Two months ago the former Common Room of the Spinhuis was squatted. We see our action and presence in the Spinhuis as an act of resistance against the top-down run university. A university that is increasingly run by managers in a corporate manner, focusing on efficiency and output. Anything that does not directly lead to diplomas or a higher spot on the international rankings, is seen as a waste of time and money. We want to have an evening of discussion in our space, the day before the verdict of the university’s court-case against us.
We will first have several speakers providing a bit of background behind the neoliberalisation of higher education in the last decades. For instance, the financialization of the university (in particular the UvA) after the university took over the management of real estate from the Dutch state. Afterwards there will be space for discussion on what we can do about it.
The common room used to be a space that brought together both the students and lecturers of Antropology and Sociology in one space without the usual barriers that exist between the two. For this evening our goal is again to bring together both students and their lecturers, but also researchers, non-academic employees and others that care about the subject.
Speakers:
– Rodrigo Fernandez (Financial geographer KU Leuven, SOMO)
– Boris Slijper (Sociologist UvA/VU, Platform HNU, Verontruste VU’ers)
– more to be announced
