Lupte universitare la sfritul pactului educaional*

de George Caffentz
Pe msur ce studen dn umea ntreag ncep s a attudne mpotrva reduceror de fondur
operate de guvernee naonae pe seama unverstor, George Caffentzs vede apara unu nou
domenu de upt, ce ndreptat mpotrva pactuu necnstt a une educa coststoare n schmbu
une precart de o va.
1
Nu trebuie s cerem distrugerea universitii, dar nici pstrarea ei. Nu trebuie s cerem nimic.
Trebuie s ne cerem nou nine i celorlali s prelum controlul asupra acestor universiti, n mod
colectiv, pentru ca educaia s poat ncepe. (Text dintr-un lutura gsit la !cademia de !rte
"rumoase din #iena, scris iniial la $niversitatea din %aliornia&
De a masva revot studeneasc dn Frana, dn 2006, mpotrva asa-numtuu ,contract pentru
prma anga|are"
2
, s ,vau anorma" dn Itaa, dn 2008, protestee studenest au nregstrat
escaadr aproape peste tot n ume, sugernd o revenre a mpetuozt dn 1968. n toamna s
arna u 2009 s-a nregstrat un crescendo, cnd grevee s ocuparea campusuror au proferat dn
Caforna pn n Austra, Germana, Croaa, Evea s uteror Marea Brtane. Pe ste-u Tnyur.com/
squatted-unverstes s-au nregstrat 168 de unverst (ma|ortatea dn Europa) unde au avut oc
acun ntre 20 octombre s sfrstu u decembre 2009. Iar vau e departe de-a f uat sfrst. Pe
data de 4 marte 2010, n Statee Unte, cu ocaza une ze naonae dedcate acun (prma dn ma
1970 pn az) organzate n spr|nu educae pubce, una dntre organzae coordonatoare a
enumerat 64 de campusur dferte unde au exstat forme de protest.
3
n aceeas z, Congresu
Studenor Sud-Afrcan |South Afrcans Students Congress| (SASCO) a ncercat s nchd nou
unverst, chemnd a o educae unverstar ber. Protestu de a Unverstatea dn |ohannesburg
s-a dovedt ce ma probematc, foree de poe aungnd studen de pe o barcad n fcr cu
a|utoru tunuror de ap.
La orgnea ceor ma recente mobzr se af reducere bugetare pe care guvernee s nsttue
academce e-au mpementat ca urmare a dezastruu de pe Wa Street s cresterea taxeor rezutat
de ac, de pn a 32% a Unverstatea dn Caforna s cu procente smare a unee unverst
brtance. n acest sens, noua mscare studeneasc poate f prvt drept prncpau rspuns
organzat a crza fnancar goba. Ma mut dect att: ,Nu vom pt pentru crza voastr" -
soganu studenor taen afa n grev - a devent un strgt de upt nternaona. Crza
economc nu a fcut ns dect s exacerbeze acest sentment genera de nsatsface, avndu-s
orgnea n reforma neobera a educae s n restructurarea produce dn utmee tre decen, s
care au afectat toate aspectee ve de student dn ntreaga ume.
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'ritul pactului educaional
Cee ma mportante eemente ae aceste restructurr au fost corporatzarea sstemeor unverstare
s comercazarea educae. Unverste create ,pentru proft" snt nc o mnortate pe scena
academc, dar ,afacerea nfortoare" academc e foarte avansat, n speca n SUA, unde dateaz
de a votarea Leg Bayh-Doe dn 1980, care e permtea unverstor s obn patente ae
,descoperror" fcute n propre or aboratoare s pentru care compane trebuau s pteasc
pentru a e putea foos. De atunc, restructurarea meduu academc ca afacere proftab a
contnuat neabtut. Deschderea aboratoareor unverstare spre afacer prvate, vnzarea de cu-
noastere pe paa monda (prn educae on-ne s nvmnt off-shore), precarzarea munc
academce s ntroducerea unor taxe de scoarzare tot ma mar, care -au st pe studen s se
ndatoreze s ma mut, au devent eemente standard ae ve academce amercane s, cu
dferenee regonae specfce, aceeas drec pot f nregstrate acum n ntreaga ume.
n Europa, upta care rezum noua mscare studeneasc a fost purtat mpotrva ,Procesuu
Boogna", un proect a Unun Europene care nsttue o Zon European a Educae Superoare s
promoveaz crcuaa fore de munc pe tertoru e prn omogenzarea s standardzarea
programeor s a dpomeor scoare. Procesu Boogna pune fr rusne unverstatea a dspoza
meduu de afacer. E redefneste educaa ca produce de munctor mob s fexb care posed
abte soctate de anga|ator; centrazeaz crearea de standarde pedagogce, e confsc
actoror oca controu s devaorzeaz cunoasterea oca s preocupre ocae. Acun
asemntoare au ma avut oc s n numeroase ssteme unverstare dn Afrca s dn Asa (Tawan,
1
Sngapore, |apona), care snt, n aceas tmp, ,amercanzate" s standardzate (n Tawan, de
exempu, prn mpunerea Regstruu de ctate dn stnee socae |Soca Scence Ctaton Index|
pentru evauarea profesoror) - pentru ca, n feu acesta, corporae gobae s poat foos
,munctor dn domenu cunoaster" |knowedge workers| nden, rus, sud-afrcan sau brazen, s
nu amercan sau europen, avnd sgurana c snt potrv pentru acee su|be.
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Exst o recunoastere genera a faptuu c aceast comercazare a sstemuu unverstar a
reprezentat, para, un rspuns a uptee studenest s a mscre socae dn an 60 s 70, care
au marcat sfrstu potc educaonae domnante n epoca keynesan. Pe msur ce campus dup
campus, de a Berkeey pn a Bern, au devent focare de revot antautortarst, rspnd uza
keynesan c nvesta n educaa superoar se va doved proftab sub forma une crester a
productvt generae a munc, deooga educae ca pregtre pentru vaa cvc s pentru bnee
pubc a trebut abandonat.
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Dar nou regm neobera a reprezentat s sfrstu unu pact de cas |cass dea|. Odat cu
emnarea stpendor, a aocaor s a educae gratute, costu ,educae", atfe spus costu
pregtr n vederea munc, a fost transferat drect fore de munc, aceasta traducndu-se prntr-o
mcsorare masv a saaruu, extrem de mpovrtoare avnd n vedere c precartatea a devent
prncpau raport de munc s c, a fe ca orce marf, cunoasterea ,cumprat" e devaorzat
rapd de novaa tehnoogc. Acesta e s sfrstu rouu statuu ca medator. n cadru unverst
corporatzate, studen se confrunt acum cu captau n mod drect, n s agomerate n care
profesor nu ma reusesc s asoceze chpur numeor dn cataoage, n expansunea nvmntuu
compementar s, ma presus de toate, n datora studeneasc n crestere, care, transformndu- pe
studen n servtor anga|a a bncor s/sau a statuu, aconeaz ca un mecansm de dscpnare
a ve de student, aruncnd o umbr ntunecat asupra vtoruu acestora.
Cu toate acestea, n an 90, nregmentarea studenor a contnuat s creasc n toat umea, sub
presunea une restructurr economce care fcea dn educae o conde pentru anga|are. n
utmee dou decen, de a New York pn a Pars s Narob, a devent o obsnun s se susn c,
odat cu apara ,socet cunoaster" s a revoue nformae, ndferent de costur, educaa
superoar e o ,necestate" (Banca Monda, 2002). Statstce au prut s confrme neepcunea
ascensun pe scara educae, ndcnd o dferen de 83%, n Statee Unte, ntre saare
absovenor de nvmnt superor s cee ae munctoror care au absovt un ceu. Dar cresterea
graduu de nregmentare s de ndatorare trebue neeas s ca o form de upt, ca respngere a
restrcor mpuse de subordonarea educae fa de ogca pee, o form ascuns de aproprere,
care se manfest n tmp sub forma crester numruu ceor ncapab s-s achte datore.
Nu exst nco ndoa, n acest context, c actuaa crz fnancar goba, decansat n 2008,
nteste spre aceast stratege de rezsten, ndeprtnd, prn reducer de buget, conceder s prn
masfcarea soma|uu, utmee garan rmase. Fr ndoa c ,pactu educaona", care promtea
saar s o satsface a munc ma mare n schmbu preur de ctre munctor s fame or a
costuu educae superoare, e desfnat s e. n crz, captau denun acest ,pact", fr doar s
poate dn prcna proferr ncapact de pat s pentru c astz captasmu refuz orce
garan, cum ar f promsunea unor saar mar pentru vtor ucrtor dn domenu cunoaster.
Crza fnancar dn unverstate (cresterea taxeor de scoarzare, reducere de buget, concedere s
dsponbzre) are ca nt drect emnarea garane unu saaru pe care se presupunea c o
aduce educaa superoar forma s mbnzrea ,cogntaratuu" |cogntarat|. La fe ca n cazu
munctoror mgran, atacu a adresa studenor nu semnfc faptu c nu e nevoe de ucrtor
dn domenu cunoaster, c c acesta trebue dscpna s proetarza prntr-un atac a adresa
puter pe care au nceput s-o revendce para s dn cauza poze or n cadru procesuu de
acumuare.
Rebeunea studeneasc are dec rdcn puternce, perspectva une scav a datorncor
ntemendu-se pe un vtor nesgur s pe sentmentu une aenr fa de o nsttue perceput drept
mercenar s brocratc s care, pe deasupra, ma produce s o marf supus une devaorzr
rapde.
(evendicri sau ocupri de sedii)
Mscarea studeneasc, pe de at parte, se confrunt cu o probem potc, ma evdent n
Statee Unte s, ntr-o ma mc msur, n Europa. Mscarea preznt dou aspecte. Pe de o parte,
ea revendc o educae unverstar gratut, renvnd vsu une ,scoarzr de mas" fnanate
pubc, propunnd, n aparen, revenrea a modeu epoc keynesene. Pe de at parte, ea
repreznt o revot mpotrva unverst ca atare, chemnd a o dezertare n mas a acestea sau
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urmrnd transformarea campusuu ntr-o baz pentru producerea de cunoastere aternatv,
accesb ceor afa n afara ,zduror" e.
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Aceast dhotome, caracterzat de un drept o ntoarcere a dsputee trecute ,reform versus
revoue", a devent cea ma vzb n dezbaterea strnt n tmpu greveor de anu trecut |2009|
de a Unverstatea dn Caforna, cu prvre a ,revendcr" versus ,ocupr", s care uneor a
cptat un ton caustc pe msur ce acest termen au devent nste semnfcan compecs pentru
erarh s dentt, raportur de putere dstnctve s consecne ae asumr unor rscur.
Dstnca nu este una pur deoogc. s are rdcne n contradce cu care se confrunt toate
mscre antagonste de az. Restructurarea economc a fragmentat fora de munc, a adnct
dvzune s, nu n utmu rnd, a fcut s creasc efortu s tmpu necesare pentru reproducerea
znc. O popuae studeneasc ce are dou sau tre su|be e ma pun probab s se organzeze
dect echvaenta e ma nstrt dn an 60.
n aceas tmp, exst a mu sentmentu c nu ma este nmc de negocat, c revendcre au
devent nute, dn moment ce, pentru ma|ortatea studenor, dobndrea une dpome nu ma
consttue o garane pentru un vtor care promte s aduc s ma mut precartate s o constant
autoreccare. Numeros studen reazeaz c sstemu captast nu poate s ofere nmc aceste
genera, c ncun ,nou pact" nu este posb, nc mcar n regune metropotane ae um, unde
se af acumuat cea ma mare parte a boge. Des exst peste tot tentaa de a o renva, po-
tca keynesan a grupuror de nterese, de a face revendcr s ,pacte", e de mut apus.
De unde s soganu ,ocupa totu" - ocuparea cdror fnd prvt ca un m|oc de preuare a
puter, de creare a unor spa pe care studen s e poat controa, o bres n fuxu de munc s
de vaoare prn care unverstatea s extnde sfera, s producerea une ,contraputer" care s
prefgureze raporture de punere n comun |communasng| pe care studen de az doresc s e
construasc.
E greu de spus cum se va rezova confctu ,revendcr/ocupare de sed" dn cadru mscr
studenest. Ce e sgur e c exst o provocare ma|or pe care mscarea trebue s-o rezove pentru a-
s spor puterea s capactatea de a ntra n egtur cu ate upte. Acesta e un pas necesar dac
mscarea doreste s cstge putere pentru a recupera educaa dn mne autortor academce s
ae statuu. Ca urmtor pas, n prezent se dscut mut despre crearea de ,cunostne comune"
|knowedge commons|, n sensu crer unor forme de producere de cunoastere autonom, care s
nu fe fnazat sau condonat de pa s care s e fe accesb ceor afa n afara zduror
unverstor.
ntre tmp, asa cum au recunoscut ce de a Edu-Notes,
mscarea studeneasc s creeaz de|a un bun comun propru char n tou upte. Cu vteza umn,
str despre greve, manfesta s ocupr de cdr au crcuat n |uru um provocnd un tam-tam
eectronc goba a schmbuu de comuncate, sogane, mesa|e de sodartate s spr|n, avnd ca
rezutat un voum excepona de magn, documente, povest.
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Da, prncpau ,bun comun" pe care mscarea va trebu s- construasc e extnderea mobzr
spre a munctor afecta de crz. Chea aceste construc o va consttu probema datore, care
este opusu perfect a ,bunuu comun", ntruct nseamn transformarea surpusuu coectv, care ar
putea f foost a eberarea munctoror, ntr-un nstrument a nrobr or. Desfnarea datore
studenest ar putea f antu dntre mscare s ce care se mpotrvesc prescreror n Statee Unte s
mscarea ma amp mpotrva datore suverane a nve nternaona.
*ulumiri
As dor s e muumesc facut s studenor pe care -am ntervevat recent de a Unverstatea
dn Caforna, de a Academa de Arte Frumoase dn Vena s de a Unverstatea Rhodes dn Afrca de
Sud, pentru c m-au mprtst cunostnee or. As ma dor s e muumesc tovarsor dn grupu
Edu-Notes pentru dee s nspraa oferte.
Traducere de !lex *oldovan
Note+
* ,Unversty Strugges at the End of the Edu-Dea", Mute Magazne (www.metamute.org), 2010, nu-
mr speca: ,Dont Panc, Organse! A Mute Speca on Strugge n Educaton Today". Edtor n s-
muumeasc profesoruu George Caffentzs pentru amabtatea acordr drepturor de traducere s
de pubcare a versun n mba romn a prezentuu text s a ceu urmtor. (N. ed.)
1. Nota edtoruu brtanc. (N. ed.)
2. Asa-numtu Contrat Premre Embauche (CPE), ,contract pentru prma anga|are", fusese o
ncercare de sretc egsatv a drepte franceze prn care, sub pretextu ,egat de sanse", un
3
saarat a une compan prvate s-ar f putut afa sub regmu unu astfe de contract char dac nu
se afa a prma sa anga|are. Destnat tneror pn n 26 de an afa n soma| de peste sase un,
CPE prevedea o ,peroad de consodare" de do an n care anga|atoru, spre deosebre de preve-
dere ,peroade de ncercare", putea s rup unatera contractu fr a f obgat s ofere un
motv, anga|atu concedat fnd consderat demsonar s neavnd dec drept a soma|. Des adoptat
de paramentu francez a 31 marte 2006, n urma unor puternce mobzr popuare, a 10 apre
2006, proectu CPE a fost retras de prm-mnstru francez dn ace moment, Domnque de Vepn.
(N. ed.)
3. Vez http://defendeducaton.org.
4. Edu-Factory Coectve, Towards a Goba Autonomous Unversty, Brookyn, NY, Autonomeda,
2009.
5. A se vedea Sva Federc, George Caffentzs s Adou Oussena, A Thousand Fowers: Soca
Strugges Aganst Structura Ad|ustment n Afrcan Unverstes, Trenton, Afrca Word Press, 2000;
Rchard Pthouse, Asnama: Unversty Strugges n Post-Aparthed South Afrca, Trenton, Afrca
Word Press, 2006; s Arthur Hou-mng Huang, ,Scence as Ideoogy: SSCI, TSSCI and the Evauaton
System of Soca Scences n Tawan", Inter-Asa Cutura Studes, vo. 10, 2009, nr. 2, pp. 282-291.
6. George Caffentzs, ,Throwng Away the Ladder: The Unverstes n the Crss", Zerowork, I, 1975,
pp. 128-142 |,Renunarea a scar: unverste n crz", nfra, pp. 130-136|.
7. After the Fa: Communqus from Occuped Caforna, 2010, accesat a adresa
www.afterthefacommunques.nfo.
8. Edu-Notes, ,Introducton to Edu-Notes", manuscrs nedt.
GEORGE CAFFENTZ! este fosof potc, profesor de fosofe a Unversty of Southern Mane, SUA,
membru fondator coordonator a grupuror Mdnght Notes Coectve Commttee for Academc
Freedom n Afrca, autor a numeroase artcoe a cr[or: ,arole abusate, monete tosate e
governocivile. -a ilosoia del denaro di .o/n -oc0e, Roma, Isttuto de Enccopeda Itaana fondata
da Govann Trecann, 1988; trad. engeza: %lipped %oins, !bused 1ords and %ivil 2overnment+ .o/n
-oc0e3s ,/ilosop/4 o *one4, New York, Autonomeda/Semotext(e) Press, 1989; *idnig/t 5il+ 1or0,
6nerg4, 1ar, 789:;788<, New York, Autonomeda, 1992 (coedtare Mdnght Notes Coectve); !
T/ousand "lo=ers+ 'ocial 'truggles !gainst 'tructural !d>ustment in !rican $niversities,Trenton,
Afrca Word Press, 2000 (coedtare); 6xciting t/e ?ndustr4 o *an0ind+ 2eorge @er0ele43s ,/ilosop/4
o *one4, Dordrecht, Kuwer Academc Pubshers, 2000; !uroras o t/e Aapatistas+ -ocal and 2lobal
'truggles in t/e "ourt/ 1orld 1ar, New York, Autonomeda, 2001 (coedtare Mdnght Notes
Coectve). (N. ed.&
Tema %ampus de lupt. Bmpotriva neoliberaliCrii universitiiD este conceput de redacEia revistei
IDEA art+socetate Fi a aprut n numrul curent G :H, <I7I.
Educaia i n"r#direa cunoaterii n universitatea "lo$al#*
de Sva Federc
(eCumat
Artcou care urmeaz se bazeaz pe o preegere nut de Sva Federc a Unverstatea dn
Leedsn n noembre 2007. Autoarea abordeaz probema cruca a moduu n care cunoasterea e
ngrdt n unverstatea goba. Federc are decen de experen n sstemee unverstare dn
Afrca, Europa s SUA, ar experena sa dn cadru unverstor afrcane ne-a artat feu n care
potce de a|ustare structura au redus fnanarea unverstor afrcane, ntroducnd o nou
dscpn bazat pe vaore afaceror gobae. Federc arat exstena a dou drec: prma este tot
ma accentuata comercazare s corporatzare a ve academce s, n speca, ptrunderea
ntereseor de afacer n unverstate, ar cea de-a doua este dezvotarea nsttuor educaonae
care restructureaz programee educaonae, n partcuar prn nmurea cursuror on-ne
standardzate, predate n ceea ce ea numeste ,fabrce de dpome dgtae". Federc nchee cu o
prvre asupra rezstene dn campusur, apend a exempu Reee Educaonae pentru
Democratzare.
1
4
?ntroducere. %e nelegem prin universitate global
n aceast sear v vo mprts cteva dntre experenee s dee mee cu prvre a ,Educaa s
ngrdrea cunoaster n unverstatea goba". Prn ,unverstate goba" neeg dou evou
coreate. n prmu rnd, m refer a un set de drec care au caracterzat restructurarea a nve
nternaona n an 80 s 90, cum ar f sfrstu educae cu fnanare pubc s comercazarea s
corporatzarea ve academce. M refer, n aceas tmp, a evoua nsttuor educaonae care
nu caut doar s recruteze un corpus nternaona de studen, s dec s nstruasc o et goba,
c restructureaz programee educaonae dn ntreaga ume, fxnd standardee de educae a nve
goba. Aceste evou - susn eu - au avut ca rezutat o ,ngrdre a cunoaster", n sensu c
educaa este n tot ma mare msur evauat n funce de proftabtatea, nu de contrbua e a
progresu soca. Atfe spus, educaa a devent o marf a cre producere s dstrbure snt supuse
vaoror s condonror pee. Ca urmare, connutu e soca a srct, ar dobndrea e este
organzat tot ma mut ntr-un mod care adnceste negate socae.
Bngrdirea cunoaterii n !rica n urma a>ustrii structurale
<
Prma mea ntnre cu unverstatea goba s-a petrecut n Ngera, n tmp ce predam a
Unverstatea dn Port Harcourt ntre 1984 s sfrstu u 1986. n acea peroad, Ngera se confrunta
cu o crz storc, ce n scurt tmp s-a extns n restu contnentuu s care amenna progresee
fcute de afrcan n upta mpotrva coonasmuu. Aceast crz prea a f o ,crz a datoror",
dar foarte curnd a devent evdent c datora era doar un nstrument foost de nsttu fnancare
nternaonae precum Banca Monda sau Fondu Monetar Internaona (FMI) pentru a reaza o
reform ma|or a economor potce ae Afrc, reform care a a|uns s fe descrs drept un proces
de ,recoonzare".
ncura|at de expoza preuror a e s urmnd un mode de dezvotare bazat pe mportu de
tehnooge s bunur strne, Ngera, a sfrstu anor 70, a fcut mute mprumutur care, pn a
|umtatea anor 80, cnd preure a e s-au prbust, devenser mposb de controat. n trecut,
o ar nsovab putea s se decare fat. De data aceasta ns, nsttue fnancare
nternaonae au st re ndatorate s se mprumute de a ee n schmbu une masve
restructurr a economor or. Asta nsemna adoptarea unu set de potc care, combnate, au a|uns
s poarte numee de ,programe de rea|ustare structura" (SAP).
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Ngera nu a uat ncun mprumut
medat. n orce caz, pn n 1986 guvernu a nceput s mpementeze aceeas potc pe care
Banca Monda s FMI e mpuseser drept cond pentru ca ara s acceseze paa de credte:
prntre cee ma mportante se numrau emnarea taxeor pe bunure mportate, prvatzarea
avuor naonae, devaorzarea monede naonae, nghearea saaror s, ma presus de toate,
egat de dscua noastr, sfrstu nvestor guvernamentae n servc pubce cum ar f sntatea,
transporture pubce s educaa.
Pn a nceputu anor 90, ma|ortatea guverneor afrcane ncetaser fnanarea educae. S-au
tat ban de peste tot: ntrenerea nfrastructur, bugetee bbotecor, saare profesoror s
saare personauu neacademc. Bursee studenor (destnate hrane, transportuu, cror) au
fost s ee emnate, des numeros studen erau ncapab s-s contnue stude n absena or. n
scurt tmp, sstemu unverstar a nceput s arate ca un trm pustt s ca un cmp de upt, ntruct
tere au fost ntmpnate cu o opoze crncen, n speca dn partea studenor, ar aceast
opoze a strnt, a rndu e, o represune feroce. Organzae studenest au a|uns s actveze pe
ascuns, campusure fnd nchse pentru ung peroade de tmp. Foarte repede, a devent dfc
pentru oamen ca mne s ma rmn n Ngera. Ba, ma mut, pn n 1986, cnd s-a decansat
rea|ustarea structura, numeros profesor, dntre care un afrcan, au prst ara.
La revenrea a New York, o parte dntre ce care predaserm n Ngera am creat o organzae
numt Comtetu pentru Lbertate Academc n Afrca (CAFA)
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, care, ma bne de zece an, ntre
1991 s 2004, a pubcat un buetn prn care nforma pe ce dn Amerca de Nord, n speca dn
medu unverstar, despre stuaa dn campusure afrcane. Un rezumat a aceor buetne a fost
cuprns ntr-un voum pe care -am edtat, nttuat O me de for: uptee socae mpotrva a|ustr
structurae dn unverste afrcane.
5
E cuprndea o cronooge a acestor upte, certfcnd
exstena une mscr studenest panafrcane mpotrva rea|ustr structurae.
Ce susnea CAFA era c atacu Bnc Mondae asupra educae superoare dn Afrca fcea parte
dntr-o restructurare a dvzun munc a nve nternaona, care mergea mn n mn cu
gobazarea econome mondae. Cu ate cuvnte, nvesta pubc n educaa superoar fusese
5
stopat n Afrca deoarece, n panure captauu monda, munctor fuseser men ocupr une
poz subordonate, care nu cerea ca e s devn productor de cunoastere. (De aceea, a o ntnre
a nvesttoror afrcan, un ofca a Bnc Mondae decara pe fa c ,afrcan n-au nevoe de
unverst!"). ntr-adevr, n cadru no econom gobae, Afrc fusese atrbut vechu ro coona
de exportator de mater brute, n speca mnerae, s de for de munc. Atacu a adresa
unverstor a a|utat acest proces. Numeros tner care ar f devent studen s care, a absovre,
s-ar f asteptat a o su|b rentab au trebut, dmpotrv, s-s prseasc re, s emgreze n
Europa sau n SUA, unde ucreaz acum ca vnztor strada, sptor de masn sau munctor n
fabrc. Or popueaz centree de detene ae Unun Europene - asta cnd nu zac pe fundu
Medterane, unde se estmeaz c peste 10.000 de emgran s-au necat n utmu decenu.
