Andrew McRae
@mcraeandrew
English prof, Uni of Exeter. Prone to talk about UK politics, higher education policy, the 17th century, the excellence of English studies, & Aussie sports.
We can’t even sell our star striker. The entire summer transfer strategy depends on this sale.
Buried in the middle, a glance towards the consequences of this changing world for students. Sure, some will be pleasantly surprised to be in an ‘elite’ uni, but quality indicators (class sizes, SSRs, module choices, etc) are trending down. (And this further erodes UK’s internatl reputation.)
Letter from the executive director of the Modern Language Association to the Uni of Exeter VC: ‘We are aware of no university on the financial footing of Exeter that has seen the need to make dramatic cuts to the humanities such as you propose.’ #DefendExeterUni
So that plan - widely reported as serious and achievable, on account of a compliant media - lasted less than 24 hours. Now let’s see how many ships risk the journey at all.
And not at all like Nick Hillman to miss the point of these cuts, offering instead a generic comment about the wonders of market forces. 🤷♂️
Good piece by @nicolawoolcock.bsky.social and colleagues (Times), that highlights what’s distinctively destructive about the proposed Exeter cuts. #DefendExeterUni
Is this seriously the best the Russell Group can do, in response to a full-frontal assault on UK higher education?
So much that’s wrong with Trump-war reportage, epitomised in two Guardian paragraphs about another high-bullshit no-deal day. By the time we hit ‘art of the deal’ I’m wanting it to be irony - but fear not.
I’m mesmerised by the sheer Englishness of this stuff. Like: ‘even in the depths of our legally-mandated bigotry, we must maintain due standards of decorum.’ 1/3
Excellent detail from the latest Guardian piece about AI use in the humanities: focus on the way the systems (‘just checking your spelling & grammar’) suck users in. It’s critical to learn more about these relationships between students & LLMs if we’re to create sustainable assessments.
No significant increase in higher education participation in the UK until the 90s, so my 60+ generation is clearly less educated than younger ones. I suspect (like you, no evidence) the *anxiety* of low education, as much as the simple lack of it, can feed into anti-woke to far-right views.
On animals and currency: just look at this gorgeous echidna. The Aussie heroes of my youth were all native animals.
And here missing the fact that Plan 5 (of course the debts are lower; most of these are current students) is a bigger scandal than Plan 2, just waiting to be discovered. 2/2
Once again, the quality of debate about student finance disappoints. Here’s the FT opening its piece by stating the blindingly obvious.
Anyone still wondering why two-party politics in the UK is falling apart?
So how about some of the practical consequences of this? Check out the way the Gaza war involves ‘barbarians’, while the Ukraine war is a squabble between two (morally equivalent?) European forces. And what’s he even mean about competing for ‘market share’ in the ‘Global South’? 5/6
And now? Is Western civ all about the Beatles & the Rolling Stones? Nah, that was just to get a smile from the audience; it’s really about ‘the wonders that await us’ if we stick the Christian nationalist course. 4/5
And here’s American history: a few cartoon images of white settlers. Any particular labour force missing? 3/4
And there’s your theory of history: Christian expansion (which some might call ‘colonisation’), followed after 1945 by the twinned godless forces of communism & decolonisation. 2/4
It all begins with that Columbus, a man best known, of course, for his ‘Christian faith’. And if you miss this point the first time, he says it again. 2/4
While the BBC is characteristically fussing over ‘sharply contradictory narratives’, the famously woke - ah - Economist is offering them a journalism lesson. 👏🏻
And just look at the state of this. Better results must mean - ah - *declining* standards. Stands to reason, right? And if students are outperforming their A-Level grades, that’s got to be dodgy, right? Because it’s not like they’re learning or anything. 2/3