[SSC] SSC - Response to Journalism student (interview questions)
Michael Neary
nearymichael at hotmail.com
Mon Apr 30 20:13:52 UTC 2012
I agree with Sandie and Joss.
M
> From: sandiestrat at phonecoop.coop
> To: joss at josswinn.org; simonewright73 at googlemail.com
> Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:21:20 +0100
> CC: ssc at lists.aktivix.org
> Subject: Re: [SSC] SSC - Response to Journalism student (interview questions)
>
> I agree!
> Sandie
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joss Winn" <joss at josswinn.org>
> To: "Sarah Amsler" <simonewright73 at googlemail.com>
> Cc: <ssc at lists.aktivix.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 7:56 PM
> Subject: Re: [SSC] SSC - Response to Journalism student (interview
> questions)
>
>
> > This would be great to publish as a blog post! It extends what is already
> > on the site in a very positive way.
> >
> >
> > On 30 Apr 2012, at 17:17, Sarah Amsler <simonewright73 at googlemail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Hello everyone,
> >>
> >> Please find below my response to Angela Cheng, a Journalism student
> >> from Taiwan who asked some questions about the SSC for a report she is
> >> writing as part of her course assignment.
> >>
> >> I am planning to send it later this eveing; if you have any comments,
> >> please get back to me before then.
> >>
> >> Best,
> >> Sarah
> >>
> >> Hello Angela,
> >>
> >> I've sent your request out to other members of the Social Science
> >> Centre, so they may reply independently. I'll try to answer your
> >> questions from my own perspective, but if you want to talk about
> >> anything further, please let me know.
> >>
> >> I'd like to say at the outset that these are my own personal
> >> respsonses to the questions -- at least where I don't quote from the
> >> Social Science Centre website. It's important for me to emphasise this
> >> because we are a group of people who are trying to work collectively
> >> at all levels. Within the group, however, there is a lot of diversity,
> >> so different people may answer the questions in different ways. Some
> >> of them are in fact still questions that we are discussing and
> >> debating amongst ourselves. So the one thing we do like to say is that
> >> no single person can represent the Social Science Centre in its
> >> complexity, and that each person offers one representation, their own
> >> (though often one forged through lots of discussion with others).
> >>
> >> 1. What is the main point that the teachers set up The Social Science
> >> Centre, Lincoln?
> >>
> >>
> >> The Social Science Centre was established in early 2011 by a small
> >> group of academics, mainly social scientists, who were concerned about
> >> the British Government's decision to both withdraw all public funding
> >> for teaching in the social sciences, humanities and arts, and to raise
> >> student tuition fees nearly three hundred per cent to, at present, a
> >> maximum of £9000. They were concerned that it would become difficult
> >> or impossible for many people to undertake study in these disciplines,
> >> and indeed that some young people (and many older people wishing to
> >> return to university) would be unable to pursue higher learning at
> >> all. One major reason for establishing the SSC, therefore, is to
> >> provide some way for people who wish to study social science but who
> >> cannot pay the new fees, do not want to or are unable to take out
> >> student loans, or are not particularly interested in learning towards
> >> a formal credential to be able to do so. Alongside this, however, is
> >> the need that I think many educators feel to work with students and to
> >> teach and learn in creative, cooperative, non-authoritarian and
> >> non-bureaucratised ways that are not always possible within
> >> universities today. The increasing financialisation and marketisation
> >> of universities in this country and around the world are altering what
> >> higher education means, what knowledge is for, and how people learn.
> >> In some institutions, ways of knowing and learning that are not
> >> economically efficient or profitable in different ways are
> >> marginalised or prohibited. Languages of critical education, critical
> >> pedagogy, are often silenced where discourses of 'employablity' become
> >> dominant. And the worth of education -- of different universities,
> >> courses, schools of thought, methodologies, teachers and students --
> >> is now often measured through quantitative metrics such as league
> >> tables which encourage competition rather than collaboration between
> >> all of the above. So, we are working both against these negative
> >> trends in education, which lead towards tying knowledge, research and
> >> higher learning to the needs of capital and to the already-powerful,
> >> and towards the creation of alternative forms of critical and
> >> cooperative education in our own locality.
> >>
> >> The Social Science Centre is very much a 'situated' or local project;
> >> it is based in the city of Lincoln in the UK, and our hope is to be as
> >> active as possible across the city itself -- in community and social
> >> centres, museums, public spaces, spaces that should be public.
> >> However, we are also inspired by and in contact with other people
> >> working on other kinds of alternative higher education projects in
> >> other parts of the UK, and overseas.
> >>
> >> For a selected things that have been written about the SSC to date,
> >> see http://socialsciencecentre.org.uk/documents/. The Stanistreet
> >> (2012) article might give some background; the Burgin (2011) may give
> >> a hint at historical precendents and histories of
> >> radical/autonomous/cooperative education.
> >>
> >> 2. When is the exact time that the courses start? And How will it carry
> >> out?
