Academy strikes back: the fight for ‘useless’ knowledge starts here

“When I spoke recently on a panel organised for the new group of American Fulbright Scholars, I warned them not to mention their official title in public. In the UK, being a scholar is considered ‘a bit dodgy’; expect to be derided as outmoded, aloof, irrelevant. Politicians belittle bumbling boffins and self-indulgent bluestockings ensconced in libraries, surrounded by dusty books on the Ming dynasty or trilobites: what a waste of public money. Forget being a ‘curiosity-driven’ scholar; become a thoroughly modern ‘impact’ researcher, contributing to the economic and social wellbeing of the nation. Was I caricaturing British academic life? …” (more)

[Claire Fox, Times Higher Education, 1 October]