What Are Universities for?

by Stefan Collini

Across the world, universities are more numerous than they have ever been, yet at the same time there is unprecedented confusion about their purpose and scepticism about their value. What Are Universities For? offers a spirited and compelling argument for completely rethinking the way we see our universities, and why we need them.

Stefan Collini challenges the common claim that universities need to show that they help to make money in order to justify getting more money. Instead, he argues that we must reflect on the different types of institution and the distinctive roles they play. In particular we must recognize that attempting to extend human understanding, which is at the heart of disciplined intellectual enquiry, can never be wholly harnessed to immediate social purposes - particularly in the case of the humanities, which both attract and puzzle many people and are therefore the most difficult subjects to justify.

At a time when the future of higher education lies in the balance, What Are Universities For? offers all of us a better, deeper and more enlightened understanding of why universities matter, to everyone.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Politics, Academia, Essays, Philosophy, Economics

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Stefan Collini is Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at Cambridge University. After degrees at Cambridge and Yale, he taught at the University of Sussex before moving to a post in the Faculty of English at Cambridge in 1986. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a frequent contributor to The London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, The Nation, and other periodicals, and an occasional broadcaster.

His research includes the relation between literature and intellectual history from the early 20th century to the present. Current research focusses on the cultural role of, and the historical assumptions expressed in, literary criticism in Britain from c.1920 to c.1970. Recent work has dealt with the question of intellectuals in 20th-century Britain, the relation between academic critics and 'men of letters', the role of cultural criticism, as well as individual essays on figures such as T.S. Eliot, F.R. Leavis, George Orwell, Raymond Williams, and Richard Hoggart. Also work on the history, and public debates about the role, of universities in Britain.

Reviews

[Jordan Kirkwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting insight from a British Universities veteran, it delves into the past, present and future of British Higher Education and addresses many of the assumptions that have become commonplace in the dialogue on universities. Definitely worth a read if you want to get an insightful overview of the relationship between universities and government, and understand some of the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. By no means an easy read in terms of vocabulary, many a new word that I've learned of through using my dictionary app!

[Chris Nagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The butler did it.

This is a trenchant, cogent, clear, often bitingly funny examination of the ideology and rhetoric regarding political choices about higher education. Collini focuses on his own British context, but everything he writes is applicable to the US-possibly even more applicable to the US. Among my favorite analyses in the book is Collini's lampoon of the rhetoric of the "real world" of purely rational and purely (and crudely) instrumental, economic life that is often evoked in debate about higher education. His response is refreshingly honest and direct: that crude libertarian capitalist instrumental-economic rationality is simply the wrong way to understand education or research.

I'm using two chapters of the book in a course I'm teaching this semester, and have found that it reveals something to students that they otherwise don't see in their own experience. I am considering adding the whole book to the course next time around. It pairs well with Jean-François Lyotard's _The Postmodern Condition_.

[Hurdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fails to meaningfully address the fact that universities are one of the places that dispense certificates of “permission to enter the modern workplace” that are increasingly required in an over educated world with too many workers and not enough jobs.

Collini makes a fine case for academics, research, learning and such- but all of that is separate from and not necessarily required for the aforementioned function of handing our permission slips.

People who want to enter the workforce but find themselves barred because of obviously farcical tertiary education job requirements (such as is increasingly found for low skill jobs) go to universities to acquire the necessary permission only - learning and education is not required or needed.

Collini does not address this, yet in a world where we increasingly require people to have qualifications, it is an unavoidable reality.

[Greta]

Someday I'll read this when I can actually concentrate on what it says.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author makes some valid points, in particular regarding the 'what's the use / what is it good for?' question regarding the humanities.

"Perhaps the most important single thing to say in this context about work in the humanities is that it is in many ways not so different from work in the natural and social sciences. The effort to understand and explain that is at the heart of all scholarly and scientific enquiry is governed by broadly similar canons of accuracy and precision, of rigour in argument and clarity in presentation, of respect for the evidence and openness to criticism, and so on. Biologists may, in their own way, examine the relevant evidence no less systematically and dispassionately than, in their own way, do historians; physicists may use concepts and forms of notation which are, in their own way, every bit as abstract and precise as those deployed by philosophers."

