Global #HigherEd Newsletters & Links

…a news and articles mixture with some academic labor, although not necessarily casual. Aside from CASA (ICYMI "A home online for casual, adjunct, sessional staff and their allies in Australian higher education"), O Canada (above), and a few others, resources on global casuals are less developed. Due to the combined influence of CASA, COCAL XI -- and perhaps even occasional posts on the topic here and on Precarity Dispatches, there's more interest in learning more about our counterparts in other countries. The National Mobilization for Equity steering committee expressed interest in developing  a "Global Contingency" (or something like that) page. I'm working on it. 

Last Thursday's blog post was the Times Higher Education newsletter; this morning, a Fneeq-CSN post on PF Network-Facebook. The coincidence, reminded me that THE, Guardian Higher Education, University Affairs, and Educational International newsletters had all arrived recently.

❝@TimesHigherEd Newsletter—UK & global #highered news views reviews

…another weekly HE newsletter. It could be early but I don't see anything here on COCAL XI, which has already been covered in Australia by CASA,which suggests (to me at least) that #auscasuals & allies may be more truly global minded than THE.  More at random than on any schedule, I try to blog a variety of education newsletters ~ a rotating sampler. Education International (EI-IE, @eduint) is another. Several University Affairs/Affaires universitaires bloggers are already on the PF blogrolls ~ more about UA/AU (just subscribed to the email newsletter too). Recommendations invited... 

As for domestic mainstream #highered media, it's already covered. Most readers already follow IHE and CHE, multiple share story links all over social media. When I remember, IHE's weekly newsletter and podcast go either straight to Precarious Faculty-Facebook or there via Precarity Dispatches. CHE's Academe is email, no link for easy online blogging and sharing, although sometimes I will. 

Times Higher Ed FEATURED CONTENT

world university

…around the world & back again, money talks in all languages (the ultimate koine), online courses = global access but what outcomes? 

Abdulla Galadari (MIT): World University: Bringing Higher Education Closer to Humanity. From china.org, ranking of rich alumni triggers debate: The compiler of a controversial list of rich alumni said the ranking helps promote entrepreneurial education at universities. Michele Lamont and Anna Sun on how China's elite universities will have to change. A new Russian technical university has high aspirations. 

On Her Majesty's scholarly service: For centuries Regius chairs were the gift of kings, tools of statecraft and the preserve of ancient universities — but that has changed, most recently with the addition of 12 new professorships, as Richard J. Evans relates. From Roar, Thomas Friedman may praise the emancipatory potential of online university courses, but are they really capable of producing more than docile workers?

world university - bookforum.com / omnivore

ramblings

Time to put this puppy to bed before too late to be interesting, let alone any longer. Recent topping off: yesterday mailbox and social media exchanges were about:

• the TAMU San Antonio adjunct getting booted for having the temerity to expect admin to do something about threatening emails: catch it links, discussion, comments and all on Josh Boldt's Adjunct Project and Con Job (Fb group that has become our electronic water cooler)
• messy mooc musings (+ comments) from Kate Bowles (Music for Deck Chairs, Australia), Jonathon Rees (More or Less Bunk, Colorado) and tidier,  less dramatic, iterations of the same from members of Change 11 cohort, retired physics prof Gordon Lockhart of mooc cow renown

What's in a name?

Following a recent "what to call ourselves" conversation (yes, it's that season again but this time with a global turn) on Twitter, Australian sessional (one of us by any other name) blogging as "Sessional Academic" at Hyperlink Academia decided to explore the matter further and asks "What's in a name?" 

http://hyperlinkacademia.blogspot.com/2012/03/whats-in-name.html 

SA writes,  "I think the challenge here is to seek a better term for casual teaching and research staff - what is a title that sets us up for a greater, more secure position at our universities?  Something more specific, with agency and meaning about the contributions we make to higher education" and invites your suggestions

Also, take a look at @UniCasual's (University Casual or adjunct) Casual Voices, analogous to the Adjunct Project, http://www.unicasual.org.au/casual_voices