> >>
> >> We are planning to begin courses in October 2012. This will work
> >> slightly differently from a typical university course, in that the
> >> first weeks are likely to be spent discussing the concept of each
> >> course and negotiating its main themes, structure and curriculum.
> >> There are also likely to be different kinds of courses -- running in
> >> the evening, or on weekends, or perhaps in other blocks of time,
> >> depending on the needs and desires of those who are involved in them.
> >>
> >> Prior to this, in the summer, we'll be organising workshops and
> >> seminars around the ideas of curriculum, cooperative education,
> >> pedagogy, and other issues that are relevant for our work, and for
> >> developing deeper understandings of both our work and the context in
> >> which we are working. There is a sense, I think, of needing to learn
> >> to learn, and build to be able to build. There is a mindfulness within
> >> the Centre that the sort of project we are imagining not only requires
> >> commitments of time and energy from those involved, but because it is
> >> in many cases very different from what we and others are used to, it
> >> also demands a lot of learning along the way. So while classes will
> >> begin in October, the process of their development precedes this point
> >> in time, and will overflow it as the courses and the Centre develop.
> >> I, at least, am looking forward to being taken in not-yet-imagined
> >> directions as they do.
> >>
> >> 3. How do the institution operate in the situation that students don
> >> have to pay the fees?
> >>
> >> As it is not an institution as such, we have a lot of flexibility in
> >> how we operate. The Social Science Centre runs mainly on the energy,
> >> commitment and generosity of its members. None of the people teaching
> >> are being paid for our work. Scholars have different reasons for
> >> volunteering their time. Some see it as am intellecutal or social and
> >> political responsibility; others are in positions, for example being
> >> retired, where the need for such payment is not so acute. Members of
> >> the Social Science Centre, whether student-scholars or
> >> teacher-scholars, are encouraged to contribute to the cooperative if
> >> they feel able to. We recommend a sum of one hour of a person's montly
> >> wage (e.g., if a person earns £6 per hour, they are invited to
> >> contribute £6 per month to the cooperative). This money is then used
> >> for materials, paying for spaces to hold classes, purchasing library
> >> cards for students, or the like. But this is a voluntary contribution
> >> and does not affect anyone's membership rights. As an example, it
> >> costs £5 per hour to hire a space in a local community centre. It
> >> costs approximately £5 to make copies of a book chapter or article for
> >> 10 people. It costs nothing to find paper to write on and pens to
> >> write with. Various people in the Centre have other sorts of
> >> technologies of their own -- computers, printers, etc. We are not
> >> paying fees to external organisations for accreditation, 'marketing'
> >> or etc. And above all, there is a wealth of collective skill,
> >> experience and knowledge -- really in any group that organsises
> >> themselves -- which, when pulled together and worked with, makes many
> >> things possible that may seem not so.
> >>
> >> 4. How many students will the institution recruit? How is the
> >> evaluation now? (Is there many students want to enter to The Social
> >> Science Centre, Lincoln?)
> >>
> >> We would be delighted if as many as twenty people joined the Centre in
> >> order to undertake study and research in the autumn. Because there is
> >> a small group of teacher-scholars at the moment, the idea is to start
> >> and perhaps to remain small. Thus far, we have had expressions of
> >> interest from more people than this, and I think many people are in
> >> the process of seeing what the project is about and how it works;
> >> above all, whether it's something that could be meaningful for them.
> >> It is likely not to be interesting for people who are focused on
> >> earning a formal, accredited university degree. It is likely to be
> >> more interesting for people who desire a cooperative,
> >> non-instrumentalised, non-hierarchical and really alternative kind
> >> higher education, and who want to participate actively in making such
> >> opportunities possible for others. That being said, there is no
> >> either-or relationship between this and formal university studies; I
> >> have spoken to some people who plan to undertake both simultaneously.
> >>
> >> Personally, I'm hugely excited about the project. It offers space for
> >> me to teach and to learn with others from a diversity of social
> >> positions about the insights of sociology, philosophy and education
> >> that I believe to be of deep significance for engaging critically and
> >> ethically in the social world. It is already also a type of space
> >> where we can learn to reinvent our relationships with each other; to
> >> cultivate ways of working with others, speaking and listening,
> >> thinking and producing in ways that are not profit-driven,
> >> competitive, bureaucratised and precarious. This is not an easy
> >> process, of course; a brief glance at the history of autonomous and
> >> cooperative projects in education, ecology and politics will give an
> >> immediate indication of the contradictions and difficulties. But for
> >> those who believe that the present organisation of society, and many
> >> of the current ways of defining and organising higher education are
> >> themselves unsustainable, the alternative should to work towards
> >> something better. The Social Science Centre is part of this wider
> >> project, and speaking personally, has opened up new windows of
> >> possibility.
> >>
> >> It might be a nice idea if you wrote back again in, e.g., November, or
> >> in January, to see what's happened since today.
