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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Dear all,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Excellent thoughts, Sarah. Clearly the way in which we deal
with the mainstream (and alternative) media will reflect our non-hierarchical
principles. It's important then that as many members/scholars be involved in
this activity as possible - it not being restricted to a few
"spokespeople".</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I might suggest two people (one male - and John Andrews has
already offered - and one female) be put forward for this interview by BBC
Breakfast. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>As part of this interview the scholars might want to
mention this aspect of our activities - in this way performing the 'pedagogical'
role mentioned by Sarah.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Ideally I'd like to get this sorted by this
Friday...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Best wishes,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=701185107-02052012><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Richard</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> ssc-bounces@lists.aktivix.org
[mailto:ssc-bounces@lists.aktivix.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Sarah
Amsler<BR><B>Sent:</B> 27 April 2012 11:03<BR><B>To:</B>
ssc@lists.aktivix.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [SSC] SSC Digest, Vol 16, Issue
40<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>Dear all,</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>I have been following the discussion about
representation, visibility, and the request from the BBC. Apologies in
advance for the long reflection here.</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>On the one hand, I have reservations about the way the
project and our work on the ground gets mediated, particularly through
mainstream media. I would like to hold on to, and be mindful of, discussions
we've begun this week about timing -- whose time frames and senses
of urgency or interest we want to be part of and legitimise; what our
own senses of time and possibility are. As David asks, this is part of
the ongoing process of discovery of 'who' 'we' 'are' (if there can be any such
unity, and I would worry if there was an easy answer to this just now).</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>At the same time, I think highly of Joss's and David's
points about creating or contributing to spaces where we might be able to make
these sorts of considerations, or at the very least some critical perspectives
on the state of higher education, the politics of knowledge, the alternative
educational activities that are going on all over the place, more visible.
We organise plenty of conferences for academics, plenty of workshops
for people who are already engaged in these debates and/or creating
alternatives. But the issues and the possibilities are not necessarily
intelligible beyond these spaces. I don't know about others, but I, for example,
struggle to make sense of it even for people in my immediate
family who are not educationalists, academics, students or anticapitalist
activists. Throwing ourselves into some part of the world at the
Collection is one way of trying to create space to do this, and I think it's a
good one in many ways. Perhaps some wider visibility through such
mediation could be another, but I think this is not without its limitations and
contradictions.</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>My concern is that mainstream media and
in particular a 'feature story' mode of visibility may not
be entirely conducive to enabling the sort of dialogue that
at least some people involved may think important, around the purpose and
work of the Social Science Centre. I am not sure whether it enables real
dialogue at all. But if people felt they could make this work somehow without
getting enfolded into dominant logics of existing ways of framing debates about
higher education and society, then fine. The question for me would be, <EM>how
might we make it pedagogical? </EM>'Prefigurative politics' is a name for trying
to create different ways of doing things here and now, with what we've got. Is
there a prefigurative sort of politics that might be possible for something like
a BBC interview?</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>I feel strongly that if any group of people in the SSC is
to take this up, then we should at least discuss it with our colleagues and
comrades working in other projects. On the one hand, throwing everyone together
into a short feature piece would in my opinion do more harm than good to the
overall movement and to each of the individual alternatives, which are, as we
saw at the 'FUN' meeting in Birmingham, very different indeed. On the other
hand, I think accepting the invitation as if the SSC is some sort of exemplar of
'an alternative', working in a vacuum or some other popular vanguardist
