Beiträge

Congratulations to the hundreds of students and staff that have saved Sydney University from Ramsay, despite the determination of Michael Spence. We petitioned, demonstrated, put on public meetings, held banners, handed out leaflets, made films, argued our case in every way possible, and we got the result we were after. It shows that the managers' university can be challenged when we set our minds to it. Now let's contribute to the campaign on other campuses, and continue the energy at Sydney against the poison of Western supremacism.

Michael Spence: "We remain ready to continue the discussion and look forward to exploring other alternative models that remain within the terms of the MOU we shared with the Ramsay Centre last year.”

Videos
Public forum - Ramsay and the new academic racism, Sydney University, May 23. Sponsored by 'Staff against the Ramsay Centre – for academic autonomy and diversity at the University of Sydney' and the SRC Education Action Group. Speakers: - Layla Mkhayber (undergraduate student, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) - Nesrine Basheer (Arabic Language and Cultures) - Robert Boncardo (School of Languages and Cultures) - Jeff Sparrow (Guardian Australia columnist and author, currently preparing a book on the Christchurch terror attack (Scribe)) How might the Ramsay Centre exemplify the ‘new’ academic racism? How do racialised staff and students experience university life, and what changes to the nature of this experience would the arrival of Ramsay be expected to bring? Many researchers and commentators have drawn attention to the implication of universities in the rehabilitation of racism and Islamophobia in many parts of the West, including Australia. Over a decade ago, in "White Logic, White Methods", Tufuku Zuberi and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva attacked the ‘white Supremacy’ they saw as active in ‘contemporary research on race’ in the social sciences. Today, with the Ramsay Centre still considering Sydney University’s proposal for a ‘Western Tradition’ major, and in the context of controversies over recent work by Eric Kaufman, Matthew Goodwin, Nigel Biggar and others, Ramsay’s attempt to sponsor a ‘Western Civilisation/Tradition’ course raises important questions about the potential of the humanities to disseminate and legitimate racist ideologies. In this forum, sponsored by Staff against the Ramsay Centre and the SRC’s Education Action Group, a range of speakers will present student, staff and community perspectives on the ways in which racism and Islamophobia are normalised in the practices and experiences of contemporary higher education, and on the reactionary political deployment of research and teaching in the public sphere, both Ramsay’s and others’.
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Nesrine Basheer: the case against Ramsay
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