> >>
> >> 5. Please help me to find some students who want to enter to the
> >> institution. I would need their opinions.
> >>
> >> I have sent your request out to a number of people. If they haven't
> >> replied to you, I will try to contact them again.
> >>
> >> I hope this is helpful for your report. I'm sure you don't need this
> >> advice at all, but you should of course try to find some critical
> >> questions and comments about the Social Science Centre, in order to
> >> broaden and criticalise the perspective. There are a number of really
> >> pressing debates in general about the notions of 'collectivity',
> >> 'cooperatives', 'autonomy', 'radical education', 'critical pedagogy',
> >> and etc., as well as problems of social inequalitie, representation,
> >> hidden hierarchies, the role of the university in society, the meaning
> >> of higher education, and etc. Any of these would be worth exploring;
> >> they are all issues and problems we are discussing in the Centre.
> >>
> >> All best,
> >> Sarah
> >>
> >>
> >> On 4/29/12, Sandie Stratford <sandiestrat at phonecoop.coop> wrote:
> >>> I agree this makes excellent material for a discussion. Thank you
> >>> Megan, I
> >>> found your suggestions very coherent. We must keep our ideals [sic]
> >>> polished. But I share Joss and others' anxiety about biting off more
> >>> than
> >>> we can chew, if wide publicity brings large numbers on board. Much as I
> >>> want more people to be involved, if that's not a contradiction.
> >>>
> >>> Sandie
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: Sarah Amsler
> >>> To: ssc at lists.aktivix.org
> >>> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 12:03 PM
> >>> Subject: Re: [SSC] SSC Digest, Vol 16, Issue 42
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I think a great comment and suggestion from Megan, thanks!
> >>>
> >>> We could actually use these statements to play with when we
> >>> meet...which
> >>> do people feel close to, common themes and differences, talking around
> >>> them...
> >>>
> >>> Best,
> >>> Sarah
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------
> >>>
> >>> Message: 3
> >>> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:23:22 +0100
> >>> From: "Megan Robertson" <megan at medals.org.uk>
> >>> To: <ssc at lists.aktivix.org>
> >>> Subject: [SSC] Media stuff
> >>> Message-ID: <CC29A156A1AD439DA30C38973DFEA579 at mexal>
> >>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> >>>
> >>> May an 'outsider' comment, please?
> >>>
> >>> Having discovered you just yesterday through a BBC website article,
> >>> having
> >>> had no idea of your existence before then, I would hope that you
> >>> would
> >>> grasp
> >>> any suitable opportunity to raise your profile through the media.
> >>>
> >>> It will, however, be important for you to decide just what you think
> >>> you
> >>> are
> >>> as a collective organisation, and to ensure that you present
> >>> yourselves
> >>> accordingly.
> >>>
> >>> So, what are you?
> >>>
> >>> People who want to share knowledge in a structured way, by offering
> >>> 'courses' in subjects in which you are knowledgeable in a manner
> >>> accessible
> >>> to anyone who wants to learn.
> >>>
> >>> People who don't like the way in which higher education is developing
> >>> and
> >>> who want to offer an alternative.
> >>>
> >>> People who see themselves as 'activists' seeking to destroy existing
> >>> modes
> >>> of providing education and replacing them with their own vision.
> >>>
> >>> People who do not care for the increasing 'commercialisation' of
> >>> education
> >>> and so want to offer it for free...
> >>>
> >>> Woolly-headed idealists? :)
> >>>
> >>> Some, all or none of the above?
> >>>
> >>> Different things will attract different people, so you will also need
> >>> to
> >>> consider the sort of people that you want to attract. (You may at
> >>> this
> >>> point
> >>> decide you'd rather I went away!)
> >>>
> >>> For what it's worth, I followed up the BBC story and stuck my nose in
> >>> because I am passionate about the provision of excellent education
> >>> that
> >>> inspires learners, and as an e-learning specialist I'm fascinated
> >>> about
> >>> 'alternate' ways of sharing knowledge and skills.
> >>>
> >>> (I also happen to be unemployed, so am always looking for projects
> >>> that
> >>> might want to make use of my skills... at least, until I find someone
> >>> who'll
> >>> pay me! Until then, and even beyond, interesting not-for-profit
> >>> projects
> >>> can
> >>> have those skills for nothing.)
> >>>
> >>> A few thoughts from an outsider looking in, read, discard at your
> >>> pleasure.
> >>>
> >>> Megan Robertson
> >>> FBCS CITP
> >>>
> >>> "By doubting we come to questioning, and by questioning we come to
> >>> perceive
> >>> the truth" (Abelard)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> SSC mailing list
> >>> SSC at lists.aktivix.org
> >>> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> End of SSC Digest, Vol 16, Issue 42
> >>> ***********************************
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> SSC mailing list
> >>> SSC at lists.aktivix.org
> >>> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
> >>>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >
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>
>
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