Posted 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024
Key Resources from Murphy Library
By Mike Olson
On September 12, the University of Wisconsin’s Office of Professional & Instructional Development began its 2024-25 Context Matters Webinar Series with a presentation by Dr. Robin DeRosa, Director for Libraries & Learning at Plymouth State University.
Her talk, "Framing This Moment: Teaching & Learning in Universities Under Attack," focused on the growing difficulties faced by college educators who are overwhelmed by tasks unrelated to teaching students. This problem has arisen due to big changes in politics and the economy affecting higher education.
Books to Understand the Challenges
If you want to learn more about these issues, Murphy Library has several important books recommended by DeRosa:
Writing from the Wreckage: Austerity and the Public University by Dr. DeRosa discusses how financial cutbacks impact public universities.
The Fantasy Economy by UW-River Falls Professor Neil Kraus argues that low wages and growing inequality are not due to the education system but rather the choices made by wealthy people and corporations over the years. He believes education should be valued as an essential part of society.
Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom uses interviews to explore the benefits and drawbacks of for-profit colleges.
Historical Perspectives
The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy by UW-Green Bay Professor Jon Shelton examines how the focus on improving education and job training has come at the expense of other important policies like job guarantees and workers' rights.
Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order , also by Shelton, looks at how teacher strikes in the 1960s and 1970s affected public opinion and education policies.
Modern and Historical Issues in Higher Education
Neoliberalism and Academic Capitalism: Recent books such as Compliance and Resistance Within Neoliberal Academia and articles like “Open Research Reforms and the Capitalist University" look at how economic policies influence universities.
Paulo Freire’s “Banking” Model of Education: Freire’s influential book Pedagogy of the Oppressed discusses how traditional education methods treat students as passive recipients of knowledge.
A Hopeful Perspective
Many attendees recommended Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin M. Gannon. Gannon suggests viewing current university problems as opportunities to improve and rethink teaching. He believes that effective teaching should be liberating and optimistic.
Onward
Whether you’re a student, professor, or university staff, the issues facing higher education impact everyone. Murphy Library is here to support your research and help advance The Wisconsin Idea into the 21st century.
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Discovery Librarian.