Jakob,
We call for everybody to establish their own free universities in their homes
or in the workplace, in the square or in the wilderness. All power to the free
universities of the future.
Hi. Would it not be simpler to just call for everyone to establish their
own sense of critical thinking, knowledge and truth.. since the term
university carries such a number of other connotations which have a
historic significance.
On the Copenhagen Free University website, the CFU Abolition committee
states:
It has never been about joining the CFU, or any other university, but
about opening your own university.
If there is no one joining, and each individual starts their own
university, then it seems to redefine the term university without any
distinction between student and teacher. You might be saying that is
exactly the point, but does redefining the university help to build
knowledge or deconstruct it? After all, the origin of "university" comes
from the Latin for "a community of teachers and scholars." The purpose
of such a community is to pass on knowledge to others, i.e. students.
Doesn't this relationship in the sharing of knowledge between two people
sound just like the kind of structure that CFU would want to support
rather than deconstruct?
Although I have recently moved to Copenhagen, I have learned a small bit
more of this Danish-Norwegian approach by Aksel Sandemose in En
flyktning krysser sitt spor (1933, A fugitive crosses his tracks) the
cultural concept of knowledge in which the idea of the teacher or
authority as someone special is called into question, i.e. one of the
ten principles "Don't think you can teach us anything." But isn't the
writing of this book in a sense a paradox itself, since a book is by
definition something passes on knowledge. So is the author Sandemose
teaching us something or not? And my communication of it to readers is
another passing of knowledge (unless they already knew it), which does
not necessarily indicate the writer is better in any sense, but a
relationship between the communicator and the receiver of knowledge
still exists.
On the CFU website, it also says:
The Copenhagen Free University has never wanted to become a fixed
identity and as a part of the concept of self-institutionalisation we
have always found it important to take power and play with power but
also to abolish power. This is why the Copenhagen Free University closed
down at the end of 2007. Looking back at the six years of existence of
the CFU we end our activities with a clear conviction and declare: We
Have Won!
If the point is simply to increase community knowledge, why are there
any winners or losers? This is why I state above that it appears your
intention is a call for increased self-knowledge, critical thought, and
reflection, in response to the institutional ways in which this is
regulated in education. I would agree with this approach to knowledge,
since as you say truth has no bounds. Educational institutions often
have the drawback of centralizing the power structure around knowledge.
But if the point is to liberate knowledge, why even introduce the term
free "university" in CFU?
If the only function of art is to act as anti-matter to other material,
then it does no better at improving knowledge. That said, one can
acknowledge that art serves a purpose to those whom are engaged in that
particular kind of expression.
Thus, I see CFU and free universities as serving mainly one function.
They are art projects themselves, which form an institutional
anti-thesis to established educational systems. It functions as a
commentary on the educational system, but should still be distinguished
from the process and act of acquiring knowledge, which all people have a
right to of course, and which are still primarily acquired through the
passing of knowledge from person to person.
In general, I agree that there is an institutional trend toward the
capitalization of education. But I think you will find that most faculty
and teachers at existing schools would strongly agree that this is
problematic, and are in fact vehement about its problems. Despite the
closure of the CFU, you appear to be advocating a re-doubled effort to
create a free university in copenhagen. I would argue this may not have
the effect on the political institution that you intend. In the US,
exactly what you propose with schools has happened in pharmacy for
example. A serious shortage of skilled pharmacists in 2001 resulted in a
surge of many, smaller schools teaching with new methods and not bound
to large university standards. It has "liberated" the education of
pharmacy in the US, but has now results in a surplus of accredited
pharmacists who do not have the basic skills to do the job properly,
which results in real medical mistakes. Thus the free education you
speak of may actually cause more problems to knowledge.. One cannot get
anything for free, even knowledge takes time and work.
I do not know the final solution to institutionalized education
(actually, I think it has to do with peak oil). But I am pretty sure
that making it free in the sense of anyone-can-do-it may be as equally
problematic.
In response to your call, I have already started my own "university",
but I do not call it that.. I just call it thinking sometimes : )
Best,
Rama Hoetzlein
Dept. of Architecture and Media Technology
Aalborg University at Copenhagen
The Free U Resistance Committee of June 18 2011.
Practicalities in Denmark: Please send a mail to the Minister of Science,
Technology and Innovation declaring your university ([email protected]) and cc. to the
The Danish Agency of Universities ([email protected])
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