Transformation of Higher Education and Open Society in the Local/Global Nexus

Tuesday, July 5, 2022
11:00 am – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Online Event

11 AM New York l 5 PM Vienna

The Open Society Research Project invites individuals at OSUN member institutions to participate in a workshop on Transformation of Higher Education and Open Society in the Local/Global Nexus.

In recent decades, the transformation of higher education has been shaped by internationalization and globalization, whose current form is closely interlinked with the neoliberal project. This conjuncture has informed the reforms of higher education in the post-Cold War period across the globe. Specific articulations span from the transformation of education systems in the West, to top-down reforms implemented in developing and post-socialist countries (with the involvement of international actors), to heightened global competition with the emergence of new education centers in the Global South. Distinctive local arrangements challenge higher education in performing its unique societal functions and addressing multiple dimensions of inequalities, including entrenched knowledge hierarchies.

The workshop will explore how we can better understand these transformations and envisage future perspectives by revisiting the concept of open society. It will critically reflect on how the idea of open society has been implicated in different reform projects and initiatives in education, their outcomes, and emerging contradictions. It will also inquire into the potential of the concept of open society to serve as a means of reflection on the existing practices of reform and governance in higher education. Furthermore, the workshop will explore how we can develop a more positive vision of globalization as a more equitable and inclusive project and discuss the role of internationalizing higher education and universities in it. It will also ask whether the idea of “open society” can be pertinent to the formulation of such a vision.

Moderator:
Kata Orosz, Central European University

Speakers:
Marijk van der Wende, Utrecht University
Iveta Silova, Arizona State University
Claire Gordon, London School of Economics and Political Science
Sarfaroz Niyozov, University of Toronto
Liviu Matei, King's College London

To join the workshop audience, please register in advance.

Questions? Email [email protected].

Website: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYucO-qqDItGdeLRvyc3WWz-EhvCcowL2-O