Democracy and the Discourse on Relevance Within the Academic Profession at Makerere University , livre ebook

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330

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Democracy and the Discourse on Relevance Within the Academic Profession at Makerere University is set against the backdrop of the spread of neoliberal ideas and reforms since the 1980s. While accepting that these ideas are rooted in a longer history, the authors reveal how neoliberalism has transformed the university sector and the academic profession. In particular, they focus on how understandings of what knowledge is relevant, and how this is decided, have changed.

Taken as a whole, reforms have sought to reorient universities and academics towards economic development in various ways. Shifts in how institutions and academics achieve recognition and status, combined with the flow of public funds away from the universities and the increasing privatisation of educational services, are steadily downgrading the value of public higher education. As research universities adopt user- and market-oriented operating models, and prioritise the demands of the corporate sector in their research agendas, the sale of intellectual property is increasingly becoming a primary criterion for determining the relevance of academic knowledge. All these changes have largely succeeded in transforming the discourse around the role of the academic profession in society. 

In this context, Makerere University in Uganda has been lauded as having successfully achieved transformation. However, far from highlighting the allegedly positive outcomes of this reform, this book provides worrying insights into the dissolution of Uganda's academic culture. 

Drawing on interviews with over ninety academics at Makerere University, from deans to doctoral students, the authors provide first-hand accounts of the pressures and problems the reforms have created. Disempowered, overworked and under-resourced, many academics are forced to take on consultancy work to make ends meet. The evidence presented here stands in stark in contrast to the successes claimed by the university. However, as the authors also show, local resistance to the neoliberal model is rising, as academics begin to collaborate to regain control over what knowledge is considered relevant, and wrestle with deepening democracy.

The authors' careful exposé of how neoliberalism devalues academic knowledge, and the urgency of countering this trend, makes Democracy and the Discourse on Relevance Within the Academic Profession at Makerere University highly relevant for anyone working in higher education or involved in shaping policy for this sector.


