceived, imagined, and put into practice within the British neoliberal context. … Bulaitis has articulated very convincing academic arguments to explain the shift from liberal to neoliberal university values and debates. This book offers accurate, clear, and meaningful food for thought for those interested in the study of the processes of ‘marketisation’ and ‘economisation’ of higher education.” (Catherine Coron, Journal of British Studies, Vol. 60 (4), October, 2021)
Table of ContentsChapter One: IntroductionPart I: The State of the DebateCritical University Studies The Public Value of the Humanities Social Impact Studies New Contributions Part II: The Relationship with the Past: From Liberal to Neoliberal EducationDescribing 2008-18 as the Present Moment in Higher EducationEconomic Value as a Monoculture under Neoliberalism The Dominance of Economic Value within Higher Education Arguing Against Crisis in the HumanitiesPart III: From Liberal to Neoliberal Education Articulating the Values of a Liberal Education Speaking of Liberal Values in the Neoliberal University Part IV: Chapter Synopses
Chapter Two: A History of Payment by Results: Lowe’s Code (1862) and the Browne Report (2010)Introduction Part I: Lowe’s CodeThe Newcastle Commission Robert Lowe and Economic Motivations Critical Responses to Payment by Results Part II: The Browne Report Contextualising the Browne Report: The Move towards Minimal Government Involvement in Higher Education National Economic Motivations National Gains: The Debate Concerning Tangible Knowledge The Rise of Individualism and the Student as Consumer Conclusion
Chapter Three: Controversy and Conversation: The Relationship Between the Humanities and the SciencesIntroductionPart I: Policy and the Relationship between the DisciplinesPresent Policy PreferencesA Brief History of an Age-Old ArgumentPart II: The “Two Cultures Controversy”, Then and NowThe Birth of a Controversy The Form of the Debate The Two Cultures Today Part III: A Liberal Valuation: Arnold and Huxley’s Exchange The Start of a Conversation “Darwin’s Bulldog” and “Our Chief Apostle of Culture” Articulating the Value of a Liberal Education Conclusion
Chapter Four: The Relationship between Academic Fiction and Academic LifeIntroduction Part I: Using Academic Fiction as a Discursive Tool Part II: Defining Academic Fiction Understanding the Appeal of Academic Fiction Situation and Settings for the Academic Novel Subject Matter and Style in Academic Fiction Part III: Investigation One: The Qualities of a Liberal Education The Qualities of an Education in Tom Brown at Oxford The Secret History: A Classical Education Out of Time Assessing the Value of the Humanities in Novels that Engage with Educational Principles from the Past Part IV: Investigation Two: Representing the Processes of Humanities Research Middlemarch and the Pursuit of the Key to All Mythologies Possession and the Processes of Scholarship Assessing the Value of the Humanities in Novels that Explore the Process of Writing and Research Part V: Investigation Three: Pressures of Economics in Education Jude the Obscure and Barriers to Education Frank Parkin’s The Mind and Body Shop: Everything for Sale The Future of a Liberal Education in Zadie Smith’s On Beauty Conclusion
Chapter Five: Impact and the Humanities: The Rise of Accountability in Public Cultural LifeIntroduction Part I: Debates in Public Access, Use, and Accountability in the Victorian Museum Defining Foucauldian Governmentality National Interests in the Public Museum: Governance and Powers of Display The British Museum: The Rise of Debates in Public Accountability and Access The Rise of Accountability: Quantification as Justification in the Victorian MuseumConclusions, Regarding the Victorian Public Museum Part II: Public Expenditure and Public Values“There is No Alternative”: The Rise of Economic Models of Valuation in the Cultural Sector New Public Management Responses from the Cultural Sector The Arts and the Economy Embroiled: The Rise of the Creative Industries Part III: REF-lections for the Academic Humanities Reinforcing National Interests within the Impact Agenda The Focus on Outputs and Impacts Misrepresents the Value of the Humanities “The System Does Not Speak for Me” The Humanities and the Creative Industries Part IV: A Response from the Humanities Conclusion
Chapter Six: Conclusion Part I: Reflections on Questions of Value Part II: Future Directions for ResearchPart III: Voices of the Humanities, and a Call to ArmsPart IV: The Need for the Humanities in an Age of Populism