%omercialiCarea i balcaniCarea universitilor aricane+ studiul n uncie de relaii
Sfrstu nvestor guvernamentae n educaa pubc a fost prmu pas spre gobazarea
unverstor afrcane. Urmtor pas au fost comercazarea sstemeor educaonae s dezvotarea
une ,educa dependente". Cc, odat ce fnanarea pubc a fost ntrerupt, unverste au
trebut s se ntren sngure sau s dspar. Autofnanarea a fost reazat nu numa prn
ntroducerea unor ,taxe ndvduae", potrvt cerneor Bnc Mondae, c s prn gzdurea de
cursur s programe de cercetare fnanate de ONG-ur nternaonae sau char de Banca Monda,
sau prn nchrerea spaor dn campusur pentru programe de studu dn strntate, sau prn
stabrea de egtur cu unverst dn strntate care s ofere programe, cr s ate materae
pedagogce.
Dn cauza opoze susnute a studenor, programee cu fnanare pubc n-au putut f emnate
ntotdeauna n totatate, dar au supraveut ca nste trmur pustte, asfxate de psa de resurse.
Acest ucru nseamn c n campusure afrcane s-a dezvotat un sstem educaona dubu
stratfcat. Pe de-o parte, exst rmsee vechuu sstem educaona cu fnanare pubc, ce nu
benefcaz n ncun fe de fondure, resursee, nstrumentee pedagogce s nesnre de
nfrastructur care fac studu posb, s cu facut neptte s demorazate, care s reduc ac-
tvtatea a un mnm necesar pentru gsrea ator resurse de vent, pentru a menne ucrure pe
na de putre. n aceas tmp, unverste afrcane gzduesc acum programe generos fnanate,
care benefcaz de cr no, computere, s de cursur cu aer condonat, toaete funconae, toate
ptte de ,donator" strn, de ONG-ur sau de Banca Monda, care n mod car proft de nfuena
or bneasc pentru a dcta ce anume trebue s nvee afrcan. Deoc surprnztor, odat cu
,educaa dependent" s-a produs o mutae n ce prveste dreca programe unverstare, dnspre
stnee umanste nspre contabtatea de afacer s, n genera, cursur mente s produc o
generae de tehnocra sensb a nevoe nvesttoror strn. E ceea ce Banca Monda a numt
,construca capact Afrc".
6
n goana dup proftabtate economc, unverste afrcane au trecut s prntr-un proces de
bacanzare. Asta pentru c a ntervent o dferenere de cas, n funce de capactatea de a face
ban a departamenteor s programeor. Asta nseamn c nsttue s departamentee cu ,rea" s
fondur fac egea, n tmp ce ceeate trebue s se supun. La ce extreme a dus stuaa asta a
descrs perfect cercettoru/actvstu ugandez Mahmood Mamdan, n studu su Cercettor pe
pa. Dema reforme neoberae a Unverstatea dn Makerere. 1989-2005.
7
Mamdan arat c,
sub presunea de a produce ban, fecare departament a nceput s funconeze ca o enttate au-
ntrenut, cu un buget propru, cu propre m|oace de a face ban, ceea ce a dus a o tot ma
accentuat fragmentare a ve academce. Lucrure au mers, char, att de departe, nct
departamentee nfuente doresc acum s se separe s s se organzeze ndependent, pentru c nu
vor s mpart cu restu unverst ban pe care fac. Asta nseamn sfrstu unverst ca
proect untar, coerent. Mamdan ma descre s cum snt pe cae s apar rzboae nterne, ntruct
fecare departament doreste s predea cee ma proftabe cursur, ndferent de propra specazare
sau expertz. n aceste cond, predarea s cercetarea ocup un oc secund. Profesor se fac c
predau, studen se fac c nva, crend adesea o dvzune a munc ntre e, astfe nct ce care
frecventeaz anumte cursur dau examenee n ocu mutor atora, sgur c profesor or, n mod
frecvent absen, nu vor observa.
Bngrdirea cunoaterii n '$! i apariia universitii globale
Restructurarea s comercazarea unverstor afrcane n-au fost un smpu rspuns a ,crza
datore", asa cum se presupune adesea. Aceeas acun au avut oc n toate ceeate r, ncusv
n SUA. S ac, comercazarea cunoaster s a ve academce a uat forme dferte. Prma a fost
sfrstu ,admter bere", care, n sstemu Unverst dn New York (CUNY), s-a petrecut nc dn
6
1976. ncepnd cu era Reagan, aocre de fondur statae s federae pentru sco, a toate nveure,
au fost reduse n mod constant. De asemenea, anga|amentu fa de ,acune afrmatve", adc
anga|amentu de a corecta mostenrea scave s a rassmuu nsttuona n domenu educaona,
a fost abandonat. Nu numa c unverste au emnat nscrerea fr taxe, c taxee au crescut att
de mut, nct educaa superoar devne un ux, s asta tocma n peroada n care e promovat
drept sngura poart spre un ,nve mnm de tra". Studen se mprumut acum de a guvern s/sau
de a bnc nu doar pentru cursure postunverstare, c s pentru a deven absoven de stud
superoare. Aceast ndatorare a corpuu studenesc a atns un asemenea punct crtc, nct n
campusure dn SUA se fooseste dn ce n ce ma des termenu de ,scave a datore" |debt savery|
pentru a descre statutu studentuu. S-a cacuat c, n mede, studen vor avea a absovre o
datore de 60.000 sau char 100.000 de doar. Cum s vor pt studen datora? Cum va cntr
aceast datore asupra veor or s asupra deczor pe care e vor ua?
6ducaia proitabil i apariia abricilor de diplome digitale
J
S-a nregstrat s o corporatzare a ve unverstare. Nu numa c fnanarea corporatst a cercetr
academce a crescut; unverste au fost reorganzate conform unu mode corporatst, ne
drectoare fnd efcena s proftabtatea. Asta a mers mn n mn cu un transfer deoogc prn
care acum frmee snt ntmpnate de admnstrator unverstor ca nste partener-chee. S de a
profesor se asteapt un comportament ma ,de afacer" s aducerea drect de ban pentru
unverst, prn apcarea pentru grantur guvernamentae s nu numa. Predarea s pubcarea nu
ma snt sufcente. Astfe, s n campusure dn SUA, facute se mpart ntre profesor norocos,
care benefcaz de un grant, s ce care nu benefcaz, s care, n mod nevtab, au ma pun
putere s prestgu. Aceasta e o turnur percuoas, deoarece subrezeste poza facut n raportu
e de fore cu admnstraa unverst. ntre tmp, unverste ncearc s ntre n posesa a tot
ceea ce profesor produc pe durata contractuu cu ee, de a descoperr stnfce pn a programe.
Ideea e c materau produs de profesor pentru cursur poate f standardzat s pus onne, pentru a
su| unu numr ma mare de studen. Dar refuzu facut aduce cu o voare a bert or
academce.
,Educaa onne" este un rezutat drect a curse academce pentru proftabtate. Un manager de
unverstate prvesc asta ca pe ceva utopc, cc reduce mens nevoa de nvest n nfrastructur s
saar. Cne are nevoe de cdr cnd cursure pot f transmse drect n camera orcu, ar un
profesor poate avea sute de studen? Se ma susne c educaa onne poate ndvduaza
produsee pedagogce, pentru a rspunde programeor s nevoor studenor, ofernd o educae
eftn pentru ,re srace" s pentru ,Lumea a Trea". Deoc surprnztor, un suporter statornc a
programeor onne e Banca Monda. Astz, char s unverst prestgoase, precum Coumba
Unversty sau New York Unversty, dspun de masve departamente onne, care (de exempu) ofer
cursur s dpome pentru soda nroa. n an 90, am ma fost martor dezvotr ,educae
proftabe", cu ate cuvnte, unverst fnanate excusv prn bursa de vaor, des n prezent
vabtatea or e pus sub semnu ntrebr.
KeCvoltarea universitii globale
n orce caz, prncpaa noutate dn umea academc a consttut-o mpcarea goba tot ma mare a
unverstor dn Statee Unte n sensu une tot ma accentuate nterven n restructurarea
educae a nve monda. Asta nseamn c unverst seecte cu sedu n SUA snt dn ce n ce
ma ntm ,egate" de unverst dn Afrca sau Europa de Est, sau dn orcare punct a panete unde
se consder c sstemu unverstar trebue restructurat, fnd mpcate n refacerea programeor
acestora (de exempu, n refacerea programe anatce sau a proceduror de examnare sau n
nfnarea unor reee de computere etc.). Astfe, unverste nord-amercane, mpreun cu
unverst dn Anga, Frana s ONG-ur nternaonae, devn paznc educae s a produce de
cunoastere dn ntreaga ume, stabnd standarde pentru ceea ce trebue consderat vaoros dn
punct de vedere pedagogc a nve goba. Aceeas unverst recruteaz un corp studenesc
mutnaona/mutcutura, pregtnd, presupunem, vtor manager a econome gobae; ee
pompeaz cursur n coege dn re srcte/ndatorate ae ,Lum a Trea", proftnd de faptu c,
n agtaa reformr, sstemee or educaonae au fost dezmembrate, devaorzate s fcute
dependente de a|utoare externe s de exper extern. Acest ucru nseamn c gobazarea educae
s a cutur a avut, de fapt, ca rezutat o centrazare a produce de cunoastere, n sensu c acum
aceasta este organzat conform une structur pramdae, n care aceeas r s nsttu care
controeaz economa monda stabesc s regue, canoanee s paradgmee deoogce ae
educae s ae cutur a nve goba. Astfe, n cuda nteresuu aparent crescut fa de
7
mutcuturasm, cutura s cunoasterea dn umea ntreag devn tot ma omogenzate s ma contro-
ate, pentru a refecta nteresee maror puter.
Pentru a conchde, o gobazare a cunoaster este bne-vent atunc cnd presupune o sporre
vertab a schmbuu de de a nve nternaona. ns acest schmb se petrece acum ntr-un
domenu cu raportur de fore negae, contrbund a adncrea negator socae. Asa cum am
vzut, comercazarea sstemuu educaona a Afrc, mpreun cu berazarea potcor e
economce, a produs o nou daspora s o ,scurgere de ntegen". Studen s profesor de er snt
emgran de az, care s rsc vee traversnd Sahara sau ncercnd s a|ung n Europa cu vase
supraagomerate putnd n derv pe Medterana. Aternatva o repreznt o va fr vtor,
recrutarea de ctre una dntre numeroasee armate care spr|n pe conductor oca sau strn
n exproprerea bogor mnerae s agrcoe ae Afrc. De gobazarea s comercazarea educae
superoare dn Afrca benefcaz, de fapt, frmee agrcoe, mnere s farmaceutce care funconeaz
pe ntreg mapamondu, nsusndu-s resursee de pe urma crora tresc oamen, ncusv
cunoasterea pe care bstnas au dezvotat-o n decurs de secoe s pe care acum compane doresc
s-o prvatzeze. De|a au curs rur de snge de dragu auruu, a damanteor, a cotanuu (coumbt-
tantat, n. ed.). De|a numeroase fabrc afrcane au fost ,patentate", un proces care, n esen, n-
seamn o exproprere drect s furtu boge ndgene. Lpsa unor nsttu educaonae autonome,
capabe s prote|eze aceast boge, a pus capt ,vntor de gene" sau, n ce ma ru caz,
negocerea unor termen ma favorab de ,schmb" a reprezentat un factor vta n acest proces.
5poCiie, lupt i activism n campus
Asa cum am subnat, aceste acun au fost ntmpnate cu o opoze nversunat de studen s
profesor afrcan - opoze pe care CAFA a spr|nt-o s a documentat-o. Opoza a devent mut ma
acut s n campusure dn SUA. Profesor se reunesc n |uru conceptuu de ,bertate academc"
mpotrva pretenor unverstor de a e ua n posese munca s mpotrva comercazr
educae s a ve academce. Studen, a rndu or, s-au organzat s au uptat pe dferte frontur,
coordonndu-s tot ma strns actvtatea cu cea a studenor canaden, recunoscnd faptu c au
aceeas probeme. |O bun surs de nforma cu prvre a uptee studenor dn Statee Unte este
Campus Actvsm (a se vedea www.campusactvsm.org). Acesta e un ste de prezentare a Reee
Educaonae pentru Democratzare |Democratsng Educaton Network| (DEN), o arg coae de
grupur studenest cu sedu n SUA s Canada.|
Una dntre prncpaee upte ae studenor dn SUA e cea dus mpotrva recrutr n campusur de
ctre armat s CIA, care s-a ntensfcat dup 11 septembre 2001 s n contextu Rzbouu dn Irak.
Un at front de upt mportant este ce mpotrva datoror studenor. Una dntre stratege fooste
de studen pentru a-s manfesta nemuumrea este ,modeu orasuu de cortur" |tent cty mode|.
Acesta au construt cortur n campusur s au ocut acoo, att pentru a arta efectu pe care
ndatorarea are asupra veor or, ct s pentru a arta c trebue s se mute dntr-o unverstate
care ncepe s semene dn ce n ce ma mut cu o operaune fnancar, dn ce n ce ma comerca.
Studen au fost foarte actv s n cadru mscr antgobazare, crend coa mpotrva ateereor
s fabrcor cu cond nacceptabe de ucru |sweatshop|, opunndu-se prezene n campusure or
a obecteor fabrcate n aceste cond s soctnd unverstor s nu ma nvesteasc n acune
unor astfe de compan de a Banca Monda. Prn ntermedu tuturor acestor upte, studen au
construt tot ma mute aane nu numa cu profesor, c s cu a munctor dn campusur, spr|nnd
organzarea sndcateor s a greveor acestora.
Iat, ma |os, Carta adoptat de DEN, care refect cerere studenor dn SUA:
- fnanare pubc ntegra pentru nvmntu superor pubc;
- acces gratut a nvmntu superor s desfnarea taxeor;
- acun afrmatve pentru combaterea rassmuu s a sexsmuu nsttuonazate;
- recunoasterea ntegra a drepturor studenor s ae munctoror de a se organza;
- o autoguvernare democratc a educae superoare;
- punerea n servcu bneu pubc, nu a profturor corporaor;
- bertate de exprese s bertate academc;
- stergerea datoror n cazu mprumuturor studenor;
- educae cvc pentru o socetate democratc;
- educae, nu rzbo;
- sco, nu nchsor.
Traducere de !lex *oldovan
?magine+ (eclaim 4our "utureL, $ni%ampus #ienna, 77-7M *arc/ <I7I. ,rogram cover
Note+
8
* ,Educaton and the Encosure of Knowedge n the Goba Unversty", www.acme-|ourna.org.
Edtor n s- muumeasc profesoare Sva Federc pentru amabtatea acordr drepturor de
traducere s de pubcare a versun n mba romn a prezentuu text. (N. ed.)
1. Democratzng Educaton Network, www.democratzngeducaton.org. (N. ed.)
2. n orgna, ,The Encosure of Knowedge n Structuray Ad|usted Afrca": ,ngrdrea cunoaster n
Afrca structura a|ustat". (N. ed.)
3. ,Structura read|ustment programs". (N. ed.)
4. Commttee for Academc Freedom n Afrca. (N. ed.)
5. A Thousand Fowers: Soca Strugges Aganst Structura Ad|ustment n Afrcan Unverstes,
Trenton, Afrca Word Press, 2000. (N. ed.)
6. n orgna: Afrca Capacty Budng. V. www.acbf-pact.org. (N. ed.)
7. Mahmood Mamdan, Schoars n the Market Pace: The Demma of Neo-bera Reform at Makerere
Unversty. 1989-2005, Kampaa, Fountan Pubshers, 2007. (N. ed.)
8. n orgna: ,For Proft Educaton and the Rse of the Dgta Dpoma Ms". V. Davd F. Nobe,
Dgta Dpoma Ms: The Automaton of Hgher Educaton, Monthy Revew Press, 2001. (N. ed.)
'?-#?! "6K6(?%? este actvst femnst, profesor emert teac/ing ello= a Hofstra Unversty, fost
profesor n Ngera, cofondatoare (mpreuna cu George Caffentzs) a Comtetuu pentru Lbertate
Academc n Afrca (%ommittee or !cademic "reedom in !rica) membru a Mdnght Notes
Coectve. Carf: 1ages !gainst Nouse=or0, Fang Wa Press, 1975; 6nduring 1estern %iviliCation+
T/e %onstruction o t/e %oncept o 1estern %iviliCation and ?ts 5t/ers, Praeger, 1995; ! T/ousand
"lo=ers+ 'ocial 'truggles !gainst 'tructural !d>ustment in !rican $niversities,Trenton, Afrca Word
Press, 2000 (coedtare); !rican #isions+ -iterar4 ?mages, ,olitical %/ange, and 'ocial 'truggle in
%ontemporar4 !rica, Praeger, 2000; %aliban and t/e 1itc/+ 1omen, T/e @od4, and ,rimitive
!ccumulation, Autonomeda, 2004; 2ood TimesL @ad TimesL !n ?ntroduction to t/e %apitalist %risis
and 1/at it *eans or $s,56aInfoshop, 2009 (atur de Aan Badou, George Caffentzs Maro
Tront).
Tema %ampus de lupt. Bmpotriva neoliberaliCrii universitiiD este conceput de redacEia revistei
IDEA art+socetate Fi a aprut n numrul curent G :H, <I7I.
Transfor%area cunoaterii n %arf#& 'rocesul (olo"na ) !trate"ia Lisa$ona
*n proces coordonat la nivel european
!ctul ?. ,rocesul @ologna (7888&
Asa-numtu ,Proces Boogna", n care snt anga|ate az 46 de r europene, a fost nat n 1999.
Obectvu -a consttut crearea unu sstem european de armonzare, evauare s comparare a
nsttuor de nvmnt superor dn Europa; ceea ce, pe ng faptu de a favorza mobtatea
studenor s a personauu profesora, pregtea s deschderea spre concuren s spre
transformarea nvmntuu superor ntr-o marf.
n 2001, a Praga, obectvu economc devne expct: ,n Europa de mne, ntemeat pe o socetate
s pe o econome a cunoaster, a te dota cu o stratege n matere de educae s de formare
contnu se dovedeste absout necesar pentru a putea rspunde provocror pe care e consttue
compettvtatea economc." n 2003, a Bern, obectvee asa-numte ,Strateg Lsabona" snt
ntegrate n Procesu Boogna.
!ctul ??. 'trategia -isabona (<III&
Stratega Lsabona, asa-numt pentru ,economa cunoaster", urmreste ma presus de orce
anerea produce de cunoastere a cererea pee, prn edfcarea, n sectoru cercetr, a unu
,spau european a cercetr" (SEC) |Espace europen de a recherche - EER|, care este o pa
comun a cercetr, n nteroru crea concurena devne ,prncpau prncpu de cercetare"
1
, ar
,cercettoru-antreprenor", ,fgura e embematc". n conformtate cu prncpe nouu
management pubc, este ntrodus o organzare antreprenora.
SEC , prveste att pe cercettor, aboratoaree s unverste, ct s drepture de propretate
nteectua s, n genera, toate eementee consttutve ae sstemeor naonae de novae".
2
E prevede ,fact reguamentare pentru fondure de capta-rsc; nctr fscae pentru eforture
de cercetare-dezvotare; o egsae prvnd concurena s crearea unu brevet european; o cutur
dnamc a sprtuu de ntreprndere; o sod baz de cercetare pubc afat n su|ba ndustre".
3
Concomtent, este nstaurat spau european a educae s a formr contnue, care pune u-
9
verste n compete, acestea fnd chemate s adopte o gestonare managera, s recurg a
fnanr prvate s s se transforme n nste prestatoare de formr preocupate s garanteze
vtoarea ,anga|abtate" a cenor-studen, cu scopu de a furnza o ,cunoastere foostoare
pee", sub form de ,capta uman".
Nite reorme declinate la nivel naional n ntreaga 6urop
M
Procesu a fost apcat a date s n rtmur dferte de a o ar a ata. Ce ma avansat este n Marea
Brtane, foarte avansat n Itaa, Spana, Frana s ceva ma pun avansat n Germana s Bega.
Opoza e nega: puternc n Greca, Spana, Frana s Itaa; destu de puternc n Germana s
Danemarca; sab n Marea Brtane; aproape nexstent n Bega.
Marea Brtane este ara n care reforma este cea ma avansat s aproape ncheat. Unverste
snt fnanate de studen cu pn a 3.000 de re pentru cen s cu pn a 10.000 de re dup
cen. La sfrstu studor, studen a|ung s ab o datore mede de 35.000 de re. Unverste
nu ma snt conduse de persoane aese. n momentu de fa, snt suprmate cursur de fosofe,
socooge etc. Mater precum fosofa s stnee potce snt supuse dn partea medor economce
a presun pentru a f transformate n ocur s n nstrumente de adaptare, nu de crtc. Predarea
mb engeze ca mb strn a fost prvatzat. Probema unor dscpne precum fosofa este c
sperana prvnd saaru a termnarea facut nu este, de mute or, sufcent pentru a permte
acordarea de mprumutur de stud. Locunee socae studenest au fost prvatzate.
La utmu su congres, prncpau sndcat studenesc a decs s abandoneze prncpu gratut
studor. Studen snt greu de mobzat, cu att ma mut cu ct snt mpca ntr-un demers de
autofnanare a studor de natura une nvest ndvduae, care are drept consecn o tota
ocupare a tmpuu. La contrasummtu de a Louvan, stuaa a fost rezumat astfe: ,Studen dn
casa de m|oc trebue s trudeasc n barur pentru studen boga".
n Itaa, reformee au fost ncepute n 1999, odat cu nstaurarea sstemuu LMD.
5
n 2004
(guvernu Beruscon), a fost votat o ege smar LRU |v. nfra|. n 2006, taxee de scoarzare se
rdcau a 1.800 de euro/an. De atunc, guvernu e-a perms unverstor s devn de drept prvat,
de unde taxe de scoarzare bere, care au crescut n parae cu dezanga|area statuu. Astfe, taxee
de scoarzare a Ltere n Forena au crescut, ncepnd dn 2009, a 8.000 de euro. Scoaa prmar a
fost reformat prntr-o ege dn 2008: rentroducerea unformeor pentru eev, predarea rege
catoce, desfnarea oreor de dup-amaz, nchderea scoor de mc dmensun, revenrea a un
sngur nvtor pentru fecare cas. Numa o treme dntre funconar pensona snt nocu.
Precartatea n rndure corpuu profesora nu nceteaz s creasc.
n octombre 2008, nste cadre ddactce au ocupat scoaa n care predau. De acoo a pornt o
mobzare a anga|aor dn ntregu sstem de nvmnt, care a durat pn a vacana de Crcun.
n Spana, asa-numta ,LOU" naz, n 2004, berazarea s prvatzarea unverst: ,autonome"
ca n Frana, prvatzare s autonome deczona s fnancar a unverstor, cresterea puter
ntreprnderor n uarea deczor, seectarea studenor a ntrarea n facutate. Unverste se
af n concuren, ebernd, drept urmare, dpome care nu snt echvaente. Masteratee stabesc
taxee de scoarzare n funce de cerere s ofert: cu ct ma cutat e un master, cu att e ma
scump. n 2005, stnga recent a|uns a putere suspend asa-numta LOU, apo, pretextnd dferte
regementr ae Unun Europene, naz o reansare a connutuu LOU. Formarea profesoror a
fost s ea reformat, pentru a f got de connut pedagogc (cf. ,masterzarea" dn Frana).
n Germana, cresterea taxeor de scoarzare nu a afectat, ntr-o prm etap, dect an termna a
studor de ung durat, ncepnd ns s fe generazat a to an cu ncepere dn 2005. n
momentu de fa, aceast generazare afecteaz 6 andur dn 16. Unverste germane au
senate dn care fac parte reprezentan a studenor (8), a profesoror (8), a personau
neacademc (5). Cu toate acestea, presedntee Senatuu este numt de o at nstan, ar cresterea
puter sae a avut ca efect margnazarea Senatuu. Modu de gestune de tp LRU a antrenat o
modfcare a sprtuu cunostneor predate. Snt ntrenute tot ma mute rea cu ntreprndere,
ceea ce antreneaz specazr. La Hamburg, unverstatea a ncheat partenerate cu ntreprnder
dn sectoru armamentuu nucear.
n 2001, studen pornesc prmee upte, fcnd grev mpotrva crester taxeor de scoarzare. n
2005 snt organzate manfesta. n 2006 s fac apara no modur de acune: bocare de
autostrz, de centre comercae etc. (studen german au fost nspra de mobzre mpotrva
CPE
6
).
n Frana, schmbarea ncepe odat cu adoptarea eg asa-numtuu Pact pentru cercetare |Pacte
10
pour a recherche| dn 2006 s a Leg refertoare a berte unverstor |Lo reatve aux berts
des unversts| (LRU)
7
dn 2007, care a pre|ut puternce manfesta studenest. LRU nu este
mpnt n msura n care taxee de scoarzare nu snt deregementate, totus, regmu francez se
caracterzeaz prn duatatea sa: pe ng unverst, exst asa-numtee ,sco" (de comer, de
stud potce etc.), care snt foarte ,avansate" n prvatzarea fnanr, n ntroducerea de metode
managerae s n cresterea drepturor de scoarzare (12.000 de euro/an a Scences Po pentru
studen strn cu ncepere dn 2009). Or, aceste sco dezvot strateg ofensve pentru a-s
masfca recrutarea s a concura facute.