"The core of the argument here is simply stated. A society in which individuals never attempted to identify and refine their experiences of other individuals in whom they partly recognized themselves would also be one which could never be persuaded of the point of studying the humanities. In practice, the persuasiveness of argument will always depend upon this prior potential for recognition. But recognition grows out of particulars: it cannot be lodged in the mind by concepts alone."

"Perhaps our ears no longer hear what a fatuous, weaselly phrase ‘Research Excellence Framework’ actually is, or how ludicrous it is to propose that the quality of scholarship can be partly judged in terms of the number of ‘external research users’ or the range of ‘impact indicators’. Instead of letting this drivel become the only vocabulary for public discussion of these matters, it is worth insisting (as I have in Chapter 4, above) that what we call ‘the humanities’ are a collection of ways of encountering the record of human activity in its greatest richness and diversity. To attempt to deepen our understanding of this or that aspect of that activity is an intelligible and purposeful expression of disciplined human curiosity and is – insofar as the expression makes any sense in this context – an end in itself.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What universities are for is such an important question to ask - and yet, as many other reviewers have said, this is not answered in this book.

I also don't think that the author, as a professor of history and English at Cambridge, is the right person to be answering the question. Which is why he is so defensive about humanities, and doesn't seem to understand how the world outside of academia works. He mentions that organisations prefer recruiting arts graduates as they're more intelligent - as great as arts grads are, I have never (as someone who manages massive grad programmes and has experience doing so all over the world) heard of anyone saying to me to go find arts grads.

There's also a big piece around the affect of more people going to university on the wider society - for example how people with degrees tended to vote remain in the referendum. He talks about university's role in social mobility as if they were asked to fix all of society's problems, when there are so many other affects of having a degree...including having a wider range of viewpoints within his beloved humanities.

[Stephen Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provocative critique of the evolution of UK policy on universities

Collini provides a highly readable discussion of the unique nature and purpose of universities. His critique of the influx of marketisation and managerialism within the UK university system is provocative and insightful, and provides an informed defence of the value (in the broadest sense) of the humanities. His straw-men arguments are occasionally exaggerated and unconvincing, and Collini offers no concrete alternatives to our present fixations with consumer choice and ‘measures’ of performance. But perhaps we should not be too harsh on him, because no-one else has yet come up with obvious solutions. The only way forward has to be through continued discourse between academics, politicians and the citizenry. ‘What are universities for?’ is at the very least an essential contribution to that debate.

[Xiaoxue Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to spend several days to finish this book(in Chinese), but I failed in the middle because I got lost in the author's eloquence. I wanna know what are universities for, so I got his book. I was a little confused why the author spent a lot of time saying something that seemed unrelated to his argument. There are indeed some insights in this book, but it needs patience to get them all. Perhaps it is an excellent polemic book, and it is not just my taste.
By the way, I didn't get much guidance in the table of the contents, which I had expected to list the main arguments or the logic of this book. At the end of this book I understand that it is a collection of the author's articles on higher education in different periods, which would definitely lead to a lack of sense of coherence.

[Joshua Paas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a student with a particular interest in some of the stupidities that characterize contemporary higher education, I was quite happy when I stumbled upon this work. However, it turned out that half the chapters were republications of previously written essay-ish publications criticizing particular developments in the history of British education. Though occassionally, the author makes clear points about the 'businessification' of university education, a large portion of the book is quite outdated. Overall, some chapters prove for a highly interesting read, whereas others are, quite frankly, dull and feel irrelevant to modern day and age.

[Steff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't aim to answer its central question. Instead, Collini uses the subject of a university's core function to dispel unhelpful narratives about what an education is worth to the British economy.