Part I All the background

1 What inspired this book

2 Theoretical refl ections on the role of the academic profession and relevance

3 Some background to the development of the academic profession at Makerere University

Part II Talking with the Makerereians

4 Meeting the deans, establishing a baseline for our study

5 Engineering knowledge and innovation for development

6 Relevance cultivating science? Agricultural education and research at Makerere University

7 Teaching social studies and law in a neoliberal authoritarian regime

8 Reflections on Part II: Academic professionals or knowledge workers?

Part III Th e challenge of strengthening the academic profession

9 The Makerere Institute of Social Research: a future-focused doctoral programme?

10 The academic profession and its infl uence on the relevance of knowledge

Afterword Getting academic freedom into focus 273

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Date de parution

20 septembre 2021

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0

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9781928502289

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

4 Mo

Democracy and the Discourse on Relevance Within the Academic Profession at Makerere University
Andrea Kronstad Felde, Tor Halvorsen, Anja Myrtveit and Reidar Øygard
Democracy and the Discourse on Relevance Within the Academic Profession at Makerere University
Andrea Kronstad Felde, Tor Halvorsen, Anja Myrtveit and Reidar Øygard
AFRICAN MINDS
Publised in 2021 by African Minds 4 Eccleston Place, Somerset West, 7130, Cape Town, Sout Africa info@africanminds.org.za www.africanminds.org.za
2021 African Minds
All contents of tis document, unless specified oterwise, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
he views expressed in tis publication are tose of te autors. Wen quoting from any of te capters, readers are requested to acknowledge all of te autors.
ISBN (paper): 978-1-928502-27-2 eBook edition: 978-1-928502-28-9 ePub edition: 978-1-928502-29-6
Copies of tis book are available for free download at: www.africanminds.org.za
ORDERS: African Minds Email: info@africanminds.org.za
To order printed books from outside Africa, please contact: African Books Collective PO Box 721, Oxford OX1 9EN, UK Email: orders@africanbookscollective.com
Part I 1 2
3
Contents
Preface v Acronyms and abbreviations vii
All te background Wat inspired tis book 3 heoreticalreectionsonteroleofteacademicprofession and relevance 19 Somebackgroundtotedevelopmentofteacademicprofession at Makerere University 51
Part II Talking wit te Makerereians 4 Meeting te deans, establising a baseline for our study 75 5 Engineering knowledge and innovation for development 86 6 Relevance cultivating science? Agricultural education and researc at Makerere University 116 7 Teacing social studies and law in a neoliberal autoritarian regime 157 8 Reflections on Part II: Academic professionals or knowledge workers? 196 Part III he callenge of strengtening te academic profession 9 he Makerere Institute of Social Researc: a future-focused doctoral programme? 219 10 he academic profession and its influence on te relevance of knowledge 253 Afterword273Getting academic freedom into focus  Appendix: Some notes about metods and process 289  Notes 297  References 307  About te autors 322
Preface
his book is long overdue. Most books take time between data collected and results presented, but te Covid-19 pandemic, following on oter unforeseen circumstances, means tat years ave passed since we eld our first interviews at Makerere University. Since we finised our researc (in about 2018), we ave become aware of a number of igly relevant new publications tat overlap significantly wit our topic. James Mittelman’s 2018 book,Implausible Dream: he World-Class University and Repurposing Higer Educationis just one example. We are sorry tat we were unable to take tis (and oter) valuable contributions fully into consideration ere, but wat tis raft of new publications confirms is tat interest is growing in ow te academic profession can counter neoliberal policies and teir consequences for academia. We ope tis book adds to tis pool of literature in a constructive way and to future dialogues on neoliberalism, iger education, and te academic profession. We tank te peer-reviewers wose comments we benefitted from greatly. Our tanks also to Professor Jon Higgins for is detailed comments on early versions of te manuscript, and for writing te Afterword. We also tank te 93 academics at Makerere wo agreed to be interviewed. We igly appreciate your willingness to elp us. Despite your eavy workloads you took time to talk wit us, some more tan once, and some also participated in a feedback seminar tat was eld at an early stage in te project. he conversations we ad were invaluable in elping us to write a book based on voices from below. We could not ave completed our researc witout te elp of te staff at te University of Bergen Office at Makerere. his proved yet again te
- v -
value of te more tan tirty years of academic co-operation tat as flowed between te two universities. We also tank tose at Norad’s NORHED programme wo agreed to fund te researc and te publication costs. Last, but not least, we tank our editor, Mary Ralps, and, as always, it as been a great pleasure to work wit our publiser, African Minds, and its founder, François van Scalkwyk.
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Frequently used acronyms and abbreviations
Building PDs Project
CAES CEDAT CHUSS COVAB
CUDOS principles
ERB EU FoT GATS HERANA
HURIPEC Makerere MISR MUASA Norad NORHED
NRM
OECD
SoE
Building and Reflecting on Interdisciplinary PD Studies for Higer Education Transformation College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences College of Engineering, Design, Art and Tecnology College of Humanities and Social Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity communalism, universalism, disinterestedness, originality, scepticism Engineers Registration Board European Union Faculty of Tecnology, Makerere University General Agreement on Trade in Services Higer Education Researc and Advocacy Network in Africa Human Rigts and Peace Centre Makerere University Makerere Institute of Social Researc Makerere University Academic Staff Association Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higer Education and Researc for Development National Resistance Movement (Uganda’s ruling party) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Scool of Engineering, Makerere University
- vii -
SoL SIDA
STEM disciplines UiB UK UN UNESCO
UNCST
US USAID
Scool of Law, Makerere University Swedis International Development Co-operation Agency science, tecnology, engineering and matematics University of Bergen United Kingdom United Nations United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Uganda National Council for Science and Tecnology United States of America US Agency for International Development
- viii -
PART I
ALL THE BACKGROUND
1
Wat inspired tis book
his book is written in te context of te general spread of neoliberal ideas and reforms since te 1980s, accepting also tat tese ideas 1 are rooted in a longer istory. Our focus is on ow neoliberal ideas and reforms ave worked to transform te university sector and te academic profession. In particular, we examine ow understandings of, and control over, wat constitutes relevant knowledge ave canged. Taken as a wole, tese canges ave sougt to reorient universities and academics towards economic development in various ways. his includes te installation of new and competitive strategies for ow institutions and professional academics acieve recognition and status witin te academy, te consequent privatisation of educational services and te downgrading of te value of public iger education, as well as a steady sift away from te public funding of iger education. Researc universities are increasingly adopting a user- and market-oriented model, wit an empasis on meeting corporate demands, te privileging of sort-term researc, and a strong tendency to view utility, and te potential to sell intellectual property for profit, as primary criteria for determining te relevance of academic knowledge. he privatisation of education services (pused by te World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, commonly 2 known as GATS), and te reorienting of universities towards te needs of te ‘knowledge economy’ (as advocated by, among oters, te World Bank, te OECD and most neoliberal-leaning governments) as largely succeeded in transforming te discourse around te role of te academic profession in society. Neoliberal tinkers ave even advocated for te removal of ‘professors’ wo are reluctant to cange, and teir replacement wit ‘knowledge workers’ wo are ‘sensitive’ to te demands of te economy (Gibbons 1998).
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