Studen s-au mobzat n toamna anuu 2007 mpotrva LRU prntr-o sere de manfesta s de
bocr ae actvt n unverst. Un nou va de mobzare a fost decansat de cercettor n 2009,
ca urmare a modfcr, prn apcarea LRU, a decretuu care defnea statutu cercettoror.
n Greca, studen au bocat, n 2008, unverste tmp de un an, reusnd n feu acesta s
determne guvernu s retrag pe |umtate proectu de reform prn prvatzare a unverst.
n Bega, unverste snt de ma mu an autonome, fnd fnanate de stat n propore de 80-
90%. nvmntu superor este comuntar: francofon/famand. n partea francofon, taxee de
scoarzare se rdc a 800 de euro. Cee tre mar unverst snt pe cae de a e ngh pe cee mc
care gravtau n |uru or. Se observ o crestere a concurene: unverste s smug unee atora
studen, n speca pe ce nternaona. La Unverstatea Catoc dn Louvan-a-Neuve, LMD este n
vgoare de cnc an. La Unverstatea Lber dn Bruxees (ULB, pubc), Fosofa s Lteree snt cee
ma vzate de reforme. La Fosofe, s-a trecut de a 20 de cursur pe an a 12. Obectvee ofcae ae
rectoruu unverst prvesc cu prortate poza ocupat de aceasta n casamentee nterna-
onae. Chea repartzr fonduror n funce de numru de studen a fost extns a numrea
profesoror, astfe nct, n mod mecanc, numru profesoror de a Ltere scade progresv, ducnd a
desfnarea unor cursur s/sau a unor efectve prea numeroase. Sov, omooaga u HEC Pars,
funconeaz ca o ntreprndere. A fost fcut s fuzoneze cu facutatea de econome a ULB, care
dene acum catedre prvate (comeru cu bere etc.).
n Bega nu exst sndcate studenest. Impresa sat de contrasummtu de a Louvan este c
studen nu snt consten de ceea ce se ntmp n unverste or. Do studen a ULB au
partcpat, cu toate acestea, foarte actv a pregtrea acestu contrasummt.
Danemarca e ara n care Procesu Boogna este ce ma pun avansat. Educaa e gratut, ar
studen prmesc o aocae (pe care nu trebue s-o ramburseze) de 600 de euro pe un tmp de
sase an. n 2009, o sere de manfesta studenest au reust s se opun cu succes unu proect a
guvernuu care urmrea reducerea aceste durate a patru an. Cu toate acestea, ptrunderea
ntreprnderor n unverst este dn ce n ce ma mare. nante, ce 11 membr a consor de
admnstrae erau aes n excusvtate dn rndure profesoror s ae studenor; n momentu de
fa, dntre ce 11 membr, 2 snt reprezentan a studenor, 2 a profesoror, 1 dn partea
personauu neacademc, 6 dn partea ntreprnderor. Recent, guvernu a autorzat unverste
prvate. n momentu de fa, se af n desfsurare o mobzare mpotrva aproprer (prn brevete)
de ctre ntreprnder a descoperror unverstare.
Nite refor%e care pun instituiile pu$lice produc#toare de cunoatere i de +capital
u%an, s# lucre-e din ce n ce %ai %ult n slu.$a ntreprinderilor private
Stratega Lsabona afseaz ca obectv dezvotarea ,cunoaster". n reatate, aceste reforme nu
urmresc dect s permt ntreprnderor prvate s profte s ma mut de cunoasterea produs de
nsttue pubce, prn supunerea acestora ntereseor or strcte, n cadru unu ,nou management
pubc" |New Pubc Management|.

Kesc/iderea spre inanrile private pentru a se putea inluena opiunile publice
Deschderea spre fnanre prvate trebue pus n egtur cu scderea mpozteor pe proft ae
ntreprnderor, care apas asupra bugeteor pubce s atrage dup sne dezanga|area statuu. n
feu acesta, o fnanare centrazat s amentat dn preevr obgator, n care decza e coectv
s potc, este nocut cu nste fnanr descentrazate s ,partenerae", care e permt
fnanatoror s nfueneze oca modu de gestonare a unverstor s a centreor de cercetare,
pentru a putea s profte s ma mut de credtee pubce care contnu s fnaneze, n parte,
produca de cunoastere.
Acesta este sensu reformeor care ncura|eaz parteneratee pubc-prvat, recurgerea a fnanr
prvate pentru programee de cercetare (n Frana, de pd, prn nfnarea Agene Naonae pentru
Cercetare) s pentru formarea unverstar (n Frana, ,LRU").
11
?ntroducerea de metode manageriale pentru slbirea autonomiei corpului universitar
Pentru a se subordona unverste s centree de cercetare ntereseor ntreprnderor este nevoe
s de un at mod de gestonare. ntr-adevr, corpu unverstar ne a autonoma sa, ma aes fa de
pa. Cee ma recente reforme vzeaz, astfe, s sbeasc aceast autonome: ,unverstar nu
au parte a defnrea propror or obectve, care snt stabte de proectee de performan.
Controu naona a cat recrutror de ctre ega pare sortt dspare, a fe ca s statutee.
Membr agenor (ANR |Agence Natonae de a Recherche - Agena Naona pentru Cercetare|,
AERES |Agence dvauaton de a recherche et de ensegnement supreur - Agena de Evauare a
Cercetr s a nvmntuu Superor|) snt num de guvern. n unverst, n faa presednteu
aes, a cru putere este consodat prn LRU, conse nu ma au nco putere n afara cee pe care
e-o acord presedna n ceea ce prveste potca stnfc a unverst, recrutre de persona,
programee academce s evauarea".
8
%reterea taxelor de colariCare pentru ndatorare ; coal de raionalitate economic pentru
studeni
Cresterea taxeor de scoarzare
9
obg pe studen s se ndatoreze, ceea ce consttue pentru e
o ,scoa de raonatate" economc. Ma preocupa de modu n care vor putea s s vaorfce
stude pe paa munc (s de saaru pe care vor putea s- obn n feu acesta pentru a-s
rambursa datore), e snt mut ma aten a a consacra aceste stud acumur captauu uman
asteptat de ntreprnder. Ceea ce consttue o modatate de a- subordona pe studen
ntreprnderor, n catate de productor de ,capta uman".
,olitica de brevetare ; un rCboi mpotriva mprtirii i diuCrii cunoaterii
n sfrst, potca de brevetare permte ntreprnderor s-s maxmzeze profture egate de
apcae comercae care rezut dn ,nova". n tmp ce externate poztve ae cunoaster
pubce snt fcute s creasc n avanta|u ntreprnderor, externate poztve egate de novae
,prvate" (datorate, n mare parte, cunoaster pubce) snt dmnuate, n detrmentu persoaneor
partcuare.
Astfe, ,vremea cnd, prn trade, cunostnee dobndte n spau stnfc academc consttuau un
patrmonu deschs, pus a dspoza tuturor, e de domenu trecutuu", scre Dreca Genera
pentru Cercetare a Comse Europene, ,n cmpu cunoaster, produca rmeaz az cu proteca s
cu expoatarea".
10
Asa-zsa ,econome a cunoaster" este, de fapt, o econome bazat pe rartatea
cunoaster. Rzbou mpotrva mprtsr cunoaster, purtat n mod ntrnsec prn Stratega
Lsabona, este un rzbo mpotrva cunoaster. Acest rzbo este purtat n numee ntreprnderor s
a grupuror ndustrae care doresc s-s ampfce monopou asupra cunoaster.
Nite reorme pround inegalitare, care urmresc desiinarea serviciului public
Ke la creterea taxelor de colariCare la ndatorarea studenilor ; eliminarea claselor populare
Lberazarea nvmntuu superor se traduce prntr-o crestere a taxeor de scoarzare
11
, n
parae cu dezanga|area fnancar a statuu. Pe de at parte, nsttue de nvmnt superor
(pubce sau prvate) afndu-se n concuren monopost, competa se poart pe ,catate", nu pe
pre. Afsarea unor taxe scoare rdcate serveste, char, drept ndcator de catate (teora
semnauu).
Pe deasupra, ntr-un sector n care msura cat ntrnsece este foarte greu de stabt, construrea
une magn de catate s traducerea e n casamentee unverstor snt coststoare: recrutare de
,starur" de pe paa nternaona a profesoror-cercettor s a presednor de unverst, ofert
de servc atractve n campus, chetue de prestgu, de obbng, de marketng s pubctate etc.
Asa s-a a|uns ca, dn totau chetueor nsttuor pubce de nvmnt superor dn Statee Unte,
chetuee admnstratve s creasc de a 30% n 1976 a 50% n 2001; chetuee de nstrure pe
student au crescut cu 17% ntre 1960 s 2001, ar cee admnstratve cu 54%.
12
Stude evdenaz peste tot un mpact negatv a crester taxeor de scoarzare asupra cerer de
stud superoare n mede cu ventur mc, ca urmare a dfcut, pentru acest studen, de a
obne a|utoare fnancare sufcente, ncusv n cazu n care exst ssteme de mprumut.
13
Exst, ntr-adevr, o ,aversune fa de rsc" a ceor srac (char s n Norvega, ar n care
mprumuture snt foarte bne securzate), care refect, n parte, o percepe corect a rscuu rea
de ctre nste studen ps s de suportu fnancar fama n caz de nevoe, s de captau soca
dn ce n ce ma necesar pentru accederea a su|bee de catate. Tendna este, astfe, spre o
12
bpoarzare a cerer: abandon pretmpuru pentru un, crestere puternc a cerer pentru a.
'electarea studenilor pe piaa cunoaterii
Pe o pa berazat a nvmntuu superor, studen snt ,cen" unverstor s o surs de
fnanare dn ce n ce ma mportant pentru echbru or bugetar, dar s ,factor de produce" a
servcuu, catatea or fnd un eement determnant pentru prestgu unverst, ceea ce poate
conduce a a|utorarea fnancar a studenor struc dn med cu ventur sczute. Acest ucru
rmne totus un arbtra| care se efectueaz n funce de consderente strct economce, nu de
servcu pubc, n care, pn a urm, ogca a|utorr mertuu (ceu bogat) prmeaz asupra ogc
a|utorr nevo (ceu srac). ntr-adevr, bogatu e ma ,rentab", deoarece este dotat na cu un
capta uman ma mare. Astfe, n Statee Unte, studen ce ma srac, care n 1995 prmeau dn
partea coegor prvate a|utoare cu 2% ma mar dect ce proven dn fam nstrte (ntre 60.000
s 80.000 de doar/an), prmesc n 1999 cu 29%, n mede, ma pun, n tmp ce a|utoru acordat
studenor dn fam cu un vent de peste 100.000 de doar a crescut cu 145%.
$n sistem cu dou viteCe
Odat cu sfrstu prncpuu repartzr echtabe n cadru servcor pubce, fnanre (n speca
cee pubce) snt dr|ate prortar spre nsttue de nvmnt superor care snt de|a cee ma bne
dotate, care prmesc popuae cee ma favorzate, n cadru unor ,regrupr de exceen".
Ceeate nsttu de nvmnt superor au ca prncpa funce s rspund, prn ntermedu
ndcatoror de nsere, nevoor ocae, n speca ae IMM-uror. n aceste nsttu, potarea de
ctre ntreprnder merge n sensu une formr ,personazate", caat pe nevoe medate ae
bazneor de ocur de munc s ae ntreprnderor care fnaneaz unverstatea.
Nite inegaliti care se repercuteaC asupra pieei muncii
n acest sstem, formre generaste snt rezervate eteor, asgurndu-e numa or recunoastere s
mobtate pe paa munc.
Pe de at parte, datore studenest ntren cresterea venturor ceor ma rdcate, care, a rndu
e, nct pe o parte dntre studen s se ndatoreze dn ce n ce ma mut, pentru a avea acces a
unverste cee ma prestgoase; ee excud ceaat parte, care apas asupra saaror, vennd s
ngroase oferta pe segmentee nferoare ae pee munc. Acest fapt adnceste negate saarae
s bpoarzarea de pe paa munc, conducnd, n consecn, a o pauperzare s a precarzarea
caseor de m|oc, care provoac un rsc defaonst (consum anemc etc.).
,ierderea autonomiei corpului universitar+ precariCare, srcire academic, penurie de creiere etc.
'rcirea cunoaterii
Subordonarea crescnd fa de nteresee ntreprnderor compromte ,ndependena,
ndspensab dn punct de vedere soca, a expertze unverstare".
14
n re europene care au
adoptat nantea Frane prncpe nouu management pubc (NPM), ,se remarc dspara unor
sectoare ntreg de cercetare s de nvmnt, nsufcent de efcente dn punct de vedere a
obectveor stabte, o extraversune ngvstc s cutura crescnd s decnu cercetr fun-
damentae".
Cunoasterea este, n feu acesta, deturnat de a funce e socetae s cetenest, fnd,
dmpotrv, pus doar n su|ba ntereseor partcuare s pe termen scurt ae ntreprnderor. Aceast
,revoue cutura neobera" conduce a o cunoastere, de a cercetare pn a educae, dn ce n
ce ma segmentat, ma efemer, dn ce n ce ma ncapab s a|ute a eaborarea une neeger a
um n gobatatea e s dn ce n ce ma pun ut pentru cetean.
(eculul libertilor academice i democratice
Fnanarea prvat poate, astfe, s conduc a recuu bertor academce s democratce. n
Statee Unte, organzae Amnesty Internatona s-au nterzs fnanre n nteroru une
unverst deoarece denunase compana Coca-Coa pentru spr|nrea dctatur dn Ngera.
Abandonarea ctre ntreprnder s ctre mecenat (eventua regos
15
) a fnanr s a defnr
connutuu formror nteectuae are mpca extrem de gree n termen de capta smboc, de
hegemone nteectua. Conform Comse Europene, nc dn prmee case ar trebu nsufat
,sprtu de ntreprndere".
16
Nu numa cunoasterea, c s gndrea s socetatea ar trebu dec puse n
su|ba ntreprnderor.
,recariCarea corpului universitar i uga creierelor
n Statee Unte, propora de postur temporare dn unverst a crescut de a 43% a 70% n 30 de
an.
17
Un rsc este, atunc, ,ext"-u: astfe, ,cee ma mute unverst engeze s amercane, n
13
care o propore rdcat de profesor-cercettor este precarzat s n care bertatea academc
regreseaz n consecn, ntmpn dfcut tot ma mar n atragerea de candda naona, fnd
nevote s recurg a mportu de creere".
18
Traducere de @ogdan 2/iu
@ibliograie
Bruno, Isabee (2008). A vos marques, prts, cherchez!, Edtons du Croquant.
Vnokur, Anne (2007). ,Study now, pay ater. Endettement tudant et restructuraton de
ensegnement supreur", n Pouvors et fnancement en ducaton: qu paye dcde?, Pars,
LHarmattan.
Vnokur, Anne (2008 a). ,La o reatve aux berts et responsabts des unversts: essa de mse
en perspectve", Revue de a rguaton. Captasme, nsttutons, pouvors, 2.
Vnokur, Anne (2008 b). ,Vous avez dt autonome?", n Mouvements, 55-56, pp. 72-81.
http://reguaton.revues.org/document1783.htm.
www.prntemps2010.eu (anaze, reee europene, mobzr).
http://sacna.wordpress.com (bog partcpatv, artcoe despre dferte stua naonae).
http://frgoa.usc.es/drupa (revste ae prese, anaze, bbograf).
http://www.archve.org/downoad/EducatonProtestsWordwde2009/Overvew2009.pdf.
(eele studeneti
Contrasummtu de a Vena: http://boognaburns.org
Vaur europene de mobzare: www.vagueeuropeenne.fr
Germana: http://unsereun.at
Evea: http://www.cuae.ch/spp.php?artce226
Oanda: http://studentenprotestutrecht.wordpress.com
Greca: http://www.cuae.ch/spp.php?
Croaa: http://sobodnfozofsk.org
Note+
1. Commsson Europenne, ,6me PCRD. La coordnaton de a recherche ne se fera pas sans cou-
rage potque", CORDIS ocus, nr. 209, 18 noembre 2002.
2. Ibd.
3. Bruno (2008), dup un ctat dn ,Pus de recherche pour Europe. Ob|ectf 3% du PIB", comuncare
a Comse Europene ctre Consu Europe, Paramentu European, Comtetu Economc s Soca s
Comtetu Regunor, Bruxees, 11 septembre 2002, COM (2002) 499 fna, p. 4.
4. Aceast scurt panoram a reformeor s a mobzror dn Europa se bazeaz, n prncpa, pe
sntezee reazate de Marc Deepouve s Eveyne Perrn pentru Contrasummtu de a Louvan |25-29
apre 2009; v.www.sauvonsunverste.com/spp.php?artce2476|.
5. Sstemu LMD semnfc reorganzarea programeor unverstare pe tre ccur: cen, masterat,
doctorat. (N. ed.)
6. V. supra, G. Caffentzs, ,Lupte unverstare a sfrstu pactuu educaona", p. 126, nota 2. (N. ed.)
7. n momentu de fa, presedntee unverst supune propunere de personat dn afar
votuu consuu de admnstrae (ntreprnder.), cu excepa coectvtor tertorae; are drept
de veto n ceea ce prveste anga|re de persona; dene un drept de avz defavorab asupra
propuneror emse de ,comtetee de seece" (care au uat ocu comsor de specast). Dac
adugm aceste no prerogatve ceor vech (de reprezentare a unverst, de ordonator a ven-
turor s chetueor, de responsab cu mennerera ordn s a securt n ncnta unverst, dar
s cu accesbtatea sor de cursur s a cdror admnstratve pentru persoanee cu dzabt),
rezut c presedntee unverst dspune, n momentu de fa, de o putere comparab cu aceea
a unu adevrat manager de ntreprndere.
8. Vnokur (2008 b).
9. Cresterea taxeor de scoarzare n-a fost nc ntrodus n Frana, dar va f, probab, ct de curnd,
deoarece este vorba de un eement esena a procesuu de berazare s de transformare a
nvmntuu superor ntr-o marf. n Statee Unte, taxee de scoarzare au crescut ntre 2002 s
2007cu 40%.
10. RDT nfo, ,magazn de nformare asupra cercetr europene", pubcat de Dreca genera a Co-
mse nsrcnate cu Cercetarea, ctat n Bruno (2008).
11. Vnokur (2007).
12. Ibd.
13. Vnokur (2007).
14
14. Ibd.
15. n ,unverstatea" u Peter Vardy, concesonar de automobe s crestn fundamentast, ,creao-
nsmu se pred pe pcor de egatate cu teora evouonst a u Darwn, ar cre cu Harry Potter
snt nterzse, sub pretextu c ar ncura|a credna n vr|tore. Unverstatea a fost nspectat de
OFSTED |Brou de norme educatve brtanc, agene guvernamenta| s s-a bucurat de un raport
exceent", R. Hatcher, ,Lcoe brtannque vre au patronat", Le Monde dpomatque, apre 2005.
16. Comuncare a Comse Europene, ,Impementng the Communty Lsbon Programme: Fosterng
entrepreneura mndsets through educaton and earnng", 2006.
17. Vnokur (2008 a).
18. Vnokur (2008 b).
Tema %ampus de lupt. Bmpotriva neoliberaliCrii universitiiD este conceput de redacEia revistei
IDEA art+socetate Fi a aprut n numrul curent G :H, <I7I.
!/uat0nd cri-a
1espre recentele proteste privind siste%ul de educa2ie 3i despre
perspectivele de sc4i%$are radical#
Lna Dokuzovc Eduard Freudmann
,Nu vom pt no pentru crza voastr!" a rsunat n unverst[e dn ntreaga ume. Semnfca[a
acestu fapt este c avntu aceste decara[ nu s-a rspndt doar n nsttu[e de nv[mnt, c a
fost prezent n ate sfere ae socet[, atrgnd aten[a asupra eecuu genera a captasmuu
neobera asupra aproprer de ctre acesta a tuturor aspecteor ve[.
Ceea ce a fost defnt ca fnd ,crza n educa[e", crz care ar trebu remedat prntr-un va de
reforme, a fost tratat n termen de crz economc, care trebue contracarat prn msur de
cretere a proftuu. O omogenzare prntr-un va de reforme a avut de|a oc prn Procesu de a
Boogna care a desemnat Ara Educa[e Superoare Europene (AESE). Prn aceast reguarzare a
standardeor europene de comparabtate, EUropa ncearc s ptrund s a|ung n fruntea une
econom a cunoater care devne tot ma compettv s- maxmzeze proftu bazat pe
domenu cercetr prn stabrea, n parae, a Are de Cercetare European (ACE). Dsocarea
sstematc a structuror democratce dn unverst[e dn Austra s-a ntmpat odat cu
mpementarea Procesuu de a Boogna. Organsme aese democratc au fost reduse a un fe de
comtete ae personauu, ar decanatu a devent un organsm de conducere snguar (decanu fnd
un fe de drector executv) care este verfcat audtat de ctre un consu de supervzare dn afara
unverst[, aa-numtu Consu a Unverst[.
Nu doar c unverst[e sunt dn ce n ce ma mut conduse dup modeu corpora[or, dar, n
acea tmp, are oc o tranz[e n ctre procesu a care au fost supuse mute dntre coe prvate
dn zona ango-amercan sau nterna[ona. Unverst[e sunt conduse K6 %OT(6 corpora[. Un
exempu n care drec[a nteresuu ac[onaror corporatt este vzb este n cazu corpora[e
meda nterna[onae Bertesmann care a vndut recent ac[une de a Sony, afrmnd c ncep s
nvesteasc n educa[e, deoarece aceasta a devent ma proftab dect ndustra de muzc
1
. Prn
procesee de reform, a fost creat o econome a educa[e n care cunoaterea este o marf
vandab. Rezutatu nu este doar c educa[a a a|uns s fe consderat proftab, dar c
educa[a n sne poate f msurat vndut. Aceasta se eag de prncpe compete prvatzr
comodfcr a socet[ n captasmu neobera. n Austraa, de exempu, una dntre cee ma mar
compettoare ae EUrope pe pa[a educa[e nterna[onae, servce egate de educa[e sunt
consderate a trea ndustre exportatoare, dup extrac[a de crbune fer, conform cfreor dn
2006-2007.
2
1
Vezi: http://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachrichten/nachricht/2488718.htl! http://www."t.co/cs/s/0/2126"740-631#-11dd-9"d0-0000779"d2ac.htl$
nclic%&chec%'1
2
Vezi datele (iro)l)i *)stralian de +tatistic,: http://www.isana.or-.a)/"iles/*./0201arch020sshot020e2pt020incoe.pd"
15
Academa de Arte dn Vena este squatat!
n urma nemu[umror care au aprut dn cauza entor procesuu prn care s-a ncercat s se
negoceze democratc vtoru nsttu[e, a fost stabt de ctre studen[ profesor Academe o
ntnre pubc n fa[a cdr prncpae, pe data de 20 octombre 2009. A fost ctt o decara[e
care cerea renstturea structuror democratce care au fost sstematc ndeprtate pe parcursu
stabr unu sstem de compettvtate crescut de comodfcare a nsttu[e a tot ceea ce
exst ntre zdure e. O st de revendcr precs artcuate -a fost adresat decanuu. I s-a cerut
acestua s- ndepneasc datora s repreznte poz[a nsttu[e n oc s mareze pe nteresee
sae profesonae de proft n negocerea Acorduu Bugetar cu Mnsteru tn[e Cercetr,
negocere care urma s ab oc a doua z. A fost ctt o procama[e de sodartate cu to[
protestatar mpotrva reforme educa[e dn ntreaga ume, cu protestatar dn Bangade, Braza,
Croa[a, Fnanda, Fran[a, Germana, Marea Brtane, Greca, Inda, Iran, Itaa, |apona, Oanda,
Serba, Afrca de Sud, Corea de Sud SUA. Apo, ce aproxmatv 250 de protestatar au ntrat n
cdre au ocupat aua magna, ce ma reprezentatv spa[u dn nsttu[e. Squater au organzat un
pen bazat pe o structur democratc grassroots s-a decs c spa[u va rmne ocupat pn cnd
revendcre or vor f ndepnte.
