The London Review of Books has recently published two articles on two different aspects of current conditions within the English university. Andrew McGettigan writes on the reasons for the government’s delay in further sales of the student loan book while Marina Warner writes about prevailing employment conditions.
Warner cites examples of what the American scholar Lauren Berlant has called ‘cruel optimism’, such as,
“People open themselves to exploitation when the sense of self-worth that derives from doing something they believe in comes up against a hierarchical authority that is secretive, arbitrary and ruthless.”
The articles can be found here:
McGettigan, A. (2015). Cash today. London Review of Books, 37 (5), 24–28. Available from: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n05/andrew-mcgettigan/cash-today [Accessed 22 March 2015].
Warner, M. (2015). Learning my lesson: the disfiguring of higher education. London Review of Books, 37 (6), 8, 10, 12, 14. Available from http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n06/marina-warner/learning-my-lesson [Accessed 22 March 2015].
Higher Education and Theory Network 