Beyond the Modern University: Toward a Constructive Postmodern University

(Hardback)

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The modern university, which has its origins in 18th and 19th century Germany, is currently at war within itself. It seeks to portray itself on the one hand as an engine of economic development and, on the other hand, as existing for the sake of disinterested scholarly reflection and as a repository for human culture. The author outlines an entirely different conception of what the university must become if it is to be a force for good in the world. The author contends that the modern university actively participates in the breakdown of human communities and the destruction of the natural world. He identifies the university's commitments to academic disciplines, philosophical materialism, and economism (the modern faith that infinite economic growth is both possible and desirable) as the roots of its negative impact, and calls for changes that would make the university a powerful agent for good in the world.

Reviews

"Higher education is in crisis, but hardly seems to know it. This unawareness is partly due to ignorance of its own history. Ford illuminates that history and thereby the present crisis. He goes beyond this to point the way ahead. If those involved in determining the future of higher education will take his work to heart, there may yet be real hope that education will become part of the solution of the human problem rather than a major contributor to that problem."-John B. Cobb Jr., Claremont Graduate School.
"It is difficult to imagine a future that is humane, decent, and sustainable without marked changes in the substance and process of education at all levels, beginning with the University. That case is made here with historical depth, philosophical clarity, and an appropriate sense of urgency. Professor Ford has added a significant dimension to the debate about the future of higher education. This book deserves to be at the center of a dialogue on every college and university campus."-David W. Orr, Oberlin College
"This is one of the few books asking us to question the connections between the modern university and the globalization of the consumer, technologically dependent lifestyle deepening the ecological crisis. Marcus Ford writes with rare courage, insight, and wisdom about the need for universities to break from their pre-ecologically informed traditions. The loss of cultural and biological diversity now requires a new set of priorities if we are to live in an ecologically sustainable world."-C. A. Bowers, author of Let Them Eat Data
In this provocative book, author Marcus Peter Ford warns "the world is on the verge of an ecological and social catastrophe...virtually unimaginable in its scope," and nothing short of a total restructuring of the modern university will rectify the situation. Regardless of the concerns that can be raised about Ford's solution, he has articulately highlighted the need for society to foster a more environmentally conscious and morally defensible worldview as a corrective to the excesses of materialism and individual self-interest. His vision of a better world is powerful-we just need a more practical means of getting there.-The NEA Higher Education Journal
Thoughtful and well-written. Should be on the bookshelf of anyone concerned with serious futures in education.-Future Survey
"Thoughtful and well-written. Should be on the bookshelf of anyone concerned with serious futures in education."-Future Survey
"In this provocative book, author Marcus Peter Ford warns "the world is on the verge of an ecological and social catastrophe...virtually unimaginable in its scope," and nothing short of a total restructuring of the modern university will rectify the situation. Regardless of the concerns that can be raised about Ford's solution, he has articulately highlighted the need for society to foster a more environmentally conscious and morally defensible worldview as a corrective to the excesses of materialism and individual self-interest. His vision of a better world is powerful-we just need a more practical means of getting there."-The NEA Higher Education Journal

Author Bio

MARCUS PETER FORD is Associate Professor of Humanities, at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.