Far from being hotbeds of intellectual debate, universities enforce ideological conformity, follow rigid procedures and offer little that enthusiasts could not teach themselves. It is time for radical reform, says Lincoln Allison
Lincoln Allison was inspired to teach by academics who loved what they did and communicated this to students. But has all passion for teaching been eliminated by creeping assessment and instrumentalism?
Economist Bryan Caplan considers tangible benefits, inconvenient truths and wonders whether Latin and poetry are worth the effort when ‘Kardashian’ trumps ‘Shakespeare’ in Google search results
Having caused a scandal over research assessment back in the 1990s, Lincoln Allison is well placed to give an overview of its impact, and still finds it wanting
The need to accommodate foreign students undermines domestic practices, says Lincoln Allison, spying parallels between UK universities and global sports bodies such as Fifa
Lincoln Allison takes a fond look back at the permissiveness prevalent at universities in the 1960s and 1970s, while a more ambivalent Susan Bassnett recalls a reality that didn’t quite live up to the nostalgic hype
