I know I'm given to the occasional hyperbole, but today I learnt that we are well and truly buggered. Britain will not be the same again. Today I learnt that the government has cut ALL arts and humanity funding for universities from 2012. And the cap imposed means that the University of Manchester, for example, can't afford to continue teaching humanities courses because there isn't enough money to cover the costs.
Modernity was caused by the establishment of social sciences - the intellectual and cultural movements - allowing us to better understand each other and our history. We learn politics and history because it helps us avoid conflict in the future. We learn geography and geology to understand how we impact the land around us. Psychology helps us to understand ourselves and tackle mental health.
Instead, by very definition, the state will only pay for the education of people because it is connected to science and industry. Learning for learning's sake, for the sake of knowledge and understanding has been deleted from our society. Only the wealthy will be able to afford to become educated social workers. Our TV, film, computer games industries are buggered because there will be no-one around to teach anyone about beauty.
I always knew the Conservatives thought less people should go to university, but will achieve it by cynically closing almost half of university courses. Going to university will no longer be the norm. I know the rise in Tuition Fees will grab the headlines, but in three years we will wish we focussed on the real damage done behind the headlines. Heck, even the VC of Oxford is angry. and if the dean of the pinnacle of privilege is angry, then something is seriously wrong!
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