Dou ze ma trzu, un grup de studen[ profesor de a Academe au protestat n fa[a Mnsteruu
tn[e Cercetr, exprmndu- nemu[umrea fa[ de Acordu Bugetar decarnd faptu c
respng acest acord, un contract cu efecte egae care defnete performan[a Academe n raport cu
suma de fnan[are acordat de Mnster, acord care a fost negocat ntr-un mod tota netransparent
nedemocratc a momentu respectv. Grupu de demonstran[ -a contnuat protestu, mergnd n
amftreatree spa[e reprezentatve a ma mutor unverst[, prezentnd stua[a, und cu e
studen[ profesor ntn[ acoo, ar n feu acesta, asemenea efectuu bugreu de zpad,
grupu s-a mrt pn cnd demonstra[a a a|uns n cea ma mare sa de confern[e a Austre, unde
s-a [nut un penum care a decarat c spa[u respectv e squatat. Caracteru reprezentatv a aceste
mar s de confern[e a atras medat aten[a prese care, de atunc, s-a concentrat excusv asupra
evenmenteor dn ace spa[u n prezentarea protesteor, char dac n urmtoaree ze, protestee s-
au extns rapd n ate unverst[ dn Austra s-au unt cu cee dn ate [r dn Europa,
a|ungndu-se n feu acesta ca sute de m de oamen s as pe strz ca s protesteze. n acest
moment sunt squatate 76 de unverst[ dn nou [r dn Europa, atee adugndu-se permanent.
3

Dscurs emancpator descentrazare
Procesee de organzare ae protesteor au fost structurate n mod democratc, pe baza prncpor
grassroots de uare a deczor n comun, prn ntermedu penuror. Grupure de ucru -au mpr[t
n mod ega att sarcne practce ct pe cee de anaz refec[e asupra desfurr
protesteor, prn aceast organzare men[nndu-se o fuctua[e dnamc a ceor care partcp.
Inten[a stabr unor forme de comuncare non-erarhc, prn ntermedu ctorva regu de baz, a
avut scopu s- ncura|eze pe to[ ce prezen[ s contrbue actv a dscu[e. Deoarece reprezentarea
protestataror este o msune pe care nco persoan nu ar putea nu ar trebue s-o ndepneasc
sngur, este extrem de mportant s nu se aeag doar un purttor de cuvnt c s exste o rota[e a
ceor care vorbesc. Consecn[a este c se reduc dscursure programate neuro-ngvstc (mba|u de
emn), ar revendcre dee grupuror sunt prezentate ntr-o maner care nu este exersat
dnante sau precond[onat. Aceast form de comuncare drect repreznt un act de vorbre
emancpatoru, pentru c codure exstente de mba| comodfcat, vorbrea ca m|oc de ,a-[ vnde
marfa", sunt respnse prn nsu mecansmu actuu vorbr.
Un at eement semnfcatv, rezonnd pe parcursu protesteor a toate nveure, a fost
descentrazarea. Aceasta a decurs dn nsu procesu de de-democratzare a unverst[or, proces
care s-a desfurat pe parcursu utmor an, prn care toate organsmee de regementare
egtmzate democratc au fost reduse a o fa[ad pseudo-democratc , n consecn[, pste de
orce putere. Faptu c protestee nu au fost conduse de ndvz ae ca der prn procedure
democra[e reprezentatve faptu c ee nu au fost asocate cu ncun partd paramentar, -a uat
prn surprndere pe potcen, cum ar f decan sau ce dn Mnsteru tn[e Cercetr, care nu au
3
www.tin3)rl.co/s4)atted-)ni5ersities! pa-in, cons)ltat, pe 25 noie#rie 2009
16
tut cum s fac fa[ cum s se raporteze a proteste. Descentrazarea nu se refer doar a
fuctua[a ceor care repreznt protestee, fuctua[e men[onat ma sus, c a ac[un drecte, aa
cum ar f squatarea temporar a brouu vce-decanuu Academe de Arte, squatarea s de mese
dn Mnsteru tn[e Cercetr sau ocuparea scene n tmpu une pese a Burgtheater, ce ma
renumt teatru dn Vena.
!# lu#% toat# $uc#t#ria5 fir6ar ea s# fie
n ansambu, protestee nu s-au mtat a de-erarhzare, a aproprerea spa[uu/spa[or, a auto-
organzare a anazarea cond[or de munc de studu. Ee au fost, ma degrab, domnate de
cerer, crtc revendcr care merg dncoo de contextu medat a educa[e unverst[or,
care se extnd asupra dentfcr feuu n care ogca pe[e captasmuu neobera a nftrat toate
sferee ve[, transformndu-e n marf zondu-e una de ata prn potc de excuzune rasste
sexste care deteroreaz tocma coectvtatea pe care protestee -au propus s-o stabeasc. O
dovad pentru autentctatea protesteor este n[eegerea c upta pentru un sstem de educa[e
ma bun nu poate f redus doar a sstemu de educa[e c, de fapt, depnde de ntregu sstem soca
trebue s refecte nevoa de a schmba ntreaga structur a acestua, schmbare reazat nu prn
omogenzarea unor reforme de sus n |os c prn democra[e grassroots. Nu este vorba s cer o
bucat ma mare dn pcnt, sau s vre toat pcnta doar pentru tne, c trebue s e afursta de
buctre cu totu.
Stratege de aproprere ae protesteor de ctre dfer[ actor potc au nceput dou sptmn
ma trzu. Aceste strateg au cumnat cu decara[ absurde de sodarzare dn partea unor grupur
cum ar f ce a Admnstra[e de stat dn Burgenand. Acest fe de grupur, ct decan a[
reprezentan[ a unverst[or au nceput s nstrumentazeze eanu protesteor pentru propre or
scopur, cum ar f stabrea unor n[eeger potc bugetare ad[onae. Char mnstru tn[e
Cercetr a mu[umt protestataror pentru c -au pus ntr-o poz[e avanta|oas n negocere
bugetare cu mnstru Fnan[eor. Totu, msure represve voente care au fost uate n Statee
Unte n Germana mpotrva protestataror pasnc
4
sunt n contradc[e cu msure ,reformate"
de aproprere sau de "preuare non-ost a afacer".
Revotee protestee mcr dn 1968 (care fuseser decaate cu c[va an n Austra) au sat n
urm o n[eegere dn partea autort[or a faptuu c eventuaee vtoare proteste ar trebu tratate
strategc, o n[eegere a faptuu c msure represve pot f contra-productve. n schmb,
nstrumentazarea protesteor neutrazeaz orce subversune. Stratege de aproprere au evouat
apo, n cond[e unu sstem neobera n dezvotare, sstem n cadru crua mu[ dntre ce dn
genera[a 68 de[n acum poz[ chee. Pe ng stratege de aproprere, au fost strateg de
nfantzare, care pot f vzute ca fnd ma degrab bnevotoare. Acestea sunt nerente ns
structur educa[e trad[onae, n care profesoru cunosctor ctg contro asupra ceor nenv[a[
prn rdcuzare, mprtnd dn cunotn[ee u strategc, atunc cnd crede de cuvn[. Bazndu-
se pe propra or bografe, caracterzat de trecerea de a Marx a economa de pa[, reprezentan[
sstemuu accept o oarecare doz de rebeune, de vreme ce o n[eeg ca pe un proces educa[ona
prn care presupu or succesor nva[ tehnc strateg potce care vor f fundamentae pentru
ndepnrea vtoareor or func[ a vtoareor or sarcn. Protestee dn domenu educa[e sunt
transformate n proteste educa[onazate.
5
Arta coe de art ca paradgme pentru captasmu neobera
Faptu c protestee dn domenu educa[e au fost n[ate n Austra ntr-o nsttu[e de art nu este
un fapt pst de mportan[. De vreme ce ogca (neo-)berasmuu se bazeaz pe bertatea
ndvduu, artstu/a bertatea u/e artstc se potrvete perfect cu acest sstem. De fapt, nu
numa c exst dorn[a trendu de a aduce nsttu[e de art ma aproape de ndustre creatve
vandabe, dar arta educa[a artstc pot f vzute ca fnd char paradgma pentru captasmu
4
6e e2epl): http://www.3o)t)#e.co/watch$5'r7/5l2&8-h9! http://ow.l3/.h:2; http://twitpic.co/4#64)! http://tin3)rl.co/3-lz)rr!
http://edition.cnn.co/2009/<+/11/22/cali"ornia.st)dent.protest/inde2.htl! http://www.#ild)n-sstrei%-hd.de/2009/11/22/-ewaltsaer-polizeieinsatz-
-e-en-landesweite-#ild)n-sstrei%-deonstration-in-st)tt-art/
5
=.d)ca>ionalizarea capital)l)i? este o e2presie "olosit, pria oar, de +tewart 1artin in =@eda-o-ia capital)l)i )an.? Vezi:
http://www.eta)te.or-/en/@eda-o-3-o"-A)an-Bapital
17
neobera, cu artstu productoru cutura ca modee pentru o pa[ a munc care este tot ma
neoberazat
6
. Fexbtatea nfnta creatvtate mpreun cu auto-dscpnarea cu rea[e de
munc precare sunt a baza profese artstce.
Impementarea reformeor egate de Procesu de a Boogna a Academa de Arte dn Vena, reforme
cum ar f nocurea vechuu sstem dn unverst[ cu structura B.A./M.A. (structur care mparte
an de studu n peroada fnazat prn dpoma de cen[ peroada de masterat- n.tr.), a fost
ntrzat dn cauza une cudate aan[e ntre sus[ntor a trad[e ntre ce ma progrest,
aan[ care a [nut procesu n suspense. Mu[ dntre sus[ntor trad[e s-au sm[t amenn[a[ de
reforme, dn cauza orentr reformeor ctre tn[ ctre modee tn[fce, o sfer academc
care e amenn[a att cunotn[ee ct refugu or n ,autonoma arte". Genera[a ma progresst,
pe de at parte, nu credea n autonoma arte, dar fnd supu unor cond[ de munc precar
une ogc de pa[ orentate spre proft, s-au opus, de asemenea, reformeor. Astfe, aceast
smboz duboas a fcut ca nou sstem s stagneze.
Povestea $cenicului vr>itor, scrs de Goethe, ncepe cu un btrn maestru vr|tor care as pe
ucencu su s fac trebure n aborator. Stu de sarcne pctstoare, ucencu vr|ete o mtur
ca s- aduc ea apa de a fntn. Nefnd destu de nv[at ca s controeze mtura fermecat, e
ncearc s-o dstrug, fcnd-o buc[ cu un topor. Dar buc[e devn ate mtur care contnu s-
fac treaba, ete dn contro. Mture progresste se ntorc mpotrva nouu or stpn. Povestea se
nchee, totu, cu btrnu vr|tor care se ntoarce acas rupe vra|a, mture fnd dezvr|te
totu ntorcndu-se a vechea ordne. Nc sstemu stpnuu btrn nc ce a ceu tnr nu pot s-
pstreze stabtatea fr pu[n mage, dar metoda stpnuu btrn a reut deocamdat s
pun mture a punct.
n cazu Academe, coaborarea dntre sus[ntor vechuu sstem ce ma progrest
func[oneaz, pe cnd vra|a ncontroab a nouu sstem neoberazat scoate ucrure dn ordnea
or - nu pentru c este consderat neaprat ca fnd ce ma prost sstem, c pentru c ce care au
depns de vechea structur un tmp ndeungat adapteaz orce tendn[ de progres propruu or
mode. Irona este c aceast ncna[e ctre ,autonoma" artstc seamn foarte mut cu
,bertatea" artstc care- permte artstuu s creeze un perfect mode neobera. ntreaga ogc
ncepe s se nvrteasc n acest punct - ca un cne n |uru coz.
O profese bazat n mare parte pe ndvduasm, magne unctate a a|uns a propra e crz, n
tmp ce studen[ profesor grevt au ncetat s se ma nve[e un pe a[ pe e n cum s se
ndvduazeze ma mut. Au ncetat s fac acest ucru atunc cnd s-au unt ca s se opun
mpreun structur. Dup ce s-au nvrtt n cerc an de ze, dup ce au fost ntr-un perco seros s
ame[easc s cad, a vent momentu n care protagont au reut, n sfrt s prnd ucru
dup care aergau n cerc, moment n care -au dat seama c, de fapt, dup propra or coad au
aergat n to[ an aceta. Arta educa[a servnd captau servnd ca modee pentru capta au
fost expuse ca atare. Totu, nu trebue s rmnem prn n ceebrarea acestu moment, c s
contnum s chestonm s punem n dscu[e acest moment ca pe un moment de tranz[e, n oc
s foosm coectvsmu ca pe un exerc[u pentru crearea personat[or noastre unce novatoare
pe care s se bazeze vtoaree noastre carere. Structura care a fost ntrerupt chestonat nu
trebue s se rentoarc ccc a aceea structur. De fapt, marea rone a stua[e nu este aceea c
actuau va de proteste nterna[onae a zbucnt ntr-o [ar ca Austra, care e domnat de trad[a
,parteneratuu soca".
7
C const n faptu c coaa de art, care este doar o component a
manre de producere de ndvz neobera a et a suprafa[, expunnd ntregu paradox a
sstemuu construt n |uru or.
,Crza dn educa[e" crza captast
Cum poate f foost aceast tranz[e ntr-un mod constructv cu scopu de a contnua aceste
ocupr a spa[or aceast rezsten[ , ma mportant, cu scopu de a restructura probematcee
6
6e e2epl): http://eipcp.net/trans5ersal/1106/lore3/en
7
7 rela>ie de cooperare Cntre sindicat Di Baera a)striac, de coer>; c) scop)l de a eliina con"lictele social-politice prin politici a-reate consens)al E
",cFnd ast"el iposi#ile radicalis)l; protestele sa) anta-onis)l.
18
ssteme cum ar f ce de educa[e ate ssteme asocate acestua, cum ar f ce de art? Cum pot f
aceste ssteme restructurate de |os n sus pe vtor? Un protestatar s-au refert a crearea unu
,scenaru a nfnt" ca mode de protest, conform crua spa[e care au fost revendcate
aproprate s rmn auto-organzate, fr ncun comproms. De fapt, n ndeungata store a
reformeor neoberae, ce ma profund punct de de-potzare a fost probab de|a atns, protestee
gobae prvnd educa[a ar putea marca punctu de cottur dup care s urmeze re-potzarea. n
acest sens, este necesar s se a n consderare actuaa ,crz" dn educa[e ca fnd drect
propor[ona cu crza economc. Aceast corea[e arat foarte car ncercre de a transforma
educa[a n noua fronter n care crza captast s- nvesteasc resursee mpu[nate , n
consecn[, repetm. NU VOM PLATI NOI PENTRU CRIZA VOASTRA!
Crza economc care, de fapt, refect eecu captasmuu nsu, captasm care e un sstem
bazat n mod fundamenta pe negatate, excudere crearea categore ,ceat", sstem care duce
a moartea ,ceuat" pentru proft
8
, arat, de fapt, un nve extrem a une crze socae generazate.
Acest ucru trebue uat n consderare upta trebue s se fac mpotrva tuturor crzeor afate n
nterdependen[, nu doar mpotrva crze dn educa[e. Dac acest ucru nu este uat n consderare,
atunc va rezuta cu sguran[ o repet[e reproducere a reat[ captaste atotcuprnztoare.
Drept de rezden[ bertate de mcare pentru orcne
n tmpu penuror, ntervuror, a prezentror dscursuror, persoane care nu avuseser n
preaab o uurn[ de a vorb n pubc au fost vzbe. Acest ucru are dou poten[at[, aa cum
am men[onat ma sus. Pe de-o parte, poate pregt manager ma bun, dar pe de at parte poate
crea o structur descentrazat de dscu[e reprezentare democratc. Benefcu aceste stua[
pentru ce care nu sunt capab s vorbeasc bne crora se d o ans s o fac, este un
nceput. Dar ceea ce este mportant s se ab n vedere este dferen[a fa[ de ce care nu pot vorb
deoc, pentru c nu se d voe s vorbeasc (femee care sunt n mod sexst defmate atacate,
musuman care sunt hudu[ afar dn spa[u pubc, mgran[ care sunt gnora[, etc.) dferen[a
fa[ de ce care nu- permt s fe prezen[. Aceta dn urm sunt ce care fac munc precare egae
sau sem-egae a orce or dn z dn noapte, n tmp ce sunt supu egor de mgrare rasste
9

rasste Leg unverstare
10
n tmp ce trebue s ob[n note mar a examene s dovedeasc un
nve maxm de productvtate n stude or pentru a putea rmne ega n [ara n care studaz.
ntorcndu-ne ma degrab a metafora despre mucatu propre coz, n ocu nvrtr n |uru coz:
ce care- petrec tmpu cutnd mncare nu au tmp s vneze coada. Revendcarea centra a
protestataror, ,educa[e ber gratut pentru toat umea" poate f ndepnt numa dac
exst bertate de mcare pentru toat umea , dncoo de gran[ee na[onae suprana[onae.
Utmu Acord de a Lsabona a propus s se fac un amendament a urmtoru acord (dn decembre
2009) stabnd educa[a ca fnd cea de-a cncea bertate de mcare n UE, pe ng capta, servc,
bunur cet[en, cu scopu de a ntr bazee Are Educa[e Superoare Europene, sus[nut de
Procesu de a Boogna. Obectvee proftabe ae crer une Ar a Educa[e Superoare Europene,
care se presupune c va aduce o ,nou Renatere"
11
n Europa, ar ncepe s se nrue dac ar f
comparate reatatea mobt[ cu cea a mgra[e.
8
=Gecropolitica Di necroeconoia; etode de ac))lare practicate Cn conte2te coloniale de actori econoici speci"ici E corpora>ii )ltina>ionale; de
e2epl) E care incl)d e2proprierea; oartea; tort)ra; sin)ciderea; scla5ia; distr)-erea i:loacelor de trai Di 5iolen>a controlat,.? Vezi +)#ha#rata (o##3
(anar:ee; =Hi5e and Het 6ie: Bolonial +o5erei-nties and the 6eath Iorlds o" Gecrocapitalis;? (orderlands e:o)rnal; Vol)e 5; G)#er 1; 2006.
9
n Austria, pentru a primi sau extinde permisul de reedin, un student care nu provine dintr-o ar UE/CEE trebuie s
prezinte dovada c deine cel putin ,!"# pe an, precum i dovada c a studiat, c i-a terminat studiile minime, c nu
are cazier etc$ %entru studeni e imposibil s a&un' la aceast sum (n mod le'al, pentru c dreptul lor de munc este
limitat strict la cel mult )## pe lun$
10
*ei o+icial se spune c s-au ,abolit,- taxele de colarizare (nc exist (n Austria$ Amendarea le'ii universitare din !##.
nu a introdus dec/t scutirea pentru anumite 'rupuri de studeni, cel mai mare dintre aceste 'rupuri +iind cel al
studenilor austrieci i provenind din UE$ 0tudenii din ri ne-membre UE pltesc aceleai taxe ca i (nainte de !##.$
11
1ezi 2aportul Comisiei Europene3 ,%re'tind Europa pentru o nou renatere 4 vedere de ansamblu asupra cercetrii
europene-3 ec$europa$eu/researc5/erab/publications6en$5tml$ %entru o analiz a rdcinilor coloniale ale 2enaterii, vezi
7alter 8i'nolo 9:5e *ar;er 0ide o+ t5e 2enaissance3 Colonization and t5e *iscontinuit< o+ t5e Classical :radition-
=,>brazul (ntunecat al 2enaterii3 Colonizarea i discontinuitatea tradiiei clasice-? Renaissance Quarterly, 1ol @A, Bo$ @
=7inter, "CC!?, pp$ .#.4.!.$
19
n consecn[, am dor s facem no un amendament a decara[e revendcre pe care e-am
fcut pn acum, decarnd c pn cnd men[onata reatate soca nu este confruntat,
democra[a nu poate func[ona cu adevrat. Prn urmare, propunem, ca pe un prm pas, ca suma de
34 de moane de euro care a fost acordat ca o msur de urgen[ unverst[or de ctre
Mnster
12
s fe foost ca patform de fnan[are pentru ca ORICINE - gndndu-ne a ce supu
potcor opresve rasste sexste - s poat partcpa a proteste, astfe ca protestu rea s poat,
de fapt, s nceap. Ma mut, urmtoarea msur ar trebu s fe ca vtoaree sume s fe aocate
crer men[ner une patforme care s asgure n contnuare aceast partcpare democratc.
Doar atunc vom putea contnua s ne artcum revendcre s ne drec[onm aten[a asupra
schmbror dn structure unverstare, pnund nvest[e fnancare vtoare. Progresu rea, care
nu reproduce formee dscrmnator ae avanta|uu dezavanta|uu nega, este posb doar dac
se ncearc n mod drect demoarea fecre structur de opresune care a fost n mod content
adresat n tmpu protesteor. Dac aceste upte sunt zoate unee de atee, ee vor a|unge, n mod
nevtab, s fe parte dn aproprerea captast a tuturor sfereor exsten[e. O schmbare radca
poate avea oc doar dac dfertee upte pentru aceast schmbare se asocaz.
25 noembre 2009
Traducere dn mba engez:h.arta
http://epcp.net/pro|ects/creatngwords/dokuzovc-freudmann/en
Culture and Education or !pillover 7no8led"e Econo%ies
Lna Dokuzovc
The producton of knowedge and of cutura or artstc practces has been nextrcaby nked
throughout hstory, whether havng been formay recognzed, takng pace n accredted nsttutons
or not. However, there has been a recent rse n nsttutonazed nterdscpnary programs between
cuture and the scences, PhD n artstc practce programs, artstc research programs, the emphass
on the "educatona turn" n cuture, curatng and art, musea teachng programs, among others that
nk cuture, educaton and knowedge producton. These programs are marketed as hot new
perspectves and have frequenty been used as a seng pont for pacng unverstes, museums as
we as other nsttutons on the map nternatonay. At the same tme, wth nterreatona practces
n cuture and educaton or knowedge producton havng a ong hstory,|1| the dsregard of both
that hstory as we as the potca condtons and soceta mpcatons of ther nterreatons n the
process of foundng such nterdscpnary programs becomes pecuar.|2| It s aso pecuar that
whe these programs are poppng up a over the word, but partcuary wthn Europe, that the
feds of cuture and educaton have consstenty undergone drastc budget cuts and radca austerty
measures nevertheess.
Ptchng such nterdscpnary programs as new radca nsttutona perspectves not ony co-opts
exstng practces and marketzes them, t outnes measures for a new doube-standard n pubc
recognton and fnanca support. Ths artce w, therefore, outne that doube-standard by ntay
breakng down how t s concretey apped n European Unon cutura pocy and ook at how the
EUs broad noton of cuture nks to harnessng knowedge producton n the frst part. The second
part of ths artce w then approach the adverse by-products or trcke-down effects of those
measures, ookng at the excuson undergrdng ncuson, as we as the dfferng perspectves on
the noton of "spover."

nterdisciplinarit95 innovation and clusterin"
In May 2007, the European Commsson proposed an agenda for Cuture, based on three common
12
Aceast suma, o mic pictur (n bazinul tuturor universitilor austriece, a +ost acordat dup ce +usese iniial trecut
la reduceri de bu'et$ n +inal, a +ost pstrat (n ,rezerva ministrului-ca o msur disciplinar$
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ob|ectves, one of whch s "cuture as a catayst for creatvty."|3| Accordng to that document,
cutura ndustres have become the fastest growng ndustres n many European natons.|4| In
tmes of economc crss, the reevance of that nformaton becomes sgnfcant and has brought
greater attenton to cutura pocy on an EU eve. Reports, such as the Eurostat, have stated that
cuture functons hand n hand wth knowedge producton, partcuary wthn hgher educaton,
aowng ncreased mobty between the two; cuture has mmense potenta n ntegratng women
nto deveopng markets, partcuary when nternked wth educaton|5|; and t sgnfcanty
supports the growth of reated sectors, especay n con|uncton wth knowedge producton
regardng the nnovatve potenta necessary for scentfc research and technoogca deveopment.
