I think one of the key issues that it is important to be vigilant about
is the way the crisis is also being used to discipline forms of
research/ teaching and as a tool to cut parts of academic endeavour
which aren't particularly appealing to university managements/
profitable etc...
So the following is the situation at Sussex:
The University of Sussex management are proposing to implement
compulsory redundancies affecting any staff researching British Social
History prior to 1700 or researching European Social, Political or
Economic History before 1900. The institution is thus making redundant a
number of academic staff with excellent research profiles. This
effectively means that the University of Sussex history department will
in future not be able to engage in any research-led teaching on areas as
important as the Social, Political or Economic history of the French
Revolution, the Unification of Germany and Italy, the origins of
nationalism, racism, socialism, feminism, the social impact of the
English Civil War.
Dave
Stuart Hodkinson wrote:
> It is a massive contradiction that is going to hit the HE sector further.
>
> I think there is something to be said for the argument that Russell Group Universities in UK are exaggerating the cuts in order to create the grounds for the opening up of the undergraduate student fees market. They are quite clearly engaging in 'special pleading' to use the crisis as an opportunity for them to grab a larger share of the government's research funding.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for critical and radical geographers [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jeremy Crampton
> Sent: 10 February 2010 17:01
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Guardian: Thousands to lose jobs as UK universities prepare to cope with cuts
>
> How does this talk of increasing overseas enrollment square with this NYT article that Britiain is reducing international students (cast in the guise of an anti-terrorism move, natch)?
>
> Britain Plans to Cut Flow of Foreign Students
>
> By JOHN F. BURNS
> Published: February 7, 2010
>
> LONDON - In the face of mounting concern about abuse of student visa rules by migrant jobseekers and potential terrorists, Britain said Sunday that it was planning an immediate tightening of its border controls that could reduce the flow of people entering the country as students by tens of thousands a year.
>
> The new rules will apply to all applicants from outside the European Union, including the United States. But the primary focus appeared likely to be the Indian subcontinent and countries in the Arab and Muslim world, both because of the large numbers of allegedly fake applicants who originate there and because of concerns about combating terrorism by Islamic extremists.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/world/europe/08britain.html
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