I thought the broader HSTM community might be interested in this - Frank

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Subject: learned societies statement re AHRC/'Big Society'

Dear all

The number of learned societies who have signed the statement printed in THE, The Observer and sent directly to Rick Rylance (Chief Executive), Sir Alan Wilson (President AHRC), and Shearer West (Director of Research AHRC) stands at 32.  Here is the list:


Architectural Humanities Research Group
Association for Legal and Social Philosophy
Association of University Departments of Theology and Religious Studies
Association of University Professors and Heads of French
Association of Social Anthropology
Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy
British Philosophical Association
British Association for American Studies
British Association for Jewish Studies
British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies
British Association for Study of Religions
British International Studies Association
British Society for 18th-century studies
British Society for the History of Science
British Society of Aesthetics
British Sociological Association
Council of University Classics Departments
Economic History Society
English Goethe Society
Marx and Philosophy Society
Modern Humanities Research Association
National Association for Music in Higher Education
National Association of Writers in Education
Political Studies Association Media and Politics Specialist group
Royal Musical Association
The British Society for Ethical Theory
The Council of the British Association for Korean Studies
The Philological Society
The Society for French Studies
The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
The Social History Society
The UK and Ireland Association for Political Thought
The UK Sartre Society

This represents a very wide range of disciplines.  I have received no response whatsoever from the AHRC officers.  The number of other learned societies whose membership disapprove of the AHRC in respect of this matter but whose leaders were unwilling to take a public stance on the matter is probably even higher.  That the AHRC officers have chosen to ignore our collective correspondence is symptomatic, but is nonetheless even more deplorable than the first order matter.  The AHRC leadership are arrogantly ignoring their 'stakeholders' despite their endless waffle about consultation and engagement with us.

There is a piece by Rick Rylance in THE here:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=416121

It is astonishing in its sophistry. He says that funding research into something is not the same as promoting it.  Imagine a science research council saying 'we are not promoting creation science just funding research into it'.  Imagine the AHRC saying we are not promoting revisionist history of the holocaust just funding research into it.  These are extreme examples but the point stands.  Declaring 'the Big Society' one of two top priorities is clearly promoting the idea.

It gets worse when Rylance quotes Nick Clegg as follows: "we've been using different words for a long time and actually mean the same thing: 'Liberalism'; 'Big Society'; 'Empowerment'; 'Responsibility'. It means the same thing."

Have you got that?: these words all mean the same thing. Presumably, ignorance is strength and freedom is slavery too.

Rylance repeatedly claims that the AHRC is not explicitly endorsing particular policies or decisions but we have never claimed it did.  The point is that political slogans of any stripe have no place in research plans produced by the research councils.  Note also that Rylance refers to working with 'other government departments' thereby forgetting that the AHRC is not a government department but is rather supposed to be one step further removed from government like HEFCE etc.

I think we have no choice but publically to call for Rylance's resignation and to petition the Minister and the relevant parliamentary committee, MPs and Lords to press the government on this matter.

There is another petition here that I urge you all to sign and to spread the word about among your colleagues:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bigsociety/

If we do not take a stand on this matter we will be betraying academic integrity, freedom and standards.  The academic world has been watching this story unfold and I have received correspondence from all over the world about it.  This is fight for the heart and soul of academia.  Words matter, ideas matter and reason matters, and defending clarity of thought and expression and the political independence of research is our true strategic priority.  Please consult with your colleagues and let me know what you think our next steps should be.

take care
James

Professor James Ladyman
Head of Department
Department of Philosophy
University of Bristol
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Bristol BS81TB
0117 9287609
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