Speaking of Universities: The Vocabulary of Higher Education

Fri 31 March 2017

GRO6/7, Faculty of English

University policy is shifting daily, all around the globe, with staggering social, moral, and economic consequences. Inside and outside of universities, we use a vocabulary of powerful words that is constantly changing: leadership, outreach, innovation, framework. But what do they mean? How do new uses of words affect the work we do and the lives we shape? What old uses are lost, squeezed out by new ones? Where is Raymond Williams when you need him?

This talk is organised by University Keywords, a collaboration between scholars in English, History, Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and Computing.

Stefan Collini is Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature. He has written widely on intellectuals in 20th-century Britain, and is one of Britain's most widely respected voice in current debates about higher education. This lecture develops themes from his just-published book Speaking of Universities (Verso, 2017).

A drinks reception will follow the lecture--all welcome.

Cost: Free