‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective
This article considers the role of experiments in learning in movements to democratise higher education ‘under the rule of capital’ (Gutierrez, Navarro and Linsalata 2017). It focuses on the emergence of a new generation of ‘free universities’ in the United Kingdom, situating these in a historical t...
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| Format: | Article |
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Berghahn Journals
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45573/ |
| _version_ | 1848797157652430848 |
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| author | Amsler, Sarah |
| author_facet | Amsler, Sarah |
| author_sort | Amsler, Sarah |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article considers the role of experiments in learning in movements to democratise higher education ‘under the rule of capital’ (Gutierrez, Navarro and Linsalata 2017). It focuses on the emergence of a new generation of ‘free universities’ in the United Kingdom, situating these in a historical tradition of educational experimentation and a current context of global movements for autonomy from the state, capital and dominating epistemologies. It argues that free universities can contribute to transforming the relationship between knowledge, university and society, but that these contributions are often invisible within the logic of the dominant institutional systems. Conceptualising the projects as struggles for autonomy renders these contributions visible and valuable for educational reformers working both within and independently of the university. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:59:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-45573 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:59:25Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Berghahn Journals |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-455732020-05-04T18:32:05Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45573/ ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective Amsler, Sarah This article considers the role of experiments in learning in movements to democratise higher education ‘under the rule of capital’ (Gutierrez, Navarro and Linsalata 2017). It focuses on the emergence of a new generation of ‘free universities’ in the United Kingdom, situating these in a historical tradition of educational experimentation and a current context of global movements for autonomy from the state, capital and dominating epistemologies. It argues that free universities can contribute to transforming the relationship between knowledge, university and society, but that these contributions are often invisible within the logic of the dominant institutional systems. Conceptualising the projects as struggles for autonomy renders these contributions visible and valuable for educational reformers working both within and independently of the university. Berghahn Journals 2017-03-01 Article PeerReviewed Amsler, Sarah (2017) ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective. Learning and Teaching, 10 (1). pp. 5-23. ISSN 1755-2281 autonomous education; educational experimentation; free universities; neoliberalism; public higher education http://www.berghahnjournals.com/abstract/journals/latiss/10/1/latiss100102.xml doi:10.3167/latiss.2017.100102 doi:10.3167/latiss.2017.100102 |
| spellingShingle | autonomous education; educational experimentation; free universities; neoliberalism; public higher education Amsler, Sarah ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title | ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title_full | ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title_fullStr | ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title_short | ‘Insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| title_sort | ‘insane with courage’: free university experiments and the struggle for higher education in historical perspective |
| topic | autonomous education; educational experimentation; free universities; neoliberalism; public higher education |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45573/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45573/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45573/ |