The "Interm Evauaton of the Cuture Programme 2007-2013" states that:
"Ths contrbuton of cuture to Europes economc deveopment s of ncreasng nterest
gven the recent goba economc downturn. The cutura sector operates n an
nternatona and rapdy changng envronment where transnatona co-operaton,
mobty, nternatona crcuaton and the capacty to work on an nternatona eve are
becomng more and more mportant. The mpact of the crss on nternatona cutura co-
operaton cannot yet be fuy understood, as t may take some tme before pubc fundng
cuts at the natona eve, or reductons n prvate sponsorshp begn to affect the
capacty of pro|ect promoters to fnd matchng natona fundng. However the frst
ndcatons are that budget cuts are takng pace, whch rases new chaenges for cutura
operators who wsh to engage n nternatona co-operaton and aso hghghts the
mportance of EU support for such co-operaton."|6|
The benefts that cuture has been reported to have for other ndustres has offcay been
recognzed by the European Commsson, n whch ts sgnfcance s not ony observed
ndependenty, but has subsequenty aso been shfted from one partcuar agenda to
"manstreamng cuture to a reevant poces"|7| for the support of nnovatve growth and
deveopment. That mpact on nnovaton va proxmty to cuture s known as "spover," n whch a
wde range of ndustres receve maxma benefts through cuture at mnma cost, .e. "knowedge
spovers occur when new deas and technooges deveoped by creatve busnesses are frutfuy
apped esewhere wthout compensaton."|8| Innovaton s vta as t s a man ob|ectve for
resovng some of the EUs ma|or economc and soca chaenges n todays compettve knowedge
economy n whch Research and Technoogca Deveopment (RTD) pays a great roe. RTD s the
man agenda of the European Hgher Educaton Area (EHEA) and European Research Area (ERA),
whch were estabshed through the Boogna Process reforms as the desgnated space of the
European knowedge economy. RTD s one of the prortes, f not the man prorty, for brngng
Europe ahead as a gobay compettve knowedge economy.|9|
The European Commsson states that: "The nk between educaton and cuture s a thread runnng
through the EUs poces on educaton, whch w be contnued, for exampe, under the Lfeong
Learnng programme."|10| The Lfeong Learnng Program (LLP) s a European umbrea program for
fundng. Its man agendas ncude supportng maxma mobty n the EHEA and tappng nto
otherwse unreated areas of ndustry through ts "transversa" programs,|11| whch provde for
ncreased spover potenta. Wth the hgh capacty for spover between cuture and educaton, the
unversty becomes the dea space for mpementng such agendas. Intatves that manage to
structure the power of spover, whch brng together as many ndustres as possbe to beneft form
each other at mnma cost, can be seen n so-caed "custer" budng, partcuary n the budng of
the so-caed "creatve custer." Custers are concentratons of varous nterconnected nterests and
ndustres whch support frutfu compettve growth. They can exst on a concrete geographc eve,
for exampe, the custerng of toursm, gastronomy, pedagogy and cuture n the European Capta of
Cuture pro|ect or they can exst on an abstract budgetary eve, such as partnerng Mnstres of
Educaton and Scence/Innovaton to prvate ndustres through thrd-party fundng for
nterdscpnary research pro|ects. Custers on the unversty eve can thereby create "custers of
exceence" - referrng drecty to the "exceence" that s reached when satsfyng the standardzed
statstca outputs normazed by the educatona reforms - whch then n turn substantate greater
pubc fundng for those nsttutons. So n effect, Lfeong Learnng provdes the dea framework for
spover, wth custerng provdng the dea strategy.
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Whe spover may represent the economc advantages of custerng cuture - whether that
advantage s through the offca yet vague and broad-rangng understandng and appcaton of
cuture wthn EU pocy on the one hand, or be t the producton of art and cuture as soca
consttuent, on the other - basng prosperty on co-opted accdent s a rather questonabe approach
to begn wth. If the term "spover" s taken teray, as somethng whch s spilled over or eaked as
the accdenta resut of actons or reatons, then t must be understood as havng both postve and
negatve effects rather than exstng as pure serendpty.

1iscipline5 e:ploitation and e:clusion
The goba captast economy functons on a "foursh or persh" bass. In a supranatona structure
ke the EU, natonaty becomes abstracted and branded, aowng a arge groupng of smar yet
dverse natons to n fact functon as an economc custer n frutfu competton wth one another n
a confned space. Incuson nto ths custer, therefore, depends hghy on potenta gans, proft and
nnovaton for that space - whch n turn defnes and reaffrms (supra-)natona ncuson. Buzzwords
ke ntercutura daogue, affrmatve acton, ntegraton and dversty management a ndcate
structura attempts at fterng the productvty that s toerated and ncuded or that whch s not
benefca and thereby excuded. Those that have ntegrated nto the standards outned by such
programs, gudenes and aws, deberatey or not, compy wth the expotatve condtons of the
market economy to varyng degrees, dependng on the eve of ther ncuson. However, those who
refuse to ntegrate or who are not gven the chance, due to more extreme forms of dscrmnaton,
suffer from a wde range of margnazaton or compete excuson.
When examnng proft producton va soca excuson n the current European economy n crss, two
parae eves can be observed: frst, EU-nterna structures and secondy, the transgressve
consequences that stretch beyond the space of the EU whch are dspaced to the perpheres
through mgraton and deportaton poces. Ths process can be observed n the segregated forms of
the same acton wth, for nstance, the free movement for capta, goods, servces and ctzens wthn
the EU, and the smutaneous mantenance of deportaton camps, "watng rooms" and "securty
agences," whch are both compex yet permeabe structures, but whch are aso responsbe for the
hoards of unrecognzed bodes on the shores and at the borders of the EU, such as n the case of
Frontex.
On an EU-nterna eve, the louris/ or peris/ concept has wde-rangng consequences. In the feds
of cuture and educaton, louris/ means custer wth more proftabe ndustres that can ad to
nnovaton that n turn support mutpe facets of ndustra deveopment, .e. adapt the ams and
structure of the very knowedge and cuture produced to be maxmay proftabe. ,eris/, on the
other hand, means be wped out by austerty cuts n the shrnkng pubc budget f the cuture and
knowedge produced s not proftabe or desrabe enough for the broader economy (not socety).
They are thereby ether eft to the shark poo of the prvate sector, forced to brand and modfy
themseves - or presented wth methods of tghty framed ntegraton nto other feds through
custerng. The resut s that crtca or expermenta producton n cuture and knowedge becomes
severed from the pubc sector and structuray margnazed and sub|ect to precarousness from the
very start. The noton of Lfeong Learnng becomes the embodment of spover, as t s essentay a
vountary nvestment nto producton n a ndustra sectors wth the promse of eventua
compensaton, resutng n a new cass of workers nvestng nto what ends up beng lielong debt.
On an EU-externa eve, however, wth the competton for budng the strongest knowedge-based
economy n the word provdng an essenta consttuent n the EUs externa pocy, those
consequences become refected dfferenty. The eve of productvty that an ndvdua dspays
aows those "externa" workers provdng hgh nnovatve potenta ncreased access to socety n
the EU, aowng maxma proft through ther mted ncuson. Those ndvduas are n turn
consdered part of the export economy, because of the hgh amount that they nvest nto the area
before eavng, takng any rsks or mantenance costs wth them. It s the same process as spover
for nnovaton on a gobay compettve scae. When understandng the noton of mobty wthn the
EU, t becomes cear that cuture and educaton are key payers n guest economes for maxmay
effcent and proftabe nnovaton, aowng temporary margna access to the EU, supportng
proftabe bran-dran and spover for nnovaton, supportng guest consumer and export economes.
|12| At the same tme, however, unverstes n, e.g. the UK, are put under pressure to cooperate
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wth the Home Offce or actuay work together wth deportaton camps.|13|
Educaton and cuture are key n understandng these structures, as they each suppy a knd of
"untapped" mmatera resource n ther endess potenta, maxmay assstng n tmes of economc
crss n a crumbng economy based on mted and over-expoted matera resources. Cuture and
educaton become ncreasngy proftabe when nked together, and even more so when nked to
mgraton pocy, toursm or other (supra-)natona custers. By takng advantage of the nadvertent
affects of cuture, t can become ntegrated nto a other ndustres wth mnma costs and maxma
returns, so t s cruca to observe a structura process of how money s beng squeezed out of cuture
and educaton through budget cuts, but put back n a dspersed way when nked to RTD and
ndustra nnovaton.
Thereby the numerous nternatonay branded nterdscpnary programs emergng shoud aso be
seen from a dfferent perspectve. They embody the structure and noton of proftabe custerng,
hghght Lfeong Learnng agendas wth frequent vountary nvestments and reated debt, and
manage to "dscpne" expermenta practces whch may have not been perceved as proftabe n
the past. The excuson of a ong hstory of nterreatona work n cuture, from artstc research to
radca pedagogy, manages to ad n dscpnng the future of such practces by repackagng them as
a product and as a dscpne, n whch a forma dscpne "ponts to the ssue t keeps under
contro."|14| The whoe compex process of repackagng, standardzng, commodfyng and
"dscpnng" of these practces and hstores vsby exposes the consequences of crtca cutura
and knowedge producton: Spover effects and nnovaton are supported, but crtca potenta s
not. The former w be formay dscpned through ntegraton and the atter va margnazaton.
However, f we return to the noton of understandng "spover" teray and consder dsasters that
resut from accdents, perhaps ths knowedge can be used n a dfferent way. Whe, on the one
hand, programs and pocy agendas expore the transversa effects of spover wthn feong
earnng and custerng, transversaty, nterreatona practces and vng earnng have been used
as some of the most radca emancpatory practces for contestng precsey the dscpne and
excuson of cuture, the arts and knowedge. The noton of transversaty has been used to queston
the dvson and structure of dscpnes to begn wth, and vng earnng|15| has been a means for
strengthenng fghts for soca |ustce by harnessng coectve experences and aternatve
knowedges ganed from strugge by those excuded from the nsttutons where knowedge s
dscpned. Such concepts have been part and parce of strugges rangng from those aganst
austerty measures to strugges for basc exstenta needs, and have re-artcuated and created ther
own parae hstores, knowedges, arts and cutures.
It s not my am to competey dsquafy the vaue of nsttutonazed nterdscpnary programs.
What I am tryng to do though s to show that whether t takes pace through mere questonng,
sabotage or the re-appropraton of nsttutonazed knowedge to be brought back nto strugges,
|16| t s up to each of us to understand the compex processes takng pace around us today, and
to earn from a ong hstory of radca artstc and cutura practces, autonomous educatona
practces, and the soca and potca potenta that ther overaps and nks generate n order to
defne how and under whch terms we create and work wth cuture and knowedge. It s cear that
"reevant" knowedge w not be gven. It has been dvded, quantfed and s beng sod to the
hghest bdder n a goba competton. The hstores and knowedges that are hdden, emancpatory
and empowerng must be retreved, sef-defned and contnuay re-assessed through ved
experence and strugge.

|1| Makng a seecton of exampes trvazes the hstory and compexty of these practces, but n
order to carfy that pont, I w attempt to show how vvd even a few of the most we-known
exampes are: e.g. |oseph Beuys ecture-performances as "soca scuptures," or hs foundng of the
Free Internatona Unversty n whch he attempted to coectvey merge art, potcs and educaton
n the 1970s; the work of New Tendences (NT) n Zagreb, whch used emergng technooges to
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expore the potca potenta of expermenta art; or for terature, see Peter Wess' nove, !est/etics
o (esistance, whch expores a hstory of resstant "artstc research" from 1933-1945; or the
creating =orlds ssue artP0no=ledge+ overlaps and neig/boring Cones:
http://epcp.net/transversa/0311; among many many others.
|2| Whe some of the programs may very we refer to hstory, many of them are many practce-
based. However, what I am expcty referrng to here s that by decarng somethng new and
cuttng edge, t mpes that there was no "od" practce precedng t.
|3| http://ec.europa.eu/cuture/our-pocy-deveopment/doc1199_en.htm
|4| E.g., regardng the UK: "The research aso shows that the creatve ndustres are more nnovatve
than many other hgh-nnovaton sectors, for exampe professona and busness servces. What s
more, the creatve ndustres provde a dsproportonate number of the nnovatve busnesses n
most parts of the country." Carone Chapan, Ph Cooke, Lsa De Props, Stewart MacNe, |uan
Mateos-Garca, "Creatve Custers and Innovaton: Puttng Creatvty on the Map," NESTA: Natona
Endowment for Scence, Technoogy and the Arts, Research report: November 2010, pg. 4.
|5| Eurostat, "Cutura Statstcs," 2011 Edton, Pocketbooks, European Unon: 2011, pg. 48.
|6| Andrew McCoshan & |ames Rampton, "Interm Evauaton of the Cuture Programme 2007-
2013," Fna Report 2010, ECORYS UK on behaf of the European Commsson DG Educaton and
Cuture, pg.
|7| T/e -isbon Treat4, Artce 167, Paragraph 4; formery 6$ Treat4, Artce 151; See aso:
http://ec.europa.eu/cuture/our-pocy-deveopment/doc399_en.htm;
http://ec.europa.eu/cuture/our-pocy-deveopment/doc405_en.htm
|8| ?bid. pg. 24.
|9| For a crtca perspectve on nnovaton, see: http://epcp.net/poces/cc and
http://epcp.net/transversa/0207
|10| http://ec.europa.eu/cuture/our-pocy-deveopment/doc405_en.htm
|11| http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/p/about_p/about_p_en.php
|12| Lna Dokuzovc and Eduard Freudmann, "Fortfed Knowedge: From Supranatona Governance
to Transoca Resstance", T/e 1orlds Q Rno=ledges 5t/er=ise, Voume 3, Dosser 2: 5n 6urope,
6ducation, 2lobal %apitalism and ?deolog4, Ed. Marna Grznc, Duke Unversty: |u 2010;
http://trnty.duke.edu/gobastudes/wp-
content/upoads/2010/09/DokuzovcFreudmannGrzncWKO3.2.pdf
|13| See, e.g. Vare Hartwch, "Fortress Academy: The Ponts-Based Vsa System and the Pocng
of Internatona Students and Academcs," Manfesto Cub Report, February 2010; or the map made
by the countermappng qmary and 3Cs coectves, "counter/mappng: fndng (y)our way through
fters and borders": http://www.countercartographes.org/actvtes-manmenu-38/1-
news/77-countermappng-qmary-map-reeased
|14| Hto Steyer, "Aesthetcs of Resstance? Artstc Research as Dscpne and Confct,"
artP0no=ledge+ overlaps and neig/boring Cones, creatng words, |an 2010;
http://epcp.net/transversa/0311/steyer/en
|15| See, e.g. the concept behnd and actons of Vdya Ashram, who base ther coectve
movements around "Lokavdya" or vng knowedge of the poor and of the whoe of socety:
www.vdyaashram.org
|16| See the case of members of the soca strugges, Rura Network, and the shack dweers
movement, Abaha baseM|ondoo, n Durban, South Afrca. Those movements cam that vad
knowedge s not determned by the soca herarches nstaed n the unversty, but s vadated by
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ts use n practce n communa strugges. They refer to that knowedge as "vng earnng" and
confronted the notons of "feong earnng" by appontng members of ther movements to nftrate
the unversty, brngng back reevant matera for better artcuatng ther coectve strugge for
basc needs, n whch a "vng archve" has been exstng at the Abaha baseM|ondoo; Nge C.
Gbson, Anne Harey, Rchard Pthouse, "Out of Order: A Lvng Learnng for a Lvng Potcs," n:
Lndea Fgan, Rev. Mavuso, Bus Ngema, Zodwa Nsbande, She Sbs and Sbu Zkode, -iving
-earning, The Church Land Programme (CLP), Durban: 2009.
/ttp+PPeipcp.netPpoliciesPdo0uCovicPen
Cuture and Educaton or Spover Knowedge Economes
Con;1e%%ed to t4e (lea<est of Futures= Report fro% t4e *7
Care Bshop
In the ast three months Ive been organzng a seres of pubc semnars at CUNY Graduate Center
on "deskng" n the arts snce 1945, and n the artce that foows I may have undergone some
deskng mysef-from an art hstoran/crtc who wrtes about art to a commentator on cutura
pocy. I apoogze f the resuts are band, bureaucratc and statstca; Im fndng my feet here. In
what foows, I w argue that n the wake of the genera eecton n May 2010, whch resuted n a
Conservatve-Lbera Democrat coaton-the UKs frst coaton government snce 1945-the
ensung cuts to cuture cannot be seen as separate from an assaut on wefare, educaton, and soca
equaty. The rhetorc of an "age of austerty" s beng used as a coak for the prvatzaton of a
pubc servces and a renstatement of cass prvege: a sad retreat from the most cvzed
Keynesan ntatves of the post-war perod, n whch educaton, heathcare, and cuture were
understood to be a democratc rght freey avaabe to a.
1. Background: Cuture
In the UK, pubc fundng for the arts s admnstered by Arts Counc Engand va a government body
caed the Department of Cuture, Meda and Sport (DCMS). Foowng the change of power n May
2010, the DCMS asked Arts Counc Engand to take a 29.6 percent cut to ts budget. Ths transates
as a cut from 449 mon for the arts each year, to 350 mon-the bggest cut to the arts snce
government fundng began n 1940. In the years that foowed, pubc expendture on the arts was
estabshed wth a mandate to promote the accessbty of cuture to the Brtsh pubc and to
operate at an "arms ength" from government pocy (an autonomy prncpe typca of the Cod War
perod).
In recent decades, the Arts Councs "arms ength" pocy has been severey straned, and
partcuary so snce the neobera turn of Thatchers Conservatve government (1979-1997), and
agan under Bars and Browns New Labour government (1997-2010). Both partes nstrumentazed
cuture, but to dfferent ends. Detectng that the arts were a vehce of dssent, Thatcher enforced a
popust, proft-makng mode: weanng cuture off a wefare-state mentaty and encouragng an
entrepreneura approach n whch "bums on seats" became a more mportant crteron than "deas
n the head."1 The shft dd not cose down cuture but ed to some powerfu expressons of
resstance, especay n fm and theatre-even f the popuar successes of ths perod were prmary
muscas by Andrew Loyd Webber. New Labour aso vewed cuture as an economc generator, but n
a dfferent fashon, recognzng the roe of creatvty and cuture n commerce and growth n the
"knowedge economy."2 Ths ncuded museums as a source of regeneraton, but aso nvestment n
the "creatve ndustres" as aternatves to tradtona manufacturng.3 As such, New Labour adopted
a far more openy nstrumenta approach to cutura pocy than prevous UK governments, and ths
extended to ntervenng n the Natona Currcuum to factate the deveopment of creatvty wthn
schoos as an equa to teracy and numeracy.4 They aso ntroduced free admsson to a museums,
whch-aong wth the Turner Prze, Saatchs coecton, and the openng of Tate Modern n 2000-
generated a massve popuar audence for the consumpton of cuture n Brtan. Labour advocated
greater pubc partcpaton n the arts, sought to deveop cuture n the regons, and to support the
25
tranng and ntegraton of back and ethnc mnortes nto postons of cutura power through
postve acton "cutura dversty" schemes.
Labours commtment to creatvty was such that a Green Paper from 2001 even opens wth the
words "everyone s creatve," presentng the governments msson as one that ams to "free the
creatve potenta of ndvduas."5 However, t s mportant to recognze that ths am of uneashng
creatvty was not desgned to foster greater soca happness, the authentc reazaton of human
potenta, or the utopan magnaton of aternatves, but rather to acceerate the processes of
neoberasm. In the words of socoogst Angea McRobbe, t amed to produce "a future generaton
of socay dverse creatve workers who are brmmng wth deas and whose sks need not ony be
channeed nto the feds of art and cuture but w aso be good for busness."6 In short, the
emergence of a creatve and mobe sector mnmzed reance on the wefare state whe aso
reevng corporatons of the burden of beng responsbe for a permanent workforce. As such, t
became mportant to deveop creatvty n schoos, not so that everyone coud be an artst (as |oseph
Beuys decared), but because the popuaton s ncreasngy requred to assume the ndvduazaton
assocated wth creatvty: to be entrepreneura, embrace rsk, ook after ther own sef-nterest, be
ther own brands, and be free of dependence on the state.7 To cte McRobbe once more:
the answer to so many probems across a wde spectrum of the popuaton-e.g. mothers at home
and not qute ready to go back to work fu tme-on the part of New Labour s "sef empoyment,"
set up your own busness, be free to do your own thng. Lve and work ke an artst.8
But the present-day government has no such pan for perpetuatng creatvty as a cornerstone of the
"knowedge economy," as can be seen n the depth and types of cuts t has prortzed, n cuture but
more mportanty n educaton (as I w dscuss beow). For exampe, t has dsbanded Creatve
Partnershps, an organzaton dedcated to deveopng the creatve capacty of ndvduas by
empoyng artsts, poets, wrters, and muscans to work wth schoos and teachers n the most
dsadvantaged communtes. It has aso axed A Nght Less Ordnary (whch offered free theatre
tckets to peope under 26-a student body aready faced wth a hke n tuton fees) and Fnd Your
Taent, two ntatves that encourage young peope to partcpate n cutura actvtes. The
educatona charty Creatvty, Cuture and Educaton (CCE) w have ts budget haved to 19
mon; t too provdes access to the arts for chdren n over 2,500 schoos. The underyng cass
agenda here s not dffcut to detect. The mdde cass aways fnds a way for ther chdren to take
part n the arts, but chdren from poorer househods requre the assstance of state subsdes, whch
are precsey what s beng cut.
2. Cuture Snce May 2010
The fundng cuts mposed on the DCMS by the Tory-Lbera Democrat coaton have occasoned a
surprsngy concerted opposton from artsts. Over 100 of them-ncudng 19 Turner Prze wnners
and 28 prevous nomnees-sgned a pubc etter to the Cuture Secretary |eremy Hunt (head of the
DCMS). In t, they express concern for the fact that smaer museums and gaeres, especay
regona ones, w be worst ht, makng the mportant pont (true aso for mysef) that "many of us
had our frst nsprng encounters wth art n these paces."9 In a etter to T/e 2uardian, Patrck Br
(aka Bob and Roberta Smth) referred to the cuts as "an unprecedented war on cuture," whe Tate
drector Nchoas Serota has descrbed them as operatng wth "the ruthessness of a btzkreg."10
Depressngy, the chef executve of Arts Counc Engand, Aan Davey, was n voca support of the
cuts, camng that "ts somethng we woud have wanted to do anyway."11
In the mdst of a ths, t s worth rememberng that n March 2007, the prevous Labour government
dverted 675 mon from the arts to pay for the Oympcs.12 But New Labour was aso (n)famous
for ts numerous "quangos"-governmenta agences that acted as ndependent bodes of expertse
and fundng, but were perceved by many on the rght to be dranng fnanca resources. Under the
new regme, dozens of quangos have been aboshed, ncudng the Counc for Archtecture and the
But Envronment (whch advsed on ong-term urban pannng and desgn), the UK Fm Counc, and
the Museums, Lbrares, and Archves Counc. The st of organzatons to suffer cuts aso ncudes
eght sma museums not decreed to be "natona nsttutons"; ther fundng w be entrey hated
by 2014-15, wth the understandng that they "shoud be the responsbty of oca communtes."13
These ncude the Hornman Museum-a gem of a tme warp n South London wth an nsane
taxonomy coecton that fnds space even for a pcked mermad-whch w ose 85 percent of ts
budget. The Geffrye Museum, an exquste coecton n Shoredtch devoted to nteror desgn snce
26
1600, w ose 75 percent of ts budget. Three museums outsde London w aso see ther fundng
grnd to a hat: the Peopes Hstory Museum n Manchester, the Museum of Scence and Industry
(aso n Manchester), and the Natona Coa Mnng Museum (n Wakefed). These atter cuts are
perhaps the most teng, because they revea the governments bas towards depotczed forms of
hgh cuture. To cut the Peopes Hstory Museum s to effectvey de-nsttutonaze the workng
casss own hstory and ensure that ts narratve w be presented by the vctors.
Axng fundng to these nsttutons nevtaby sends the message that such museums are
dspensabe, and that ony commercay vabe museums can contnue to operate-a market-based
ogc that now ooms over the countrys entre cutura and educatona future. The Natona Theatre
(whch receves 19.7 mon annuay from the Arts Counc) has aready secured 10 mon from
Traveex, whe Mastercard has stepped n to sponsor the South Bank Centers 60th Annversary of
the Festva of Brtan. Ths knd of corporate fundng s not avaabe to regona, ess hgh-profe and
ess gamorous nsttutons, and moreover mpedes ong-term pannng even for those who do
manage to secure t.14 Arts Counc Engand was tod to pass ony 15 percent of the cuts to "front-
ne" arts organzatons-n other words, to preserve wherever possbe the fundng for "centra"
organzatons n London (Roya Opera House, Engsh Natona Opera, The Roya Baet, the Natona
Theater), whch aso happen to be the nsttutons that fnd t easest to attract corporate and
ndvdua patronage, and whose tcket prces are the most prohbtvey expensve to those on an
average wage and beow.
One of the Arts Councs new goas s to promote prvate phanthropy-but the UK ags far behnd
the US n ths fed. Athough |ohn Sansbury has gven a 25 mon donaton to the Brtsh Museum,
and n 2008 the deaer Anthony dOffay sod hs 125 mon coecton to the Tate and Natona
Gaeres of Scotand for 26.5 mon, these are soated nstances, snce Brtan acks the
phanthropc mentaty that characterzes the US. Whe the US system s hed up as a mode, the
fact that t s ted to the fortunes of the market means that ts currenty experencng a 35 percent
drop. |eremy Hunt has offered to match 80 mon of prvate donatons wth 80 mon from the
government over fve years, yet ths money has aready been promsed to organzatons from the
Natona Lottery, so ts hardy a generous offer.15 Addtonay, the UK has no tax ncentve to
encourage prvate phanthropy, snce donors do not receve the tax break, ony the chartes (unke
the US, where prvate ndvduas gan from gvng).