narrative would be an even worse political, pedagogical and ethical mistake. On
a third hand, if there could be some serious and informed presentation of the
<EM>different</EM> projects, then that could be a really great thing.</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>None of this is original. While obviously from a very
different context, I like the following:</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>'We have a choice. We can have a cynical attitude in the
face of the media and say that nothing can be done about the dollar power that
creates itself in image, words, digital communication, and computer systems that
invade not just with an invasion of power but with a way of seeing the world, of
how they think the world should look. We could say, "well, that's the way it
is," and do nothing. Or we can simply assume incredulity. We can say that any
communication by the media monopolies is a total lie. We can ignore it and go
about our lives. But there is a third option that is neither conformity, nor
skepticism, nor distrust. It's the option to construct a different way: to show
the world what is really happening, to have a critical worldview, to become
interseted in the truth of what happens to the people who inhabit every corner
of this world. The work of the independent media is to...' ('On independent
media', a message from Subcommondante Insurgente Marcos to 'Free Media'
teach-in, NYC, 1997)</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>Can an interview be autonomous, pedagogical, opening-up
possibilities for people beyond this discussion list and the current
membership of the SSC? If so, good, and how so? I'd be interested to
discuss.</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>Those are my two cents for now.</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>Best</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_extra>Sarah<BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid"><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT><BR>------------------------------<BR><BR>Message: 3<BR>Date:
Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:17:32 +0100<BR>From: "Richard Keeble" <<A
href="mailto:rkeeble@lincoln.ac.uk">rkeeble@lincoln.ac.uk</A>><BR>To:
"Richard Hall" <<A href="mailto:RHall1@dmu.ac.uk">RHall1@dmu.ac.uk</A>>,
<<A
href="mailto:ssc@lists.aktivix.org">ssc@lists.aktivix.org</A>><BR>Subject:
[SSC] Representation<BR>Message-ID:<BR>
<6A2C225F32AD154D9D822F00DF34D8CB04C082D5@AEXCMS02.network.uni><BR>Content-Type:
text/plain; charset="us-ascii"<BR><BR><BR>Dear all,<BR>I
have received this invite from the BBC Breakfast team (see below).<BR>Given
the discussion yesterday about how we represent ourselves to the<BR>media, how
would you like us to proceed?<BR>Would someone offer themselves to be
interviewed and
filmed?<BR>Bestest,<BR>Richard<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>--------<BR>From:
Claire Kendall [mailto:<A
href="mailto:claire.kendall@bbc.co.uk">claire.kendall@bbc.co.uk</A>]<BR>Sent:
26 April 2012 16:42<BR>To: Richard Keeble<BR>Subject: BBC News<BR><BR><BR>Dear
Professor Keeble,<BR><BR><BR><BR>I read recently, on the BBC Lincolnshire
website, about your plans to<BR>start a free university, offering courses to
students who will struggle<BR>with the high tuition fees coming in this
year.<BR><BR><BR><BR>I work with Chris Buckler, UK Affairs Correspondent for
BBC News. I'd be<BR>interested in some more information about your plans, with
a view to<BR>offering BBC Breakfast a piece, featuring some filming and an
interview<BR>with you. The report also mentioned that you'd been to a
conference in<BR>Birmingham recently, where you'd heard of others planning
something<BR>similar to yourself...which I'd also be interested in any details
on.<BR><BR><BR><BR>Many thanks for any help you can offer,<BR><BR><BR><BR>Best
wishes,<BR><BR><BR><BR>Claire<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Claire Kendall<BR><BR>UK
Affairs producer<BR><BR>BBC News<BR><BR>07703 205806<BR><BR><A
href="mailto:claire.kendall@bbc.co.uk">claire.kendall@bbc.co.uk</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>------------------------------<BR><BR>Message:
4<BR>Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:16:56 +0100<BR>From: Joss Winn <<A
href="mailto:joss@josswinn.org">joss@josswinn.org</A>><BR>To: "<A
href="mailto:ssc@lists.aktivix.org">ssc@lists.aktivix.org</A> <A
href="mailto:ssc@lists.aktivix.org">ssc@lists.aktivix.org</A>"<BR>
<<A
href="mailto:ssc@lists.aktivix.org">ssc@lists.aktivix.org</A>><BR>Subject:
Re: [SSC] Representation<BR>Message-ID: <<A
href="mailto:7EDF94A6-C2FC-4D1F-9CFE-83B81A96B5F6@josswinn.org">7EDF94A6-C2FC-4D1F-9CFE-83B81A96B5F6@josswinn.org</A>><BR>Content-Type:
text/plain; charset=us-ascii<BR><BR>Richard,<BR><BR>I am not offering myself
to be interviewed, but I think that if you or other members wish to speak to
the BBC, you should. It sounds like they want to do a general piece on
different groups and organisations that are experimenting with higher
education in the face of the cuts and tuition fee rises. That is a good thing.
