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Broken

Universities, Politics and the Public Good
Brief Description
A strong higher education system is fundamental to civil society. The building of knowledge and the dissemination of information are vital to the proper functioning of our democracy. At the economic level, higher education is in the top three of our export industries; international students have... Read More
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A strong higher education system is fundamental to civil society. The building of knowledge and the dissemination of information is vital to the proper functioning of our democracy.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A strong higher education system is fundamental to civil society. The building of knowledge and the dissemination of information are vital to the proper functioning of our democracy. At the economic level, higher education is in the top three of our export industries; international students have become central to the hospitality, retail, and agricultural economies; and the country desperately needs well-trained, knowledgeable citizens to shore up its future.

Yet, in February 2024, a detailed review of higher education in this country concluded that the system is broken and urgently needs fixing. The problems that afflict it are legion, including over-investment in international enrolment, an epidemic of casualisation, and the burning out of a generation of academics. Additionally, there are culture wars over the content and orientation of university research and teaching, a lack of sectoral coordination around the national interest, and the consequences of decades of funding cuts.

In Broken, Graeme Turner provides a reality check for those who imagine the academic life is one of privilege and leisure, laying bare the enormous challenges and lack of hope experienced by many in academia. He unearths the foundations of this crisis, then explains how the solution lies in an overhaul of the one-size-fits-all approach to university funding, the establishment of genuine full-time career paths, and the formation of an independent body to ensure our university system serves the national interest in both teaching and research, rather than the ferocious competitiveness of the marketplace.

Above all, we need to jettison the current economic focus on education and re-embrace the idea that higher learning is a fundamental public good and should be funded as such.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781923192270

Publisher: Monash University Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 July 2025

Country: Australia

Imprint: Monash University Publishing

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 111.0mm

Height: 175.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 96

About the Author

Graeme Turner AO is Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland. He has published thirty books and his work has been translated into eleven languages. He has served as president of the Academy of the Humanities, is a former Federation Fellow, and is the only humanities scholar to have served two successive terms as a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. He has had extensive engagement with higher education policy, research assessment and commentary on the sector, including prominent roles with the Australian Research Council, the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, and the Learned Academies. He co-authored the landmark 2014 study of the state of the humanities, creative arts and social sciences disciplines in Australia, Mapping HASS. His AO was awarded in 2019 in recognition of his pioneering work in cultural studies and his contribution to higher education.

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