Even f ncentves were n pace, there s tte to be sad for the cutura benefts of a move to prvate
and corporate fundng. As can be ceary seen n the US, prvate fundng hnders creatvty and rsk-
takng, and promotes a bockbuster mentaty that serves the patrons frst and cuture second; soca
status trumps cutura vtaty every tme. Some productons are fatay unattractve to sponsors: one
of the most wdey cted n defense of UK pubc fundng has been Lucy Prebbes 6nron, a hugey
successfu pay about corporate greed that began as a sma-scae regona producton before
makng t to London, and eventuay Broadway. My experence of cutura fundng n New York s that
expermenta pro|ects rarey receve support, whe prvate sponsorshp encourages sef-censorshp
and the trumph of market mperatves. But a deference to bg busness s expcty beng
encouraged n the UK: another of the Arts Councs stated new targets s to pay heed to the Foregn
Offces emergng power prortes (Chna, Inda, Braz, Guf states, Russa, |apan). The message
seems to be that theres fundng for Chnese art (whch paves the way for nternatona commerce),
but not for oca hstory. And the atter w have to be ooked after by the oca popuace, rather than
vaued as natona patrmony.
Such a reance on oca vounteersm s of course exempary of what Davd Cameron cas the "Bg
Socety": ostensby, a form of peope power n whch the pubc can chaenge how servces ke
brares, schoos, poce, and transportaton are beng run, and potentay take them over (tak
about deskng!). Ptched as a "dramatc redstrbuton of power from etes n Whteha to the man
and woman on the street," the Bg Socety s bascay a laisseC aire mode of government dressed
up as an appea to foster "a new cuture of vountarsm, phanthropy, soca acton."16 Its a thny
opportunst mask: askng wageess vounteers to pck up where the government cuts back,
meanwhe prvatzng servces cruca to educaton, wefare, and cuture.17 The Bg Socety s |ust
another word for sacrfce: responsbty s devoved downward, and |eremy Hunt (wth a persona
fortune of 4 mon) tes us we a need to dg deeper to fund cuture. The bggest sacrfce of a s
demanded of the ower casses, who are the hardest ht by an "age of austerty" prompted by an
obsceney reckess dereguated bankng system, ts baout by the taxpayer, and exacerbated by
27
Brtans commtment to the 2012 Oympcs.18
3. Prvatzng Educaton
Ah, the Oympcs. One of the many decsve moments n my departure from the UK hgher educaton
system n 2008 was the depressng dverson of fundng away from postgraduate educaton to
subsdze the 2012 Oympcs. At the same tme, t was one of Labours goas to get 50 percent of the
popuaton nto hgher educaton by 2010 (they faed; t remans somewhere n the 40s). Ths coud
ony be done by makng hgher educaton a more commerca operaton, and resuted n a constant
pressure to accept more students (especay those from non-EU countres who pay the hghest fees)
and a cuture of admnstraton and accountabty that decmated facuty energy for research.
Accompanyng ths was a forecosure of academc freedom: ndvdua grants for doctora study n
the arts and humantes-aready scarce and hghy compettve-were repaced by thematc "bock
grant fundng" runnng across severa departments, so that prospectve postgraduates woud have
to ft ther proposed research area nto predetermned themes. Facuty research grants n the Arts
and Humantes, meanwhe, were subordnated to governmenta agendas, pushng the humantes
to engage n "usefu" areas havng very tte to do wth the humantes proper, ncudng "Goba
Threats to Securty," "Ageng: Lfeong Heath and We-beng," and "Lvng wth Envronmenta
Change."19
Under the new coaton-best referred to n ths context as "Con-Dem"-ths coercon of the arts and
humantes s about to become outrght qudaton. The government body responsbe for the pubc
fundng of unverstes, the Hgher Educaton Fundng Counc for Engand (HEFCE), s cuttng 80
percent of ts teachng grant for unverstes and repacng t wth ncome from tuton fees. The
remanng 20 percent w be rng-fenced for four prorty sub|ect areas, referred to as STEM (Scence,
Technoogy, Engneerng and Maths). In other words, t/e teac/ing o !rts, Numanities and 'ocial
'ciences in universities =ill no longer receive state unding ater <I7M;7H, orcing t/ese
departments to ollo= a mar0et logic: degrees n these sub|ects can contnue to be ssued as ong as
there are enough students wng to pay hgh enough fees. Ths s a sgnfcant change n the ethos
of educaton. Instead of gvng fundng drecty to unverstes to admnster as these nsttutons
wsh, the government w end money to students to "nvest" n a course (and ther own career),
whch they w pay back, wth nterest, over the course of 25-30 years, accordng to each graduates
eve of ncome.20
There are two man ponts here: frst, an attack on the humantes (and the crtca thnkng they
stand for), and second, the prvatzaton of educaton, whch s no onger consdered a democratc
rght and a channe for soca mobty. Before I address these, a tte context s necessary. Unke the
US, the UK has had a mode of entrey free educaton snce the 1940s. Foowng the end of Word
War II: tuton fees were covered by a oca authorty and were accompaned by a generous
"mantenance grant" to support vng expenses. Thngs contnued n ths ven unt 1988, when
Thatchers Educaton Reform Act sought to create a "market" n educaton, wth schoos and
unverstes competng wth each other for customers (pups/students), unverstes funded
accordng to ther performance, and the aboshment of academc tenure. From a students
perspectve, not a huge amount changed unt a decade ater, when tuton fees were ntroduced and
a means-tested mantenance grant was repaced by a government oan to be repad as soon as
graduates earn an ncome of 15,000 or more.
At the moment, tuton fees are capped at 3,224 per student per year. Under the new system, fees
w be at east 6,000 per year, wth an opton of rsng to 9,000. (Gven the prestge assocated
wth scarcty, t s key that most unverstes w rase ther fees to the maxmum amount.) The
government cams that the poorest quarter of students w be better off under the new scheme,
payng ess per month n repayments-but for a onger amount of tme (a mortgage-ke fe
sentence of 25-30 years). There has been a great dea of number-crunchng as to whether or not the
proposed repayment scheme actuay does eave students from ow-ncome backgrounds better off,
but t msses the deoogca pont.21 A students w be sadded wth debt of at east 40-50K that
w nevtaby ht the poor hardest. (Even though the rch w not be aowed to repay ther oans n
one go, no statement has been made as to whether there w be a penaty f weathy students do
not take out a oan.) For the owest ncome students, t w surey reduce the ncnaton to go to
unversty atogether, despte Camerons tokenstc tak of a 150 mon subsdy for schoarshps for
the poorest. (There are currenty 750,000 students from ower economc backgrounds n hgher
educaton, and the proposed schoarshps w ony cover the frst year of tuton fees.22) Dressed up
28
n a bengn rhetorc of egataran progressveness (now everyone can be educated-and n debt!),
the bthe snobbery of the governments poston can be samped by gancng at an artce by
Mchae Gove, now Educaton Secretary, from 2003: "Anyone put off from attendng a good
unversty by fear of that debt doesnt deserve to be at any unversty n the frst pace."23 The
arrogance and prvege of ths statement beggars beef. It s uttery obscene that a post-war
generaton who en|oyed free educaton as a democratc rght can now, whe n government (as a
resut of that free hgher educaton), condemn future generatons to a fetme of abty.
Further assauts on the abty of ow-ncome students to enter unversty have aso been made by
axng the Educaton Mantenance Aowance, a beneft that aows 16-18 year ods to stay n
educaton, rather than fee pressured to go out and earn a vng. An ndependent report by the
Unverstes and Coege Unon (UCU) fnds that a number of unverstes are now at rsk of cosure-
most crtcay those that teach "non-prorty" areas (.e. the arts and humantes), those wthout a
arge number of hgh fee-payng overseas students, and those that attract students from the poorest
backgrounds.24 Its a Darwnan mentaty: unverstes wth a strong track record n STEM, and n
the corporate nvestment t aready attracts, w survve, whe the specast arts coeges w fa.
And those unverstes wth the most to nvest (n factes, resources, servces, the student
experence) w be those abe to charge the most-and ths advantage w repcate tsef by
propagatng an ever-wder gap.
A of whch renders the governments cam for makng educaton more egataran and progressve
through market choce a patent e. The dea that students are best paced to decde what they
shoud expect from hgher educaton makes a mockery of the dea of educaton producng sound
|udgment n the frst pace (as Staney Fsh ponts out, "f students possessed t at the get-go, there
woud be nothng for courses and programs to do").25 But such an ob|ecton contradcts the
governments most fundamenta assumpton-that what students want from hgher educaton s
vaue for money, not crtca thnkng about vaue tsef. Faced wth a future debt of up to 50,000 (f
one takes nto account oans necessary for accommodaton and mantenance), there w nevtaby
be a decne n student enroment for degrees n the humantes. As Martn McOuan (Professor of
Lterary Theory at Kngston Unversty) wryy observes, "The unreguated market beng fawess, f a
students choose "prorty" sub|ects, then as a matter of dogma t s fne for Art Hstory and Casscs
to go out of busness."26 Departmenta cosure s not unheard of: back n the 1980s, when the
market prncpe was frst ntroduced, numerous departments of Chnese, Russan, and Isamc
Studes were shut down because there was nsuffcent demand for them.27 Perhaps more nsdous,
though, are the underyng cass consequences of sub|ectng the humantes to a free market.
Courses that dever empoyabty w thrve, whe those that dont w dsappear-or be propped
up by the chdren of the rch. Its a pocy that can ony re-cement rgd cass and cutura
dstnctons: "phosophy for the bourgeose; vocatona courses for the masses."28
A number of academcs, a from the Humantes, have vvdy spoken out n pubc-athough none of
them have been Vce Chanceors n postons to take a practca stand. Severa have used the
metaphor of death to descrbe the wthdrawa of support for the humantes, seen as the febood of
unverstes. Aex Garca Duttman (Professor of Phosophy at Godsmths) has argued that a
unversty wthout humantes
w survve ony as a smuacrum of fe, a death worse than death, a fe of zombes, wth students
no onger beng students but cents and consumers, and wth academcs no onger beng academcs
but repaceabe enttes n a servce ndustry desgned to satsfy the desres of cents and consumers
who pay a hgh prce for such satsfacton. Today, the vaue of an academc s aready measured
aganst hs abty to provde money by beng successfu at gettng enormous grants. The mode of
the academc s the networker and the obbyst, not the researcher and the teacher.29
Terry Eageton, former Professor of Engsh at Manchester Unversty, contnues n a smar ven:
What we have wtnessed n our own tme s the death of unverstes as centres of crtque. Snce
Margaret Thatcher, the roe of academa has been to servce the status quo, not chaenge t n the
name of |ustce, tradton, magnaton, human wefare, the free pay of the mnd or aternatve
vsons of the future. . there s no unversty wthout humane nqury, whch means that unverstes
and advanced captasm are fundamentay ncompatbe. And the potca mpcatons of that run
far deeper than the queston of student fees.30
29
Eagetons pont nvtes us to consder the urgent queston of whether unverstes can ndeed be run
ke busnesses, or whether the academy-and the humantes n partcuar-s fundamentay
nmca to commerce. As B Readngs has argued, the unversty was once "nked to the destny of
the naton-state by vrtue of ts roe as producer, protector, and ncucator of an dea of natona
cuture."31 Under neoberasm, the unversty s no onger ted to the producton of cuture and
mora vaues, but to the proft motve (or what has been caed "academc captasm").32 The dea
that the unversty mght be a pace where research cannot aways be accounted for, where teachng
cannot be reduced to suppy and demand, s entrey forecosed n the Con-Dem cuts. To quote
Garca-Dttman once more, the fe of the unversty "depends on a surpus, on the superfuous and
the excessve, on what cannot be measured, cacuated, ntegrated, put to work."33
The dea of state wthdrawa from unversty fundng s so deepy deoogca that t barey needs to
be stated. It s drven by a beef n the free market as the best way of organzng educaton, and
seeks to curta the freedom wth whch t has tradtonay governed educaton and cuture. Other
European countres deang wth equay huge natona defcts have decded to protect fundng for
unverstes, severey compromsng Camerons statement that "We have no choce. We need
change. ts rght that when t comes to dong ths, successfu graduates pay ther share."34 (The
anguage of "there s no other choce" s one of the centra rhetorca tenets of neoberasm-reca
Thatchers "there s no aternatve.") A anguage of persona accountabty repaces one of soca
nvestment; n Tory eyes, ony those who go to unversty shoud pay for t. (Is t ony a matter of tme
before ths ogc s apped to hosptas too?) Ths ne of thnkng doesnt even keep wth
neoberasms ethos of socazed rsk and prvatzed beneft (as was demonstrated so appangy
durng the bank baout), snce t now prvatzes rsk at the ndvdua eve of educaton. As Fsh
comments, "Hgher educaton s no onger conceved of as a pubc good-as a good the effects of
whch permeate socety-but s rather a prvate beneft, and as such t shoud be supported by those
who en|oy the beneft."35 That the present generaton of students, parents, and facuty has taken to
the streets to protest aganst ths threat to ever4ones future shows how profoundy ths deoogca
shft n Brtsh educaton s beng experenced.
Concuson
Compared to how the Con-Dem cuts w mpact educaton, cutura fundng s n a reatvey stabe
poston. But there s a st an underyng narratve tyng both together. Cuture-ke the arts and
humantes n educaton-s seen as an ndugence n "these dffcut tmes" when vta soca
provsons (hosptas, housng beneft, and so forth) are a beng cut back. But the atttude that the
arts are a uxury-that they are ntrnscay prveged, smpy because they cant be accommodated
by a market ogc-actuay creates and perpetuates ths e: wthout pubc subsdes, cuture and
the humantes are actuay transformed from human necesstes nto uxures, becomng the
preserve of a weathy few. The fght aganst cuts to arts and humantes fundng s not a queston of
defendng a uxury, but shoud be seen as part of a broader opposton to the destructon of the
wefare state and the whoe prncpe of austerty measures n genera, n whch the workng and
ower mdde casses have to bear the brunt of the bank baout to sustan the status quo. The "age
of austerty" s ony a screen for the further dsmantement a pubc servces n the UK (from the
NHS to free educaton to pubc fundng for the arts), the most cvzed of Brtans accompshments
n the twenteth century. The end of pubc fundng s the end of the pubc sphere, our most
progressve nsttutons, and ther commtment to non-commerca actvty as a good n ts own rght.
It goes wthout sayng that a subordnaton of cutura actvtes to market ogc eads to the
renstatement of cass dvson and prvege. Future generatons of youth who want to mprove ther
chances n fe through hgher educaton w not have the freedom of ndecson and nteectua
exporaton avaabe to them, and w nstead need to make strategc fnanca decsons at the age
of eghteen that w sadde them wth feong debt. Ths s baancng budgets as cass offensve,
profoundy nmca to a socazed mentaty n whch everyones taxes pay for everyones educaton
and socetys gan. Of course, dreamng of an aternatve socety, n whch everyone has access to
hgher educaton as a democratc rght, s decred by those n power as a ack of reasm. In
December, the Deputy Prme Mnster Nck Cegg sad, "I woud fee ashamed f I ddnt dea wth the
way that the word s, not smpy dream of the way the word as I woud ke t to be."36 But what a
sorry word t s when we cant even envsage aternatve horzons, such as addressng the defct by
other means: pung out of Iraq and Afghanstan, scrappng Trdent, and campng down on corporate
30
tax evason, for a start.37
Graduatng n 1994, I was part of the ast generaton to receve a fu mantenance grant and tuton
fees from the UK government. My parents were n the owest ncome bracket; I ved n the mdde of
nowhere (a sma vage n Waes), and went to a state schoo where there was never menton of
students appyng to unversty. I studed Ango-Saxon, Norse, and Cetc-n the eyes of the present
government surey one of the most fute sub|ects known to man, offerng zero soca and economc
beneft. I had no dea what I wanted to do wth my fe, but readng sagas and decpherng runes
somehow kept my sou ave, as dd the swtch to Art Hstory, and my eventua abty (ony a decade
ater) to earn a vng from ths decson. It pans me unspeakaby to see that the freedom of an open
cutura horzon s no onger avaabe to future generatons, who w be ped up wth debt from the
age of 18, ted nto a debtor-specuator mode that so benefts neobera potca etes. A power to
the protests, and to spreadng the word that there are aternatves: not everythng can or shoud be
sub|ect to the rue of the market.
http://www.e-fux.com/|ourna/con-demmed-to-the-beakest-of-futures-report-from-the-uk/
Ever9one is Creative6& Artists as 'ioneers of t4e Ne8 Econo%9>
Angea McRobbe
To begn wth I offer a crtca commentary on the recent Green Paper (Apr 2001) tted Cuture and
Creatvty The Next Ten Years (DCMS 2001a) and on the Creatve Industres Mappng Document 2001
(DCMS 2001b). The attenton to these papers s due to the new drecton for pocy drafted n the
Green Paper, the nformatona matera coated n Mappng Document and overa for governments
roe n the process of cutura ndvduasaton. Ths commentary aso aows me to set the scene
for the provsona arguments stated beow. The ssues engaged wth are frst the new phenomena of
the arts and cuture becomng a mode for how economc growth s to be pursued and wth ths the
patterns of freeance work and sef empoyment assocated wth beng an artst. Second there s an
account of how the ntensfcaton of ndvduasaton n ths sector and the rong back of the state
has consequences for the very nature of arts and cuture, and how the taent-ed economy eads to
the emergence of new nequtes. Fnay I consder the prospects for post-ndvduast practces n
arts and cuture as a requrement for democracy. Maybe ths s the rght moment to take note of a
symptomatc nverson. In the past the arts and cuture were n a sense overooked by government
and of reatvey tte nterest to bg busness. They were consequenty under-funded but possessng
degrees of autonomy. In the post war years these reams came to be ncreasngy assocated wth
soca and potca crtque. But nowadays cuture s of the utmost concern to commerca
organsatons and art seemngy no onger questons the soca.
As the entrepreneurasaton of arts and cuture becomes more normatve there s aso a decne and
margnasaton of the socoogca accounts of the word of arts and of cutura studes, both of whch
had htherto fourshed. Now they are even further removed from the reams of pocy and egsaton
(despte a centre eft government). In contrast the wrter wth the greatest mpact on government
who has been consstenty deang wth the transton to the new economy s Chares Leadbeater.
Leadbeater s a |ournast and pocy advsor to New Labour and author of Lvng on Thn Ar The New
Economy a book whch carred an enthusastc burb wrtten by Tony Bar hmsef (Leadbeater
1999a). He s typcay cast by socoogsts as rresponsbe n hs enthusasm for the successes and
faures of the new entrepreneura cuture whch he champons. Hs new rght thnkng s dsgused
by the breezy, youthfu and characterstcay modern tone of hs wrtng. There s a tendency
however on the part of both od eft and manstream soca scentsts to fa to confront the scae of
the transton to more ndvduased cutura work, often of a freeance or sef empoyed nature as a
crtca feature of UK abour markets. Instead od eft crtcs bemoan a mantra of osses (the decne
of trade unonsm, the ack of nterest n potca cuture among the young peope who food nto
these areas of empoyment, the oss of rghts and reguatons n empoyment from the perod of the
Thatcher government onwards) and fa to actuay ook at what s happenng. Ths means they are
unabe to detach ndvduasaton from captuaton to neo-bera vaues. The ndvduased careers
whch are characterstc of work n ths sector aso are probematc to soca scentsts who
31
tradtonay have been nterested n the mass worker or whose workpace studes have had the
advantage of fxed ocaton, duraton of empoyment and vsbe herarches of power and
responsbty. But these fast movng and precarous careers have a great dea to te us about the
dynamcs of change, they can aso provde a knd of concrete groundng for what soca theorsts
have varousy descrbed as the shft from structures to fows, or the transton to refexve
modernsaton. Thus as a startng pont I want to propose that ndvduasaton as manfest n the
workng practces of the cutura sector must be separated from neo-berasaton. It s ony by
nvestgatng ndvduasaton-as-ved that we can recognse the possbe spaces t opens up for
crtque of neo-berasaton of arts and cuture.
Indvduasaton s a strategy of government whch n the context of the cuture ndustres breathes
fresh fe nto what had become a redundant modernst concepton of ndvdua creatvty as an
nner force watng to be uneashed. Thus sweepng asde wrtng and schoarshp on the soca and
coectve processes of creatve producton (Becker 1982, Bourdeu 1993, Woff 1981, Negus 1992)
the current Green Paper seeks nstead to resurrect a tradtona noton of tappng nto taent. The
source of such taent s of course the ndvdua who f provded wth the rght knd of support can
then be best eft aone to hs or her own devces to expore persona creatvty unhndered by
bureaucracy and red tape. Interestngy n the Green Paper t s chdren and young peope, ndeed
babes, who are the focus of attenton (1). Ths ndcates how the workforce of the future s to be
envsaged. The paper opens wth the words Everyone s creatve and qute qucky the mpact of
Leadbeaters deas can be traced across the pages. The thnkng expressed n ths Paper s to further
extend access to the arts and cuture for producers and consumers ake wth partcuar emphass on
those who n the past consdered these feds as not for them. Thus the encouragement to the
socay dsadvantaged to deveop ther own creatve capactes has a doube purpose, to ncrease
the empoyabty of future generatons ncudng those from ow ncome backgrounds by channeng
creatve taent n the drecton of economc actvty and at the same tme to effect the transton
from the mass worker to the ndvdua freeance. Referrng n passng to the range of new
empoyabty schemes from the New Dea to the Sure Start programme for pre schoo chdren the
report sums these poces as beng about exceence, access, educaton and economy. The
rhetorc s bertaran as the msson of government s to free the creatve potenta of ndvduas. To
acheve ths goa of freeng exceence a number of ntatves are proposed ncudng a Cutura
Pedge whch w nvove fndng creatve partners for ndvdua chdren n schoo by brngng n
creatve artsts performers and others to work wth chdren, settng up Cuture Onne an access the
arts webste and aso the provson of books for babes.a gft from government n the form of brary
cards , babybooks and nvtatons to free story teng sessons. Aongsde these are pans for Centres
of Exceence, Specast Arts Coeges and Unversty Innovaton Centres. Apart from the
acknowedged socay vauabe roe of the arts and cuture t s the possbe contrbuton to
economc growth whch underpns these proposas for the reason that the cuture ndustres are, the
paper cams, expandng at a rate of 16% per annum.
Ths Green Paper brngs together three eements , the ndvdua, creatvty (now extended to mean
havng deas) and freedom. Bureaucracy and nsttutons stfe the creatve process, the fundng
councs need to be abe to make awards drect to ndvduas rather than to organsatons, and the
unverstes and art coeges receve tte credt for the ong tradton of exceence n tranng
artsts and cutura producers nstead they are berated for often fang to produce the rght knd of
cutura workforce. No roe at a s envsaged for cutura studes, nstead the am s to brng together
practtoners wth pups. To sum up the Green Paper ooks forward to a future generaton of socay
dverse creatve workers who are brmmng wth deas and whose sks need not ony be channeed
nto the feds of art and cuture but w aso be good for busness. Most mportanty these w be sef
standng or sef suffcent ndvduas whose efforts w not be hndered by the admnstratons of the
state. These features mrror amost a the themes n Leadbeaters Lvng on Thn Ar, and ndeed
when we turn to the recent DCMS Mappng Document we fnd a phrase from the book quoted n the
foreword. Ths s a report on the cuture ndustres n the UK and nevtaby perhaps the tone s
upbeat wth ony a sprnkng of euphemsms every now and then ndcatve of dffcutes faced by
the sector. The varous comments about the mportance of the creatve ndustres to the UK
economy and n partcuar the potenta for growth (reportng 16% growth from 1998/1999) marks a
gossng over of ess hopefu features. The growth referred to was amost entrey the resut of the
expanson n software and computer servces, whch was aso the ocaton for the rse of amost
32
135,000 |obs from 1998. However the sma prnt reveas ths fgure to ncude empoyees, the sef
empoyed unpad famy workers and peope on government tranng schemes). Lookng at the
fashon sector (whch s we wthn my own expertse) we fnd that 75% of companes have
turnovers of ess 1m. (Whch accordng to my own study means that desgners themseves are
often survvng on ess than 20,000 a year (McRobbe 1998)). And that the 200 or so companes n
exstence at any one tme mght we not exst n 5 years tme, but despte ths the headnes to the
secton announce that UK fashon desgner sector s the fourth bggest n the word. (There s a huge
dsparty between revenues for fashon n Itay, France and the US and those n the UK). Experts n
other sectors coud kewse go through the fgures and the prose and what woud emerge I woud
argue s a concuson that no matter how mportant the cuture ndustres are for growth, ths s a
sector wth ow capta returns and whe empoyment, n partcuar sef empoyment, may be
buoyant t s aso a ow pay sector (poor n work). Fnay t s aso as voate and as vunerabe to
the moves of mut-natona capta as many more tradtona feds eg garment manufacturng. I
woud argue that what the cuture ndustres n the UK comprse of are personne, not so much the
quck thnkers and deas peope ceebrated by Leadbeater as the products of a ong hstorca
tradtona of tranng n feds of expertse (n the pubc funded UK art schoos and coeges) of whch
there are no equvaents esewhere n the word. They are vauabe commodtes. The asset s the art
schoo system, under-funded wth crumbng over- crowded budngs whch as the Rector of the RCA
recenty commented were more ke Soca Securty offces n appearance. The ndustres
themseves, from fm and TV to desgn and pubshng are more thoroughy part of the goba
economy. Those whch are UK owned tend to be sma mcro-economes of cuture, otherwse ts a
matter of the UK feedng the bgger companes and corporatons wth hghy traned graduates. Ths
then s a further source of ndvduasaton. The career pathways are unke other more tradtona
occupatons, they make ther own way, they are aways on the move, they have to get ther names
known, they are ther own brands, they have to ook after ther own sef nterest ,they are artstc
ndvduas.