If we do get involved, we should be prepared for lots of follow up interest on
the back of it. The open day publicity has generated lots of emails that need
answering (as you know!), 25 new members, 800+ hits on the website over the
weekend and (it feels to me) a gear change in our activity around the
SSC.<BR><BR>If you do the interview, I may need help with the SSC
Inbox!<BR><BR>Following our conversations at last night's meeting, I would
encourage you to play down your role at the University of Lincoln (it may also
be unwanted publicity for the university), but ultimately it's your call. This
may actually be a time when an SSC member not connected to the University of
Lincoln is better placed to talk to the
media?<BR><BR>Joss<BR><BR><BR>><BR>><BR>Message: 6<BR>Date: Thu, 26 Apr
2012 22:23:05 +0100<BR>From: David McAleavey <<A
href="mailto:davidmcaleavey@virginmedia.com">davidmcaleavey@virginmedia.com</A>><BR>To:
Richard Keeble <<A
href="mailto:rkeeble@lincoln.ac.uk">rkeeble@lincoln.ac.uk</A>><BR>Cc: <A
href="mailto:ssc@lists.aktivix.org">ssc@lists.aktivix.org</A><BR>Subject: Re:
[SSC] Representation<BR>Message-ID:<BR>
<CADx5COrq_z9b=<A
href="mailto:tm5XfhV-4ejaJQUcYEyaCLhmSKJoSEQYTc2PQ@mail.gmail.com">tm5XfhV-4ejaJQUcYEyaCLhmSKJoSEQYTc2PQ@mail.gmail.com</A>><BR>Content-Type:
text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<BR><BR>Dear All,<BR><BR>I agree with Joss
that we should respond positively to the invitation, and<BR>I think we should
involve the other FUN programmes asap by inviting them to<BR>comment ahead of
the researcher contacting them, as they might value the<BR>opportunity to
reflect on their position about being in public, their<BR>relation to the SSC,
the BBC, their respective 'day jobs'... before the BBC<BR>email appears in
their respective inboxes... I thought Edwin's reflections<BR>last night on the
feeling of being bounced (and in Edwin's case learning<BR>how to resist!) into
the media's time frames/game was a valuable one.<BR><BR>Gosh, that is a clumsy
paragraph!<BR><BR>My feeling is that a student scholar, and a teaching
scholar, should<BR>represent us (the SSC) whenever possible; and on this
occasion (an<BR>establishing item/feature on the BBC about Socially Engaged
Education<BR>Practice), an active member(s) from one of the parallel
programmes MUST be<BR>included. We (the SSC) will insist!<BR><BR>So, to all
SSC Scholars... any volunteers?<BR><BR><BR>Respectfully
yours,<BR><BR>David<BR><BR>PS<BR><BR>Joss, I will share the mail
bag!<BR><BR><BR>So, 'who' are 'we'?<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV><FONT size="2" face="Times New Roman"><br/><b><i>The University of Lincoln</i> - a top performer in student satisfaction, enjoying an unrivalled ascent through the University league tables, set in a dynamic, research rich and vibrant campus in the heart of a great historic student-friendly city.</b></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT size="1" face="Arial"><br/><br/>The information in this e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and remove it from your system. Do not disclose the contents to another person or take copies.<br/><br/>Email is not secure and may contain viruses. The University of Lincoln makes every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions.<br/><br/>The University may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with its policies and English law. Further information can be found at: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>