Hi all,
I don't want to derail the current discussion,
but today's news about the new priorities the UK
Government have set the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC) - who distribute research
funding within UK Universities - does seem
rather pertinent to many on the list.
For those of you who haven't heard, the AHRC have
been asked to commit substantial research funds
into studying the Conservative-Liberal-Democrat
Government's flagship policy idea, "The Big
Society", in exchange for the ring-fencing of the
AHRC budget.
The Observer report on this story here: http://v.gd/haldane
"The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
will spend a "significant" amount of its funding
on the prime minister's vision for the country,
after a government "clarification" of the Haldane
principle - a convention that for 90 years has
protected the right of academics to decide where
research funds should be spent. Under the revised
principle, research bodies must work to the
government's national objectives [...] It is
claimed the AHRC was told that research into the
"big society" was non-negotiable if it wished to
maintain its funding at £100m a year."
The erosion of the Haldane principle has stark
implications for everyone who is involved in, or
effected by, University research. If the Observer
report is accurate, this is, in my view,
transparently chilling, and it is no surprise
that several commentators, and academics, have
started darkly murmuring:
"Who controls the past", ran the Party slogan,
"controls the future: who controls the present
controls the past."
As many of you are in academia in the UK, and
some of you are in receipt of AHRC funding, I
wonder what your reaction to this is? Have your
universities informed you of this news? Have
their been any internal briefings?
I'd be very curios to know.
With all best wishes,
Honor Harger
PS. On a lighter note, there's some lovely,
playful deconstructions of this very disturbing
development, on Twitter right now. For those of
you who have Twitter accounts, you might be
interested in following this hashtag:
#bigsocietyresearchproposals
Here's some of the recent gems:
'"A depraved taste for equality", de Tocqueville
and the founding principles of the Big Society'
"Big Society of the Spectacle: Guy Debord's
influence on policymakers, politicians, and the
public."
"The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe: The
Tragedy of Uncontrolled Immigration in Fantasy
Fiction
"The Notorious B.I.G. Society: the influence of
East Coast hip-hop culture on Conservative policy
(1992-2011)"
--
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honor harger
present location: brighton, .uk
email: [log in to unmask]
sms: +44 7765834272
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