Havng sad that we are currenty presented wth the fu accompshment of the neo-berasaton of
the UK cutura economy, the queston s what does ths mean? There s another queston. How can
the reentess process of ndvduasaton n the word of cutura work be kept apart from the
seemng nevtabty of oca and goba neo-berasm and be re-drected as a force for re-vtasng
the democratsng process? Can t put these ant-soca forces nto retreat? It s n the fed of the
cutura and creatve ndustres that we fnd the fuest expresson of an dea oca abour market
from the vewpont of a New Labour government commtted to fu empoyment, to freeng
ndvduas from dependency on state subsdes, to creatng a thrvng entrepreneura cuture and to
a new work ethc of sef responsbty. Ths requres not a abour market as such, more a network of
creatve persons for whom |obs or pro|ects are negotated ke actors gong to audton for a part.
Thus we fnd a curous scenaro of a centre-eft government whose prorty t s to perform a doube
act of neo-berasaton, frst to mnmse soca wefare support for those unabe to earn a vng
wage (so that earnngs now become mut-sourced, wth creatves hodng down two or three |obs at
once), and second to set ndvduas to ther own devces n terms of |ob creaton so that the arge
corporatons are ess burdened by the responsbtes of a workforce. Pad empoyees and wefare
recpents and abour market become what Beck mght ca zombe categores both dead and
ave, and n ths case what s east wanted by key payers n the new economy (Beck 2000). The
answer to so many probems across a wde spectrum of the popuaton eg mothers at home and not
qute ready to go back to work fu tme on the part of New Labour s, sef empoyment, set up your
own busness, be free to do your own thng. Lve and work ke an artst. And creatve work s
partcuary appeang to youth because of the emphass on uncoverng taent, because of ther
proxmty to the knds of feds fagged up as aready successfu e popuar musc, fm, art, wrtng,
actng, fashon, graphc desgn and so on.
Ths sector provdes Brtan wth the possbty of re-nvgoratng a dstnctve natona economy n
the ght of goba competton by drawng on an ndgenous and mgrant tradton of popuar
( workng cass, and subsequenty youth ) cuture whch emerges more forcefuy n the eary 1960s
(2). Forty years ater ths warrants a rhetorc of were good at ths sort of thng, the UK record
ndustry accounts for 16% of trade wordwde, our fashon desgners are nternatonay we known,
our young Brtsh artsts have re-nvgorated the art word and our wrters and coumnsts are
provdng Hoywood wth some of ther best scrpts . But, wth hundreds of fne art graduates
eavng the many art departments up and down the country we mght reasonaby ask, how many
33
creatves can the economy accommodate? Or, s t that ndvduas must become ther own abour
market? The abour market mets away, n Baumans phrase, t qudfes (Bauman 2000). In a taent
ed economy the ndvdua ony has hm or hersef to bame f the next scrpt, fm, book or show s
not up to scratch. Or as Gddens puts t ndvduas must now be ther own structures. How can we
thnk both wth and beyond ndvduasaton to avert the tmebomb of a fuy freeance economy?
W network socaty (Lash) create new astng soca bonds n the ght of the decne of narratve
socaty? W refexvty extend to the soca anayss and crtque of new work?
The Decne of the Indes, The Oueston of Vaue
My current research ponts to a shft from frst wave producers for whom the nes of dstncton
between workng autonomousy or ndependenty and workng n a more overty commerca or
corporate envronment were cear, and who were more or ess eft to ther own devces, reyng on
the doe to aow them the tme to set up n art or desgn, to second wave de-specased cutura
entrepreneurs (or entrepreneurs of the sef) for whom an even more aggressvey free market
cutura envronment now shapes the opportuntes and possbtes for how they work n the cutura
sector. If the frst wave s emboded n the fgure of the artst/desgner, the second wave gves rse to
the ncubator, the cutura strategst. What ths means s that the dstnct categores outned by the
DCMS as marks of tranng or professona dentty or sector are now ncreasngy dffuse, burred and
mergng n and out of each other n a more speeded up, corporatsed and gobased market for
cutura goods and servces. Archtects doube up as onne edtors, arts admnstrators are empoyed
on a freeance bass by government funded bodes on one off pro|ects, whch keep them gong for
2/3 days a week, whch means ookng round for pro|ects to f the remander of the 7 day workng
week. The groups of young cutura workers dubbed by Leadbeater and Oakey as the new
ndependents are nothng of the sort, n fact they are sub-contracted creatve workers whoy
dependent on bgger companes for the servces they provde whch are now outsourced rather than
produced n house (Leadbeater and Oakey 1999b).
Ths work n progress shows the frst wave to have asted from 1985-1995, the tme of the ndes.
The second wave has the effect of nterruptng careers and mposng mut-skng on creatve
ndvduas. It comprses of de-specasaton, adaptng to the growth of new meda and ts
opportuntes, and t sees the brth of the cutura entrepreneur. Creatve actvtes of ths sort are
sef drven, but cuture s aso bg busness. Capta whch n the past has aowed the ndes (or non
commerca) cutura sector to be ooked after argey by the state now desgnates ths terran as a
ste rpe for nvestment and expanson aongsde ts extensve meda and communcatons nterests.
From 1997 onwards the New Labour government has shfted to a more entrepreneura mode for the
arts and cuture. But even when the state tres to make t easy for capta or proptous for
nvestment there s no mutua responsbty on the part of capta. Thus the government potentay
oses potca ground by undong provsons of soca securty whe capta speeds up and moves on,
havng created condtons benefca ony to tsef. Let me ustrate. In fashon desgn the perod
whch saw the emergence of a dstnctve sector whch was nether haute couture (as n France or
Itay) nor corporate (as n the US) but was what I woud abe ndependent, art schoo traned, and
connected wth assocated forms of cutura actvty eg musc, magazne producton, graphc desgn,
came nto beng out of a combnaton of unempoyment (wth some benefts n the form of housng
subsdes and the EAS) and the do t yoursef ethos whch was the product of the punk generaton
(so many of whom aso had an art schoo tranng) (McRobbe 1998). The fashon desgners n my
study were specasts n ther feds, and they ganed ther reputatons by workng n the frst
nstance as ndependents, settng up as sma scae entrepreneurs or as sem-sef empoyed (n the
nforma economy ). They were abe to do ths wth access to cheap spaces n the form of urban
street markets or tny outets n busy cty ocatons. However by the ate 1990s the bg brands from
Europe and the US ncudng both the hgh street chans ke Gap and Desa and the desgner abes
ke DKNY or Prada moved determnedy nto the fashon market, prcng the ndes out of the reta
property market, empoyng a handfu on very short contracts, empoyng ther assocates n the
feds of styng, graphc desgn, mage makng to re brand ther own mages to ft wth the dverse
words of young consumers and the whoe fed of UK ndependent fashon desgn vrtuay
dsappears to be repaced by a seres of nternatonay branded products. Fashon desgners (of
whom there are 4000 graduatng each year) are then forced from frst to second wave. They must
34
dversfy/dute ther sks, set up n other reated actvtes, work for dot.com companes, downgrade
ther expectatons about seeng ther own work n shop wndows, renqush the tme for creatve
thnkng and research, move nto the manstream of the hgh street chans as freeance fashon
consutant f ucky and perhaps return to teach for a coupe of days a week. The fashon and stye
trends magazne D reports uncrtcay on ths phenomenon (3). Fashon mut-taskers: suddeny
theyre everywhere . But ts not easy to do two, three or more thngs at once: theres never enough
tme, t doesnt earn them any more money than havng one |ob and they cant aways count on
beng respected for what they do. And ts addctve. Once youve tred dong four |obs you never
want anythng ess. .Its no onger necessary to be a fu tme anythng to be successfu and
respected .One fashon mut-tasker says she s aso tryng out beng a D| It coud be a buddng
new career. It doesnt fee ke extra work (Rushton 2001) An addtona profe comments on |oanne
Koer Koers mutpe roes gve her a seven day week . Its ke a drug. (The underyng and never
upfront queston here s how much do these busy peope earn and what are the condtons that
prope them to take on so much work?)
The shft to the second wave sees the duton of taent, the dspersa of cohorts of desgners workng
aongsde each other sharng premses ke the Hyper Hyper Unts (now aso dsappeared) whch I
reported on n my study and thus totay dsaggregatng and de-socasng what we mght even ca
a coectvty or movement, to a rootess coecton of ndvduas unrepresented, unorgansed, and
hghy mobe. The frst wave thus comprsed of an nnovaton meu or hub ..sma shops, reta
outets, market sta spaces, magaznes and ther workforce as cuture ntermedares, art schoos
and coeges as reference ponts for advce, support and student nterns, cubs, pubs and the street
an excerpt from e-lux >ournal #22, |anuary 2011for venues and networkng. The second wave s ess
ste specfc, more mobe, more ocated n non -paces (Auge 1995), wth a faster turnover of |obs. ,
and consequenty ess accessbe to pocy makers and researchers. London as a fashon desgn
centre n effect no onger exsts, the moment of there beng hundreds of sma companes s over.
Instead there are corporate fashon companes and ndvduas movng from one pro|ect to the next
and beng dropped at short notce when buyng n young desgners fas to restore profts as n Marks
and Spencer.
The second wave cutura practtoners aso come to fruton n the UK through the young Brtsh
artsts. Here we can see the resuts of nvestments of corporate capta n sponsorshp and
promoton, n the arts and busness unashamedy workng aongsde each other so that for exampe
property deaers wngy offer two derect schoos due for refurbshment as ofts and penthouses to
over 130 artsts from Godsmths and the RCA as free spaces for a ma|or exhbton of student work
(Assemby November 2000). They do ths for the pubcty the show w brng to the ocatons, and
for the cutura capta of beng a company wth a demonstrabe track record n the arts, pus then
the sky hgh prces they can ask for the propertes. The second wavers who no onger can ve and
work cheapy as artsts used to do now must fnd venture captasts to hep them out, they must re
nvent themseves as ncubators or ese they are artsts and curators and D|s and events organsers
and entrepreneurs. The busness of art takes off through the new meda, eg companes ke art to
go and eyestorm. There s a proferaton of categores of art work drawng on the anguage of
busness, for exampe vsua support consutant, and there s a furry of busness cards beng
exchanged n the members ony cubs whch now provde a busnesske envronment for those on
the guest st. The commercasaton of art fnds refecton n cutura pocy, the new Fm Counc
w ony support pro|ects amed at a popuar market, and artsts themseves are ceebrated for ther
strenuous sef promotona efforts, Tracey Emn for exampe s descrbed as not reay an artst, but
mportant as a phenomenon (BBC Late Revew Frday 27th Apr).
The busness ethos as t pervades the cutura word mposes ts own brand of fast captasm. Art
and cuture have tradtonay been spaces for thnkng and refecton. But f as Aggers argues the
tme and space of the new economy undermnes the power of the book (quoted n Lash and Urry
1994) then the tme of readng, argung and nteectua actvty becomes compressed. (Tracey Emn
says n ntervew that she went through a perod of readng a ot but then nothng at a, now
preferrng to watch soap opera). The cuture whch s produced s ncreasngy popust, easy, thn or
fattened out (Lash). If as Bauman suggests captasm now traves ght, then what s produced s
as I and others have suggested, art te(McRobbe 1999). Artsts ncreasngy create works whch
are merey extensons of what s a around them n popuar cuture, n the tabods and tak shows.
35
In cutura words we fnd an endess fow of what Beck descrbes as bographca soutons to
systemc contradctons(Beck 1997). Emn s a prme exampe of ths, havng eevated her own
bography to the sub|ect matter of her art. Its certany not the frst tme ts been done n art, but n
ths case the work s reduced of compexty, t refuses to thnk or refect beyond the confnes of a
cched vocabuary of persona experence, pop song yrcs and femae pan. Thus at the very
moment that the government sees ft to free up the creatvty wthn us a, especay young peope,
the UK cutura economy s beng rapdy transformed nto an arena of good deas (and aso bad
deas), of gmmcks, of essaystc formuatons and of formuac tera art (for exampe Tracey Emns
recent Heter Sketer pece).
There are probems n ntroducng questons of vaue nto a dscusson ke ths. The sheer scae of
cutura producton, the vast numbers of art works beng created and exhbted at any one tme, the
proferaton of vsua mages, the noves, fms, TV programmes, the way n whch the fow of
teevson comes to stand as a norm for the fow of cuture, and the mode of ts consumpton creates
a crss n |udgement. So often ookng at an art work demands tte more than the dstracted gance
of the TV audence. There s aso the danger of readng off too easy a |udgement about art and
cuture from an anayss of ts potca economy. To avod ths we mght consder Spvaks suggeston
that cuture s comparabe to Foucauts use of power. It s a name whch ends tsef to a compex
strategc stuaton n a partcuar socety (Spvak 1999 p 353). Thus so far I have attempted to
outne the arrangement of forces whch embody a strategy of re-defnng the terran for cutura
practce. The extenson of tranng and sks to dsadvantaged groups s merey one part of an
attempt to create a new knd of cutura or artstc sub|ect, hghy ndvduased but aso more key
to draw on a busness vocabuary to pan and execute a successfu career. Ths s qute at odds wth
the conventona mage of the artst who has turned hs or her back on money and materasm n
favour of aternatve vaues. In the past the dea of an artst wth a busness pan n whch he or she
beeved woud be rdcuous, now t s unremarkabe. But the pont I aso want to make here s that
there s a danger agan that socoogsts or cutura studes academcs merey note ths transton
and equate t unanmousy wth the fu accompshment of a neo bera order n the fed of arts.
What we reay need to know s how ths busness mode works out n practce? To what extent s t a
fuy effectve (or merey haf baked) entrepreneurasm? How exacty are artstc careers conducted
as sma busnesses?
The Inequtes of the Informa, The Cruetes of Coo
Mass youth cuture aso creates the mode for new careers n cuture. The cub s the hub, n Castes
terms the nnovaton meu (Castes 1996). Or n the German case Love Parade as arbetsamt.
The energy and nvestment of tme n these cutura forms of |ob creaton mark a rupture wth oder
notons of work, |ob career. Eary n the 1990s ths gave me reason to argue that youth cutures
marked a strong nvestment n the soca, they were deepy engaged, they were spaces of crtque.
But now ess than ten years ater so heavy captased are they and so dsconnected are the under
30s from potca debate that ths soca nvestment whch was at the heart of youth cuture goes
nto suspended anmaton. Too uncoo. There s meantme a knd of taken for granted ant-racsm, a
gay s aso coo assumpton. Combne ths wth a ove of money and ove of consumer cuture and
we have another fattenng out process, youth cuture captasm emerges. You can make t f you
reay want. About those outsde the oop, no questons are asked. Over the h n age terms? Too
unconfdent to manage the presentaton of sef? There are ony prvatsed and therapeutc soutons
as Gddens has ponted out (Gddens 1991). Too mserabe to party? Ony OK once estabshed and
then abe to behave bady. In London ths s the Shoredtch effect where artsts effect a workng
cass stye whe retanng the servces of pubc schoo educated agents who are from the deepy
conservatve mdde casses and who have great connectons for both pubcty and saes (the
Nottng H effect). Ths then s a New Labour cassess dream, a h energy band of young peope
drvng the cutura economy ahead but n a totay prvatsed and non subsdy orented drecton.
Usng ther knowedge of cuture to expand nto reated areas, empoyng ther frends and others n
an nforma capacty, and then by the ate 1990s movng nto the dot com word and showng
themseves to be wng rsk takers who w put n very ong hours, entertan a knds of venture
captasts to drve ths new sector forward. In London the Cutura Entrepreneur Cub marks the
convergence of art, busness, new meda, new |obs and the presence of the venture captasts.
36
Excusve, by nvte ony, but organsed n a cub settng wth D|s, free vodka a nght thanks to
Smrnoff and hosted by C4, accountants Cap Gemn, ICA Godsmths and the Arts Counc, and
overseen by Leadbeater hmsef (McRobbe 2001).
Ths fed of actvty poses rea dffcutes for socoogca research. The speed and the fows deter
those researchers workng wth tradtona methodooges. Wthout the fxed ocatons of workpace t
appears to comprse of freefoatng ndvduas brought together accordng ony to the requrements
of ths or that short term pro|ect. The socoogy of ndvduasaton fnds tsef chaenged by the
reaty of non-groups, non abour markets, non- nsttutons as we as non paces. Let me therefore
frst propose that new soca nequtes emerge wthn ths nforma youth cutura economy. As a
seres of studes carred out n Gasgow have shown these feds of work and other assocated areas
ncudng the new bar and restaurant busness are aso feds of aesthetc abour, empoyng
accordng to the rght ook, the rght body shape, even the rght accent (Warhurst et a 2000). Age
constrants are n operaton. Hdden varabe of cass and cutura capta aso have an effect the
young snge mother for exampe s ess key to be abe to nvest n her own appearance than her
we educated and chdess counterpart, who once agan w have three or four |obs gong at once.
(A new dvde opens up between young women, the chdfree and the young mothers?) Pro|ect work
pcked up on the grapevne appears to be exacty good uck (4). Or the dsappearng-structures are
repaced by a scene where the buzz of taent and the burrng of the nterface between work and
esure concea the matera obstaces whch mt the mobty and the sef dscovery of taent on
the grounds of poor ocaton, poor educaton, poor access to the soca capta of the network, and
ack of access to funds to fa back on between |obs or whe workng for nothng n the hope of t
beng turned nto a pad |ob. Needess to say these are rsks whch oder peope cannot afford to
take. There s an unthnkabe ndgnty of oder peope workng for nothng n the hope of t turnng
nto a rea |ob. What my current research on ths sector shows are a) totay de-reguated often nter-
sectng spheres of actvtes and servces whch are cutura but whch have no accountabty
structures, where probems at work are not systemc but merey tme to move on, where an
ncredby amount of tme must be nvested n soca contacts and networkng because to be out of
the oop coud mean beng out of a |ob, b) the recognsed need for new ponts of support, the tme
and space of the pubc sector often provdng a 2 day a week haven where there are empoyment
aws n operaton even for temporary or part tme workers c) ncredbe nvestment n sef and
mage, endess sef montorng, the ethos of success creatng a mentaty of as Bauman puts t must
try harder and harder d) sef reance but fang back on parenta support wthout that many
woudnt be abe to carry on these expermenta careers e) motvated by the chaos of reward
(Young 1999), by the hope of makng t as the next Stea McCartney, the next Aexander McOueen e
the star and ceebrty system. These dreams merge wth the new mertocracy of the Bar
government whch wth the power of the vsua meda further bury the soca democratc
vocabuares of workpace protecton, |ob securty, sckness pay and so on.
There are two ways of seeng ths nequtous stuaton. On the one hand we coud argue that young
peope are beng desgnated agents of the neo-bera order, expected to see t through nto fruton,
reyng ony on ther own taents, oney, mobe, over- worked ndvduas for whom socasng and
esure are ony more opportuntes to do a dea. The Green Paper produces the categores of taent
and creatvty as dscpnary regmes, whose sub|ects are taught and tod (apparenty from brth
onwards through prmary, secondary and tertary educaton,) to nspect themseves, ook deep
nsde themseves for capactes whch w then serve them we n the future. If cuture s thought of
as a compex strategc stuaton then the brant addtona move n ths new dscursve formaton
s that t smutaneousy appears to do away wth oder forms of reance on abour markets, on the
du compuson of abour, on routne, mndess actvtes. There s now scope for peasure n work
and as Donzeot argued appeang to the authentc sef, has the ncredbe advantage of turnng the
ndvdua nto a wng work-horse, sef fageatng when the nspraton doesnt fow out onto the
page. The Green Paper ceebrates the mportance of creatvty and ts encouragement n schoos,
nurseres, at home, and n other cutura nsttutons. Chdren and young peope w have to do more
than routne tasks, they w now be expected to be creatve. Even f they dont go on the earn a
vng n the cutura sector thnkng creatvey s now at the heart of the new knowedge economy.
But most mportant s the dsconnect feature, the am s to be ndvduay successfu. But success
here means sef reant, sef empoyed and successfuy ndependent of state, wefare and subsdy.
Ths s a way of transformng the future word of work. As oder categores of soca dvson seem to
37
fade (cass and gender) generatona dvsons become more marked and n turn gve rse to ther
own rppe of nterna dfferencaton processes. Thus there s a soca rupture as the potca order
conforms wth economc goba ratonates to tax the young wth beng ts new sub|ects, they are
beng charged wth bearng the brunt of unforeseen crcumstances. Thus they are beng done to n
an negataran way. We mght ca ths the domnaton mode.
The aternatve scenaro s to recognse the utopan dynamcs n the nove ways of workng whch as
I have descrbed happened frst n the ndes and then n the underground of dance and cub cuture
and then attery have been taken up by government whose strenuous attempts thanks to
Leadbeaters enthusasm for the cutura entrepreneurs have resuted n pocy. By utopan I refer to
socay transformatve acton whch carres wthn t and on a seemngy ndvduastc bass some
desre for a better way of vng, a better knd of work. Ths for exampe was defntey the case wth
the young women fashon desgners and there may ndeed be a gender eement n the
determnaton to make work work for you. After a s work s now for fe, t s hardy surprsng that
attempts are made to make t peasant and en|oyabe. (Both my own and Urses study of TV
producers descrbe the passon for work) (Urse 2000). Such unpatterned and dsorgansed workng
ves coud produce a dversty of outcomes. New nequtes of age mght we produce age reated
dentty potcs as pressure groups form out of modes of sef refexvty whch n turn produces soca
bondng n what Beck and Gddens ca sub potcs or fe potcs but whch I prefer to desgnate as
pressure groups potcs reant on sophstcated knowng (or refexve) use of meda to push towards
egsaton, accountabty, change. Gven the proferaton of fe potcs, protest and envronmenta
potcs t s perhaps surprsng that new work potcs has been so sow to emerge. There s a good
dea more acton and mobsaton at the consumpton end (the ant Gap campagn for exampe) than
at the producton end for the reason that the artsts and cutura workers at present do not
suffcenty anayse ther own workng condtons. Ths mght change and form the bass of new and
as yet unmagnabe campagns and acton groups. .
Post-Indvduast Cutura and Artstc Practce
The socoogsts (Marxst and non Marxst ake) have got we estabshed arguments to dea wth
ths sector. They are a Metropotan ete, hghy educated and wth suffcent cutura capta to take
rsks and test the ground of the new cutura economy wth enough resources matera or symboc to
fa back on f thngs go wrong. They are aso abe to be ndvduastc by vrtue of ther assets and
are thus n watng to have rewards come ther way and meanwhe are presdng over and n effect
compct wth an economy charactersed by ever ncreasng dvdes between weath and poverty.
They are we paced as agents of the new ant-egataran mertocracy. Aternatey they are part of a
new mdde cass strata currenty beng proetaransed. Granted they may be more dverse than n
the past, certany there are women and peope from ethnc mnortes but ths degree of enforced
entrepreneurasm wth the tradtona mdde cass search for status n work permts extraordnary
degrees of sef expotaton n what s a de-reguated unprotected sector. Granted, by vrtue of beng
we educated ths strata of young peope w brng to bear progressve eements n regard to
dentty potcs nto ther cutura practce. But hyper-ndvduasaton, the decne of the potcs of
the workpace (where there s no workpace) and the access to prvate soutons means that ony
the try harder and harder mentaty w preva.
Aganst ths I woud propose the need to appy some of the nsghts of recent work on re-thnkng the
potca to new cutura work. Ths s needed for the very reason that wthout more forward thnkng
on these ssues the bod and magnatve deas of Leadbeater n the UK feed drecty nto
government and pocy wthout facng any serous argument. The eft and femnsts seem unabe to
nvent a new vocabuary for engagng wth ndvduasaton other than that neo-berasm s wnnng
every batte. We need to be aert to the possbtes for crtque and change from strange and
nterstta spaces, as part of a chan of connecton from one noda pont to another, from one cty
space to another, from the fows of movement of abour. Its not enough however to gesture to the
exstence of for exampe the fattenng of herarches n the new meda economy (Lash 2000) the
exstence of network socaty (aso Lash 2000) or the wfu optmsm whch suggests that
mertocracy and taent n the context of non bureaucratc workpaces make them open mnded
spaces. At the same tme the sef fageatng mode of Bauman (must try harder and harder) can
38
ony nterpret peasurabe mmerson n the pro|ect as utmatey sef deuson.