It's a very dense read and it can take some time to get used to the heavy academic prose but, when read in the right mindset, it provides an astute discussion of academia, education policy, and methods of funding that is intended to influence interested parties (namely, everyone) to consider the real benefits of learning and how we can support it.

[Oumaima · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book took some time for me to be completed.
I chose the parts that are more related and concerning to me to focus on.
When I first saw the book, I thought it would emphasize answering the question, "What are universities for?". However, it concentrates more on the universities' history, especially in the UK. Some of the parts were very interesting to me; others were not.
I left reading the book in the middle with the hope of getting back to it one day.

[Emma Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

a book that sort of talked about stuff i already knew but in a long way. also could have been an essay. i did enjoy part two though but part one was a lot to get through. also bc a lot of this was focused on unis in the UK i understood less intuitively. i think the author also explained things in very academic verbiage that was harder for me to grasp onto. i really did enjoy the parts about research impact and all!

[Salem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a British academic primarily to address the contemporary debates on higher education in the U.K., this is still a robust critique of how that debate is prosecuted here in the U.S. Definitely worth a read for anyone thinking about how we should think about and support post-secondary educational institutions.

[Graham Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good exploration not just of how policy affects academia, but more generally about how populism has changed the way we value our practices and institutions.

[Jaime]

kindle

[Lee Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book, but I couldn't get through the entire thing. I think he makes a good point that universities should be for pursuing intellectual inquiry. I also think the way he presents the numbers on the rise of university students is quite startling. What is behind to rise of so many students going directly to universities, compared with 60 years ago?

But overall, Collini seriously drones on and on about topics, which is frustrating to the reader, because it he never really articulates his point. Collini also writes with astounding arrogance, constantly mocking other peoples statements with "quotation marks". Although Collini "understands" the "caricature" of "self absorbed university professors", he doesn't seem to realize that his writing is case and point.

[Chris Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The higher education sector in the UK is in the throes of fundamental change. Collini's book challenges us to re-examine the assumptions and 'taken-for-granteds' behind these reforms. The first part of the book provides a robust defence of the humanities and provides an interesting review of the earlier work by John Henry Newman on the 'idea of a University'. He reminds us of the notion of higher education as a public good, and that as such there is an argument for public funding. In the second part of the book, he traces some of the key reforms of the last 25 years and provides a scathing critique, including working through some of the unintended consequences of the reforms, or perhaps a better description would be accidental consequences!

What I enjoyed about this book was that it challenged me to think more deeply about the purpose of the University. With the everyday pressures of the workplace, basic assumptions can go unchallenged and unquestioned.

Collini shows us that if we try to justify the purpose of the University purely in terms of instrumental outcomes such as economic growth or employability of graduates, we run the risk of missing the essence of why these institutions exist at all.

Here on p.91 he describes a broader vision ;

"...a society does not educate the next generation in order for them to contribute to its economy . It educates them in order that they should extend and deepen their understanding of themselves and the world, acquiring in the course of this form of growing up, kinds of knowledge and skill which will be useful in their eventual employment, but which will no more be the sum of their education than that employment will be the sum of their lives."

He points potential unintended consequences of some of these reforms, for example, in the underfunding and support of subject areas where there is a less obvious relationship between the research in a particular area and its impact on society and the employability of its graduates.

Collini is critical of a narrow skills based focus;

"... the difference that is made (in education) is not best described in terms of the acquisition of 'skills'; and, second that the justification for the activity is not to be looked for in how those supposed skills may be what a particular kind of employer is looking for." p. 143.

Later he criticises the Browne report which focused on employability;

"Higher education matters because it transforms the lives of individuals. On graduating, graduates are more likely to be employed, more likely to enjoy higher wages and better job satisfaction, and more likely to find it easier to move from one job to the next." (from the Browne report).

on p.187 he says; "This report displays no interest in Universities as places of education; they are conceived of simply as engines of economic prosperity and as agencies for equipping future employees to earn higher salaries. "

Of course we must focus on helping our students to achieve their potential and their aspirations. There are problems frequently cited in the media and elsewhere that show that there is a gap between what employers want and the skills and capabilities that graduates possess, for example

"The CBI found that 48% of employers were dissatissfied with the business awareness of the graduates they hired." (Browne report, 2010).

