Making Sense of the University: A Manifesto for our Times (South Asia in the Social Sciences) - Softcover

Bhattacharya, Debaditya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009722328 ISBN 13: 9781009722322

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Debating the 'publicness' of the public university provokes the following questions: what lies in common between the university and the communities it excludes? What is the place of non-secular knowledges within the secular-modern instance of the university? How does the university solidarise with publics that never find place within it? Does academic freedom imply freedom against public opinion? This book looks at the current fortunes of the public university in India to call for a deep historical examination. It argues that perhaps the university's pursuit of 'thought' has not been as successful as we have imagined. The history of the public university might give us a cue for understanding the rise of authoritarian tendencies across the world.

About this title

About the Author

Debaditya Bhattacharya is Assistant Professor Department of English, Faculty of Humanities and Languages at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His areas of interest include contemporary literary and cultural theory, histories of Indian higher education, classical philosophy, renaissance studies, film studies, philosophy of technology, ethics and politics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009722328
• ISBN 13: 9781009722322
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300