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I too would to add my voice to this plaint. Presumably, some of you are aware of the Defend the Humanities web page on Facebook. Amongst other things, it will be interesting to see how far the protest is taken up on the Web and how effective this will be. I live in Cambridge and the protests have become a very visible aspect of urban life in recent days. But there is apathy everywhere; I have seen protesters being jeered at by 'townies' while the police everywhere carry automatic weapons.. Richard On Thu, December 9, 2010 17:26, Cormac Deane wrote: > I second Alan's view (his message is below) of the student protests, and > would like to extend support also to protesting Irish students, who are > facing very similar problems. Both in Ireland and the UK, the intensity > and scale of student protests have increased sharply in recent months, and > an increase in police brutality has been common on both sides of the water > also. > > The educational environment in Ireland is marked by higher student > numbers, rising lecturer-student ratios, cuts in capital spending, the > casualization of all employment relations on campus and, most insidious of > all, a shift towards the evaluation of education in terms of merely > economic outputs. The thuggery of educational policy is a policy that > breeds more thuggery, greed and materialism. > > As a film lecturer (here is my reason why this post is relevant to this > forum), I try to educate my students about the political economy in which > film is made and consumed, and in which they find themselves. Film > education is a means of encouraging ethical and political engagement in a > society where such an activity is deemed unquantifiable and therefore > suspect. There are many terms that we can use to name the values that we > would like future generations to champion - fairness, non-domination, > inclusion, equality, sustainability, ethical responsibility, solidarity, > community, skepticism, independence, wisdom, resistance, or whatever > you're having yourself. > > However we identify these values, there is little doubt that they are > under threat by educational policies across Europe. I think it is the role > of film lecturers, scholars and others to stand up to this, to demonstrate > to our students that standing up to this is worthwhile, and to attempt to > carve out at least one niche of the humanities where resistance is alive > and well. > > Cormac > > > Alan wrote: > > > Hello everyone, > I just want to raise my voice in support of our brave and committed > students, who are today out on the streets fighting this completely > anti-democratic legislation that is an attack on the foundations of our > culture. From now on only the rich and those enthralled by the paranoid > individualism of consumerism will be afforded an 'education'. because this > is so blatantly anti-democratic the sons and daughters of the working > class who have found employment in the police force are now in the > position of defending, by force, the laws that are designed to deny their > children an education. (remember Pasolini?) Everywhere the paradox of > parliamentary democracy is displayed and everywhere this spectacle is > denied by the mediations that reproduce it. Victory to the students. > Peace > Alan > > > -- > Film-Philosophy > After hitting 'reply' please always delete the text of the message you are > replying to To leave, send the message: leave film-philosophy to: > [log in to unmask] Or visit: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/film-philosophy.html > For technical help email: [log in to unmask], not the list > -- > Film-Philosophy journal: http://www.film-philosophy.com/ > Film-Philosophy Conference (6-8 July 2011): > http://www.film-philosophy.com/conference/ > Contact: [log in to unmask] > -- > > -- Film-Philosophy After hitting 'reply' please always delete the text of the message you are replying to To leave, send the message: leave film-philosophy to: [log in to unmask] Or visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/film-philosophy.html For technical help email: [log in to unmask], not the list -- Film-Philosophy journal: http://www.film-philosophy.com/ Film-Philosophy Conference (6-8 July 2011): http://www.film-philosophy.com/conference/ Contact: [log in to unmask] --