"Only 51% of undergraduates feel equipped for the world of work." UK Engagement Survey, HEA, November 2016.

But Collini reminds us that there can be too narrow a focus on these matters, to the detriment perhaps of a higher purpose and vision.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pithy, delightful and thought-provoking. In a series of short essays, Collins tries to help us rethink what universities are for, and excoriates a series of recent government reforms in Britain, whose architects appear to have had no idea what a university is at all.

There are of course many books on this subject. Collini's is intentionally lightweight. He does not offer his own detailed definition of the university. He has not conducted interviews, spent hours on archives or analysed masses of data. He says this book is intended as a work of criticism, which is supposed to shock us into rethinking the words we use to describe and argue about higher education.

As a work of criticism, the book is top notch. Collini's attacks on management-speak are spot on:

Part of the problem is that we live in a public culture obsessed with the idea that we must at all costs prevent scroungers and layabouts existing at, as it's always put, 'the taxpayer's expense'. 'Efficiency', on this view, consists in catching them out and making sure that anyone who receives any payment is in exchange doing the work they're contracted to do.

His anecdotes and examples are concrete and often hilarious:

It is another example of the fallacy of accountability—that is, the belief that the process of reporting on an activity in the approved form provides some guarantee that something worthwhile has been properly done.

He even turns his critical eye on the most famous proponent of his own ideas, Cardinal Newman, and tries to demonstrate that the Cardinal's nineteenth-century language may no longer be relevant to our debates.

Unsurprisingly from an English academic, it is language that is crucial for Collini. The problem with the higher education debate is that a dead weight of inappropriate terminology has descended to stifle it, rendering it nearly impossible to articulate what universities actually do. If those who care about university education want to defend it from the assault of the right-wing market state, then they will need to do so "in appropriate terms." Neither Newman's utopian poetry nor the manager-speak that has infected the state will cut it. Collini's own delightful idiom, which is recognisably the language of Addison, Johnson, Arnold and Woolf, just might.

I whipped through the book in no time. I would give it five stars for enjoyment, but the fact that I read it so quickly and with such pleasure indicates that its criticism isn't as hard hitting as it could be. This would be a great starting point for any person hoping to enter the higher education debate. But it is unlikely to become a masterpiece in the tradition of thinking about university education.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Universities are not corporations and corporations are not universities. Every Pakistan student needs to understand this vital and critical difference. Why because undue and unnatural credence is given to education in the Pakistani culture.

Therefore, longer time spent in any university may prove to be counter intuitive when money has to be made in the real world filled with greedy corporations and even greedier businesses. Be prepared to be outflanked by a result producing technician who may be favoured over you even with your high and mighty degrees.
I loved the similitude drawn between a university and museum or an art gallery, his exposition of 'global' league tables and student surveys in order to excite and attract foreign students to invest into their assured futures as well as supplementing the university campuses and academic staffs.
The other vital point which the author seems to make is the self-righteous smugness inculcated into every university graduate because modern Universities try and brand themselves as finishing schools of modern civilization. How can a snotty nineteen year old be magically transformed into a well mannered, conscientious citizen in just 4 years of University education? This book is very powerful as the author seems to be going the grain here especially if you consider his own academic background. Its exactly like a religious person rejecting his own religion and becoming an atheist.

The whole argument is based around the British government slow and gradual re-branding exercise to view modern universities as corporations of education, thus relegating students to commodities. The author tries to exposed the illogic in the governments logic to measure the Universities instead of judging them. The argument is detailed and reads like a newspaper column at times. It is meant for university curriculum.

