Towards a Political Theory of the University

Morgan White was a tutor in Philosophy of Education at University of Cambridge, UK and a lecturer in Education at Liverpool Hope University, UK. He received his PhD from University of Manchester, UK, and has a particular interest in the public role of higher education, social justice, deliberative democracy and tensions with instrumental learning.

• Introduction 1. The University and the Public Sphere 2. Higher Education and Economies of Worth 3. The Role of the University in a Democracy 4. Academic Authority, Trust, and Reliance 5. Higher Education and Citizenship 6. The Ivory Tower and Public Life 7. The Corruption of Democracy and Education 8. Implications for Policy and Practice 9. Towards a Modern Democratic Society 10. Concluding remarks: Communicative Rationality and the Cultural Impoverishment of the University

‘Do universities have a public purpose beyond contributing to economic growth, new technologies, and the job skills of graduates? Could this purpose lie in supporting democracy not only prosperity, in nurturing understanding not only technical competence, and in preparing citizens not just workers? Morgan White doesn’t just offer his answers to these questions but helps all of us think better about them – and about what democratic societies will lose if universities are transformed beyond recognition.’Craig Calhoun, Director, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK‘Sociologically informed, philosophically insightful, and politically pertinent, Towards a Political Theory of the University provides a masterful critique of the problems and prospects of the university today. Morgan White brings a penetrating reading of Jürgen Habermas’ philosophy to the understanding of the contemporary university, showing how the erosion of communicative reason and the colonization of the lifeworld have affected the institution in ways that are deeply corrosive for any wider culture of deliberative democracy. This is a book that should be read by anyone concerned with the future of higher education and the political culture it sustains.’Paul Standish, Professor, UCL Institute of Education, UK‘Morgan White places the university at the heart of democratic politics. Against the popularist rhetoric of both the political left and right, he affirms the prime importance of the university as a space of public reason. Without such civic spaces, he argues, democracy is not only impoverished but seriously at risk. Towards a Political Theory of the University should be read by academics, policy makers, politicians and all those with a commitment to open debate and inquiry.’Jon Nixon, Honorary Professor, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong