The University Unthought

Debaditya Bhattacharya teaches literature at Kazi Nazrul University, India. He has previously taught at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, India (2010–2012), Central University of South Bihar, India (2013–2015) and Nivedita College, University of Calcutta, India (2015–2018). Debaditya’s doctoral work engaged with the relationship between literature and death, and with specific reference to the testimonial speech-act. He researches on continental philosophy, and writes on contemporary modes of political articulation as well as practices of mobilization in the Indian context. His current interests cohere around a social-economic history of higher education, with specific attention to Indian policy-contexts. He is co-editor of Sentiment, Politics, Censorship: The State of Hurt (2016).

Introduction: What ‘Use’ is the Liberal Ruse? Debating the ‘Idea’ of the University. Part I: Beyond Nostalgias 1. The Provocations of the Public University in Contemporary India 2. Decolonizing the University 3. The Crisis of the Public University Part II: ‘Cultures’ of Thinking and Doing 4. The Idea of a University and the Invention of Culture in Colonial/Post-colonial India 5. Scientific Research Productivity in the Indian University Sector 6. In Search of a Scientific Public Sphere Part III: Imagining An ‘Other’ University 7. What if, the University is a Parrot’s Training? 8. Academic Freedom and the Ownership of Knowledge 9. Between Disciplines and Interdisciplines: The University of In-discipline Part IV: Drafting Manifestos for Change 10. The Commoditization of Education 11. Neoliberal Savagery and the Assault on Higher Education as a Democratic Public Sphere 12. The University in Question 13. Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy: Staking a Claim Against the Macrostructural Unconscious