[Mateusz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful and original analysis of the problems British universities today are facing (with a focus on their humanities departments). Collini mercilessly criticises the attempts of the government to tie the public function of universities solely with raising economic competitiveness in a capitalist society, while largely ignoric their intrinsic intellectual worth. Academics are more burdened then ever as they try to act as administrators, PR guys, teachers, and researchers at the same time, which naturally decreases the quality of their work in the latter two functions. Universities can not, Collini persuasively argues, be treated as 'businesses just like other businesses'.

The author is not blind idealist- he accepts that the sheer numbers of students (almost 50% of the population up from around 6% half a century ago) have created issues that will transform universities forever and complicate fundraising (especially from the public purse). He also points out the absurd that is labelling a range of institutions spanning from 13th century clerical schools to modern post-secondary technical colleges with the same term- university- and that it is impossible to find a one-size-fits-all solution.

Where Collini fails is in proposing his own solutions to the problems he rightly highlights. In fact he never even attempts to do so, as the second half of his book is made up of reprints of his old articles criticisng government policy decisions regarding higher education in the last 30 years (so mostly covering outdated issues). As a result, the dissapointed reader quickly realises that he is in for 200 pages of pure criticism which, even if accurate and insightful, can hardly be treated as constructive.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange one this. I enjoyed it, and fundamentally agree with the central tenet that Universities are public goods. As you would expect it is well written, witty and incisive. The arguments are well put- it is difficult to argue with the author's assertion that we should support universities in a similar manner to how society supports museums or even maternity wards. Not everyone will ever visit them or use them, but we all benefit from them indirectly at least.

Its strange because it feels like a dead end in the current political climate. It is very important to make the point that study of the Arts and Humanities is as important as Sciences and Engineering. To paraphrase, universities to some degree form a part of the country's cultural record as well as teaching and expanding the minds of millions. But despite all this, i suspect things are heading the 'wrong' way.

Good read, excellent points made, I hope the situation doesn't worsen.

[Sylvain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting essay, but my experience of attempts in France to mitigate or influence the move to managerial and economic `accountability' mirrors Stephan Collini's when he states on p.116: `Nonetheless, the effect of these arguments and objections on those who make and implement policies for universities has been, as far as I can judge, invisible ... The arguments have not been answered; they have simply been ignored.' Even worse, I get the impression these days that academics are just perceived as a whiny lot, some kind of ill-fitted species naturally bound to extinction, whose---obviously partisan---input can be safely dismissed as wholly irrelevant.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm dissatisfied by this one. I'm reminded that it's easier to throw stones than stack them; the author is scathing with critique of political intervention in education, yet short on solutions. Ironically, this in some ways serves as a metaphor for much of what must frustrate the funders of higher education! I may have been seeking too much from the book, though I still wonder about the answer to the question posed by the title.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stefan Collini's book is quite an inspiration, although a more appropriate title would be 'what are the humanities for?' Collini is excellent at picking out the absurdities of measuring the number of published articles in humanities research. He insists upon an intrinsic value of the humanities, which has nothing to do with their economic value. A compelling read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhetorically often brilliant, this is the propaganda we need if anything of the traditional university is to be saved into the middle of the 21st century. Which it won't be, at least not in Britain. But it's a comfort to read someone stating the losing case so eloquently.

[Nrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint of Collini's articles and journalism - asks more questions than it answers, but speaks very clearly to a particular constituency. Alas, probably not the constituency that can change anything, for the cynicism and market value view of education is extremely ingrained.

[Daniela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't really make a new point, not necessary to write a book - all could have been said in an article/essay

[Alice Chau-Ginguene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unusual subject matter. Very academic prose that take some effort to read. It wasn't a good choice of book for commuting on the train!
It's very inspirational book to address the current political climate on moving university education to just one of those customer service providers.
Very disturbing to learn what kind of changes is being put in place for universities in U.K. And I suspect similar changes is going to carry out in most British style universities around the world, e.g. Hong Kong, Australia, etc.
If you worry why there are more and more university graduates and yet less and less graduates being happy with the degree. This is the book to read.