[SSC] SSC - Response to Journalism student (interview questions)

Tue May 1 18:20:41 UTC 2012

Dear Friends,
>From Morphou, northern Cyprus, I wanted to endorse Laurence's comments.
Although I've been on the SSC list from the beginning and in silent
solidarity for this kind of new educational promise, I've not yet expressed
how "thoughtful, reflective, and appropriately critical" the whole approach
has been.

Let the flourishing continue ...

regards

Julian Saurin

On 1 May 2012 19:19, Laurence Davis <ldavis at oceanfree.net> wrote:

>   I’ve just seen this post now, and wanted to add my wholehearted
> endorsement (from Cork, Ireland). The replies are thoughtful, reflective,
> and appropriately critical, and should absolutely be publicised. It’s
> wonderful to see the creative process that is the SSC unfolding in so many
> unexpected and challenging ways!
>
> Laurence
>
>  *From:* Sarah Amsler <simonewright73 at googlemail.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 01, 2012 12:04 AM
> *To:* Michael Neary <nearymichael at hotmail.com>
> *Cc:* ssc at lists.aktivix.org
> *Subject:* Re: [SSC] SSC - Response to Journalism student (interview
> questions)
>
>  Gosh, thanks! I'm trying to learn how to write in that way for such
> purposes. I have ('have') a blog, perhaps I'll put it up for linking?
>  Best,
> Sarah
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 9:13 PM, Michael Neary <nearymichael at hotmail.com>wrote:
>
>>  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
>> > >>>
>> > >>
>> > >> _______________________________________________
>> > >> SSC mailing list
>> > >> SSC at lists.aktivix.org
>> > >> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > SSC mailing list
>> > > SSC at lists.aktivix.org
>> > > https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > SSC mailing list
>> > SSC at lists.aktivix.org
>> > https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
>>
>
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-- 
Dr. Julian Saurin

Assoc. Prof. of International Relations (Visiting)
Middle East Technical University, NCC
Guzelyurt
Northern Cyprus

julian at metu.edu.tr

Programme Webpages :
http://www.psir.ncc.metu.edu.tr/

Personal Webpage :
http://www.psir.ncc.metu.edu.tr/profiles/saurin.php
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