Ths eaves us wth refexvty as a too for forward thnkng, however those socoogsts who have
most deveoped ths concept have done so wthout a fu theory of meda, art, cuture or
communcaton. Recenty Scott Lash extends Becks account of refexve ndvduasaton to argue
that choce s predcated on the requrement on the part of the denuded ndvdua wthout the taken
for granted support of vsbe structures (the doe offce or |ob centre) to nvestgate and fnd the
rues of the new soca (ds) order for hm or hersef. (Ths chaos becomes totay norma (Lash
2001). If the nsttutons (or non nsttutons) of the new cuture are amost unrecognsabe then t
foows that whatever potca socaty whch w appear w take a dfferent shape. If ndeed even
the noton of the new soca movement now seems ncapabe to trackng the fows of abour power
(see Hardt and Negr 2000) and harnessng ts potenta nto somethng more stabe and concrete
then perhaps we are thnkng about post-ndvdua potca formatons. If once agan there are
across the whoe soca terran many nstances of trans-natona fe potcs or what Beck cas sub
potcs and what I prefer to abe goba pressure potcs or smpy campagns then mght t not be
possbe to ook forward to aances emergng of new abour (what an rony!). on a fud,
nternatona bass, connectng somehow the sef expoter at home sweatng over her sewng
machne n the hope of becomng the next Stea McCartney and the Gap seamstress n the South
East Asa, who s now the ob|ect of attenton from the ant-captast protest movement.
A key eement n the chan of equvaence by whch means aances and partnershps n ths fed of
youthfu cutura economc actvty mght be formed s through the nterventonst roe of
nteectuas of perhaps an oder generaton. We have to confront the embeddedness of busness
studes and enterprse cuture n a popuaton who have not grown up as sub|ects of wefare
regme, pubc mndedness and pubc sector empoyment. If the categores no onger exst then
nether do the sub|ects (ths s the ogc of Foucaut). Thus as Hardt and Negr propose we are
wtnessng, wth the rse of the nformatona economy and ts assocated categores, a a new mode
of becomng human. Beck argues that refexve modernsaton gves rse to both sef crtque and
soca crtque. The sef montorng sub|ects of the second modernty /ate modernty / ate captasm
must have access to nformaton and anayss n order to be refexve. Where are such resources to
be found? Are they whoy reant on the fndngs of the neo-bera thnk tanks? Or are ther
pathways to the nformaton and communcatve technooges not aso ttered wth cutura studes,
socoogy, commentary and crtque by Naom Ken, the work of Rchard Sennett, the webstes of
Tony Gddens and so on? Thus access to an earer crtca tradton s wthn the orbt of the hyper
ndvduasts. But t s of course contngent, dffcut to perceve patterns or the appearance of
reguar varabes. We need more ethnographes of such crtca refexvtes. We need to be abe to
descrbe the dversty of cutura entrepreneura practce to assess the soca mx of those workng n
ths capacty. If Leadbeater harnesses taent and creatvty for the purposes of smpe growth and
weath creaton, cannot the socoogsts more forcefuy rehearse the varous crtques of these
categores whch have been centra to the dscpne, from Bourdeu and the socoogy of art to most
of those workng n educatona socoogy and pedagogcs. It shoud aso be possbe to re-vtase
creatvty n educaton for crtca pedagogy nor shoud t be forgotten that the most nfuenta of
Marxst thnkers from Adorno hmsef to most recenty |ameson have argued for the redemptonst,
utopan and pedagogc functons of art. Groy has hs own verson of the same argument. The
ndvdua mght be or perceve hm or hersef to be aone or snguar but refexvty requres
engagement wth texts, mages, muscs, communcatve networks and books and wrtng. Yes, for a
creatve n a bg ad agency ths means ransackng fm nor for the rght ook, but does t
necessary stop at that? Is the freeance sub|ect of ths meda word ony to be understood n ths
capacty or are there other ponts of dentfcaton wthn hs/her own dfferencated sub|ectvty, e s/
he s aso back or Asan, aso connected to a strand of fe potcs through some bographca
feature eg heath, famy, chdren, neghbourhood etc. Bauman descrbes such phenomena as non
addtve e they do not add up to anythng propery potca. I dsagree. These can be seen as
productve snguartes (Hardt and Negr) whch come nto beng despte the attempts by power to
bock communty and co-operaton.
Ths s not to post art and cuture as essentay crtca, or human bengs as essentay co-
operatve. Rather that as Hardt and Negr once agan put t exhaustng poweressness forces us to
overook the productvty of beng. Drawng on Deeuze and Guattar they argue that the current co-
39
mngng of potcs, economcs and soca (and I woud add the cutura) produces unprecedented
energy and desre whch are generatve (as human abour s ) and that enrched wth the new
nformatona and knowedge structures, pathways or hghways they are abe to confront the forces
of corrupton. Ths s n fact an argument about how ndvduasaton can gve way to new
productve snguartes. These n turn woud chaenge neo-berasm by showng t to be productve
ony of truncated, fat or empted out narratves of beng. By drawng on Foucauts concept of bo-
power by whch means reguaton and dscpne s ncucated through ndvdua bodes so that the
ndvdua must nspect hmsef or sef montor, and sef reguate, and combnng ths wth Deeuze
and Guattars desrng machnes as fows of power the workng body becomes a pont of ntersecton
wth other workng bodes and f desre s productve of attachments and dentfcatons why not aso
desre or energy n work? Thus work (and here creatve work) becomes a ste for re-socasaton,
snce t s better done wth or for others.
Notes
1)18/6/01 Gordon brown Chanceor of the Exchequer makes a speech stressng the mportance of
budng a more successfu entrepreneura cuture wth chdren and schoo pups beng more
actvey encouraged to consder the future n terms of sef empoyment (precse ref to come).
2) The convergence of workng cass youth n the UK art schoos from the ate 1950s onwards, the
ncreasng vsbty of race foowng the rots of 1958 n Londons Nottng H and ndeed the
emergence of Cutura Studes are strands varousy addressed by Frth and Horne 1987, and Ang
1996.
3) Ths artce appeared foowng a pubc ecture I gave at the V and A n London Nov 2000 on
Prada-Isaton, Decne of Fashon Desgn and the Rse of the Mut-tasker. Snce the audence was
mosty fashon professonsa ncudng |ournasts I cannot hep but see Rushton as a repy.
4) Good uck |obs. Good ookng young guy sttng n bar n Soho, has dropped out of Godsmths
Coege and s workng as a D| but not earnng more than a pttance. Gr chats hm up, asks hm f he
s nterested n sound producton for fms, next day he drops by the studo, gets a |ob, sx months
ater he s fuy sked, hghy traned workng n the fm ndustry based n London but traveng
reguary to LA. Many other exampes w appear n forthcomng voume McRobbe 2002.
References
Auge M (1995) Non Paces Introducton to an Anthropoogy of Supermodernty Verso London
Bauman Z ( 2000) Lqud Modernty Poty Cambrdge
Beck U (1997) Rsk Socety sage London
Beck U (2000) ecture at LSE London
Becker H (1982) Art Words Berkeey Unv of Caforna Press
Bourdeu P (1993) The Fed of Cutura Producton Poty Press Cambrdge
DCMS (2001) Creatve Industres Mappng Document London
Gddens A (1991) Modernty and Sef Identty Poty Press Cambrdge
Green Paper (2001) Cuture and Creatvty Ten years On DCMS London
Lash S and Urry |(1994) Economy of Sgns and Space Sage London
Lash S (2000) Unpub Paper Godsmths Coege London
Lash S (2001) Introducton to Beck and Gerschem Back Indvduasaton Sage London
Leadbeater C (1999a) Lvng on Thn Ar Vkng London
Leadbeater C and Oakey A (1999b) The Independents DEMOS London
McRobbe A (1998) Brtsh Fashon desgn Rag Trade or Image Industry? Routedge London
McRobbe A (1999) In The Cuture Socety Fashon, Art, Popuar Musc Routedge London
McRobbe A (2001) Cub to Company forthcomng n Cutura Studes (eds Nxon S and Du Gay P)
McRobbe A (2002) forthcomng Economes of Artsts and Cutura Entrepreneurs, Reakton Books
Negus K (1992) Performng Pop Cuture and Confct n the Popuar Musc Industry Edward Arnod
London
Rushton R (2001) Me Mysef and I ._D magazne The Bathroom Issue London
40
Spvak G-C (1999)
Urse G (2000) Teevson Producton Issues of Expotaton Commodfcaton and Sub|ectfcaton n
UK Teevson abour Markets n Meda Cuture and Socety vo 22 no 6, Nov pp 805-827
Warhurst Cet a (2000) Lookng Good Soundng Rght Stye Counseng for the Unempoyed n
Industra Socety London
Woff | (1981) the Soca Producton of Art Macman London
http://www.k3000.ch/becreatve/texts/text_5.htm
Aest4etics of Resistance> Artistic Researc4 as 1iscipline and Conflict
Hto Steyer
What s artstc research today? At present no one seems to know an answer to ths queston. Artstc
research s treated as one of the mutpe practces whch are defned by ndefnton, constanty n
fux, ackng coherence and dentty. But what f ths vew were ndeed mseadng? What f we
actuay knew more about t than we thought? In order to dscuss ths proposton, ets frst have a
ook at current debates around artstc research. It seems as f one of ther most mportant concerns
s the transformaton of artstc research nto an academc dscpne. There are dscussons about
currcuum, degrees, method, practca appcaton, pedagogy. On the other hand, there s aso
substanta crtcsm of ths approach. It addresses the nsttutonazaton of artstc research as
beng compct wth new modes of producton wthn cogntve captasm: commodfed educaton,
creatve and affectve ndustres, admnstratve aesthetcs, and so on. Both perspectves agree on
one pont: artstc research s at present beng consttuted as a more or ess normatve, academc
dscpne.
A dscpne s of course dscpnaran; t normazes, generazes and reguates; t rehearses a set of
responses, and n ths case, trans peope to functon n an envronment of symboc abor,
permanent desgn and streamned creatvty. But then agan, what s a dscpne apart from a of
ths? A dscpne may be oppressve, but ths s aso precsey why t ponts to the ssue t keeps
under contro. It ndexes a suppressed, an avoded or potenta confct. A dscpne hnts at a confct
mmobzed. It s a practce to channe and expot ts energes and to ncorporate them nto the
powers that be. Why woud one need a dscpne f t wasnt to dscpne somebody or somethng?
Any dscpne can thus aso be seen from the pont of vew of confct.
Let me gve an exampe: a pro|ect I recenty reazed, caed T/e @uilding. It deas wth the
constructon hstory of a Naz budng on the man square n Lnz, Austra; t nvestgates ts
background, the stores of the peope who actuay but t, and aso ooks at the materas used n
the budng. The constructon was performed by party foregn forced aborers and some of the
former nhabtants of the ste were persecuted, dspossessed and murdered. Durng the research t
aso actuay turned out that some of the budng stones were produced n the notorous quarry of
concentraton camp Mauthausen, where thousands of peope were ked.
There are at east two dfferent ways of descrbng ths budng. One and the same stone used for
the budng can be sad to have ganed ts shape accordng to the paradgm of neocasscst
archtecture, whch woud be the offca descrpton gven on the budng tsef. Or t can be
descrbed as havng probaby been shaped by a stone mason n concentraton camp Mauthausen,
who was key a former Spansh Repubcan fghter. The concuson s obvous: the same stone can
be descrbed from the pont of vew of a dscpne, whch cassfes and names. But t can aso be
read as a trace of a suppressed confct.
But why woud ths very oca pro|ect be reevant for a refecton about artstc research as such?
Because parts of ths budng aso concdentay house the Lnz Art Academy. Ths budng s a
ocaton, where artstc research s currenty beng ntegrated nto academc structures: there s a
department for artstc research nsde ths budng. Thus, any nvestgaton of the budng mght
turn out as a sort of nsttutona metarefecton on the contemporary condtons of artstc research
as such.
In ths sense: where s the confct, or rather what are the extensve sets of confcts underyng ths
41
new academc dscpne? Who s currenty budng ts was, usng whch materas, produced by
whom? Who are the buders of the dscpne and where are ther traces?

1iscipline and Conflict
So, what are the confcts, and where are the boundares then? Seen from the pont of vew of many
current contrbutons, artstc research seems more or ess confned to the contemporary
metropotan art academy. Actua artstc research ooks ke a set of art practces by predomnanty
metropotan artsts actng as ethnographers, socoogsts, product or soca desgners. It gves the
mpresson of beng an asset of technoogcay and conceptuay advanced Frst Word captasm,
tryng to upgrade ts popuaton to effcenty functon n a knowedge economy, and as a by-product,
casuay surveyng the rest of the word as we. But f we ook at artstc research from the
perspectve of confct or more precsey of soca strugges, a map of practces emerges that spans
most of the 20th century and aso most of the gobe. It becomes obvous that the current debates do
not fuy acknowedge the egacy of the ong, vared and truy nternatona hstory of artstc
research whch has been understood n terms of an aesthetcs of resstance.
!est/etics o (esistance s the tte of Peter Wess semna nove, reeased n the eary 1980s, whch
presents an aternatve readng of art hstory as we as an account of the hstory of ant-fascst
resstance from 1933 to 1945. Throughout the nove Wess expcty uses the term "artstc research
(knstersche Forschung)" to refer to practces such as Brechts wrtng factory n exe. He aso
ponts to the factographc and party aso productvst practces n the post-revoutonary Sovet
Unon, mentonng the documentary work of Serge Tret|akov, among many others. Thus he
estabshes a geneaogy of aesthetc research, whch s reated to the hstory of emancpatory
strugges throughout the 20th century.
Snce the 1920s, extremey sophstcated debates about artstc epstemooges were waged on
terms ke fact, reaty, ob|ectvty, nqury wthn the crces of Sovet factographers,
cnematographers and artsts. For factographers, a fact s an outcome of a process of producton.
Fact comes from acere, to make or to do. So n ths sense the fact s made or even made up. Ths
shoud not come as a surprse to us n the age of poststructurast, metaphysca skeptcsm. But the
range of aesthetc approaches whch were deveoped as research toos amost 100 years ago s
stupefyng.
Authors ke Vertov, Stepanova, Tret|akov, Popova and Rodchenko nvent compex procedures of
nvestgaton, such as the cne-eye, the cne-truth, the bography of the ob|ect or photomontage.
They work on human percepton and practce and actvey try to ntegrate scentfc atttudes nto
ther work. And scentfc creaton s fowng as a resut of many of these deveopments. In hs
autobography, Roman |akobson descrbes n deta how avantgarde art practces nspred hm to
deveop hs specfc deas on ngustcs.
Of course throughout hstory many dfferent approaches of ths type of research have exsted. We
coud aso menton the efforts of the artsts empoyed by the FSA (Farm Securty Admnstraton) of
creatng essaystc photo|ournastc nqures durng the Great Depresson n the US. In a these
cases, the artstc research s ambvaenty co-opted nto state poces - athough to a dfferent
extent and wth competey dfferent consequences. Around the same tme Tretyakov got shot durng
the Stanst terror, Waker Evans had a soo show at the MoMa.
Another method of artstc nqury, whch s based on severa reated sets of confct and crss s the
essaystc approach. In 1940, Hans Rchter cons the term fm essay or essay fm as capabe of
vsuazng theoretca deas. He refers to one of hs own works aready made n 1927 caed ?nlation,
an extremey nterestng expermenta fm about captasm runnng amok. Rchter argues that a
new fmc anguage has to be deveoped n order to dea wth abstract processes such as the
captast economy. How does one show these abstractons, how does one vsuaze the mmatera?
These questons are reactuazed n contemporary art practces, but they have a ong hstory.
The essay as fmc approach aso embraces the perspectve of antcoona resstance. One of the
frst so-caed essay fms s the antcoona fm-essay -es statues meurent aussi, by Chrs Marker
and Aan Resnas, about racsm n deang wth Afrcan art. The fm s commssoned by a magazne
caed ,resence aricaine whch counts as ts edtors peope ke Am Csare or Leopod Senghor,
man theoretcans of the so-caed negrtude movement n the 1930s. Ony a few years ater
42
Theodor Adornos text, T/e 6ssa4 as "orm, appears n whch he ponders on the resstant
characterstcs of the essay as subversve method of thought. To Adorno the essay means the
reshuffng of the reams of the aesthetc and epstemoogca, whch undermnes the domnant
dvson of abor.
And then we enter the whoe perod of the 1960s wth ther nternatona strugges, trcontnentasm
and so on. Frantz Fanons sogan: "...we must dscuss, we must nvent..." s the motto of the
manfesto To=ards a T/ird %inema, wrtten by Fernando Soanas and Octavo Getno n 1969, n a
context of dctatorshp n Argentna. The reaton of art and scence s agan expcty mentoned n
|uo Garca Espnosas manfesto "or an ?mperect %inema (1969). Other methods of artstc research
ncude stuatonst derve and workers nqures, constructvst montage, cut ups, bomechancs, ora
hstory, deconstructve or surreast anthropoogy, the dffuson of counternformaton as we as
aesthetc |ournasm. Some of these methods are more easy absorbed nto the art manstream than
others. Especay strongy dematerazed practces wth pronounced modernst features are qucky
absorbed nto nformaton captasm because they are compressed, quck to absorb and easy
transmtted.
It s no concdence that many of the practces mentoned here have been deang wth cassca
probems of documentary representaton from very dfferent perspectves: ts functon as
power/knowedge, ts epstemoogca probems, ts reaton to reaty and the chaenge of creatng a
new one. Documentary styes and forms have forever grapped wth the uneven mx of ratonaty
and creatvty, between sub|ectvty and ob|ectvty, between the power of creaton and the power of
conservaton.
It s no concdence ether that many of the hstorca methods of artstc research are ted to soca
or revoutonary movements, or to moments of crss and reform. In ths perspectve, the outne of a
goba network of strugges s reveaed, whch spans amost the whoe 20th century, whch s
transversa, reatona, and (n many, though far from a cases) emancpatory.
It s a concdence, however, that Peter Wess !est/etics o (esistance aso mentons the man
square of Lnz: the ste of T/e @uilding. He descrbes a scene n whch members of the Internatona
Brgades n Span sten to a broadcast of the enthusastc recepton for Hter and the German troops
on Lnzs man square n March 1938. But Wess protagonst notces a very sma (and entrey
hypothetca) moment n resstance ponted out by the rado |ournast: some of the wndows on the
square reman unt, and the |ournast s quck to pont out that the fats of the |ews are ocated
there. Actuay durng the research t turned out that one of the |ewsh fames vng there had
dspersed to three dfferent contnents and two members of the famy had been murdered. One of
the atter was a person caed Ernst Samuey who was supposedy a communst. After many ordeas,
he |oned a |ewsh partsan group on the Posh border before dsappearng. So, f we ook at the Lnz
budng from ths pont of vew, we see that t dssoves nto a network of nternatona routes and
reatons, whch reate to oppresson but aso to resstance: t reates to what Water Ben|amn once
caed "the tradton of the oppressed."

T4e 'erspective of Conflict
If we keep appyng the goba and transversa perspectve to the debate around artstc research,
the tempora and spata mtatons of contemporary metropotan debates are reveaed. It smpy
does not make any sense to contnue the dscusson as f practces of artstc research do not have a
ong and extensve hstory we beyond conceptua art practces - whch s one of the very few
hstorca exampes to be mentoned, athough very rarey. From the pont of vew of soca strugges,
the dscontnuous geneaogy of artstc research becomes an amost goba one, wth a ong and
frequenty nterrupted hstory. The geographca dstrbuton of artstc research practces aso
dramatcay changes n ths perspectve. Snce some ocatons were partcuary affected by the
con|uncton of power and knowedge, whch arose wth the formaton of captasm and coonasm,
strateges of epstemc dsobedence had to be nvented.
A power/knowedge/art, whch reduced whoe popuatons to ob|ects of knowedge, domnaton and
representaton, had to be countered not ony by soca strugge and revot, but aso by
epstemoogca and aesthetc nnovaton. Thus reversng the perspectve and focusng on dscpne
as an ndex of confct aso reverses the drecton n whch art hstory has been wrtten as an account
43
of perphera artsts copyng and catchng up wth Western art trends. We coud |ust as we say that
many contemporary metropotan artsts are ony now catchng up wth the compexty of debates
around reaty and representaton that Sovet factographers had aready deveoped n the 1920s.

!pecific and !in"ular
In a these methods, two eements code: a cam to specfcty cashes wth a cam to snguarty.
What does ths mean? One aspect of the work cams to partcpate n a genera paradgm, wthn a
dscourse that can be shared and whch s manufactured accordng to certan crtera. More often
than not, scentfc, egastc or |ournastc truth procedures undery ths method of research. These
methodooges are pervaded by power reatons as many theorsts have demonstrated.
On the other hand, artstc research pro|ects n many cases aso ay cam to snguarty. They create
a certan artstc set up, whch cams to be reatvey unque and produces ts own fed of reference
and ogc. Ths provdes t wth a certan autonomy, n some cases an edge of resstance aganst
domnant modes of knowedge producton. In other cases, ths assumed snguarty |ust sexes up a
quanttatve survey, or to use a famous expresson by Ben|amn Buchoh, creates an aesthetc of
admnstraton.|1|"
Whe specfc methods generate a shared terran of knowedge - whch s consequenty pervaded by
power structures - snguar methods foow ther own ogc. Whe ths may avod the repcaton of
exstng structures of power/knowedge, t aso creates the probem of the proferaton of parae
unverses, whch each speak ther own, untransatabe anguage. Practces of artstc research
usuay partake n both regsters, the snguar as we as the specfc; they speak severa anguages
at once.
Thus, one coud magne a semotc square*, whch woud roughy map the tensons whch become
apparent durng the transformaton of artstc research nto an academc and/or economc dscpne.
Of course, ths scheme s mseadng, snce one woud have to draw a new one for every snguar
pont of vew whch s nvestgated. But t shows the tensons whch both frame and undermne the
nsttutonazaton of artstc research.

Artistic Researc4 as Translation
The mutnguaty of artstc research mpes that artstc research s an act of transaton. It takes
part n at east two anguages and can n some cases create new ones. It speaks the anguage of
quaty as we as of quantty, the anguage of the snguar as we as the anguage of the specfc,
use vaue as we as exchange vaue or spectace vaue, dscpne as we as confct; and t
transates between a of these. Ths does not mean that t transates correcty - but t transates,
nevertheess.
At ths pont, one shoud emphasze that ths s aso the case wth so-caed autonomous artworks,
whch have no pretense whatsoever to partake n any knd of research. Ths does not mean they
cannot be quantfed or become part of dscpnary practces, because they are routney quantfed
on the art market n the form of prcng and ntegrated nto art hstores and other systems of vaue.
Thus, most art practces exst n one or another type of transaton, but ths type of transaton does
not |eopardze the dvson of abor estabshed between art hstorans and gaersts, between artsts
and researchers, between the mnd and senses. In fact, a ot of the conservatve anmosty towards
artstc research stems from a feeng of threat, because of the dssouton of these boundares, and
ths s why artstc research s often dsmssed n everyday practce as nether art nor research.
But the quantfcaton processes nvoved n the evauaton or vaorzaton of artstc research are
sghty dfferent than the tradtona procedures of quantfcaton. Artstc research as a dscpne not
ony sets and enforces certan standards but aso presents an attempt to extract or produce a
dfferent type of vaue n art. Apart from the art market, a secondary market deveops for those
practces whch ack n fetsh vaue. Ths secondary vaue s estabshed by quantfcaton and
ntegraton nto (ncreasngy) commodfed educaton systems. Addtonay, a sort of soca surpus
embedded nto a pedagogca understandng of art comes nto pay. Both combned create a pu
towards the producton of apped or appcabe knowedge/art, whch can be used for
entrepreneura nnovaton, soca coheson, cty marketng, and thousands of other aspects of
44
cutura captasm. From ths perspectve, artstc research ndeed ooks ke a new verson of the
apped arts, a new and argey mmatera craft, whch s beng nsttuted as a dscpne n many
dfferent paces.

Radiators
At the end, et me come back to the begnnng: we know more about artstc research than we thnk.
And ths concerns the most dsquetng fndngs of the pro|ect around T/e @uilding n Lnz. It s more
than key, that after the war, radators were taken from the now abandoned concentraton camp
Mauthausen and renstaed nto the budng. If ths pan documented n the hstorca fes was
executed, then the radators are st there and have quety been heatng the budng ever snce. A
vst wth an expert confrmed that the radators have never been exchanged n the Eastern part of
the budng and that, moreover, some of the radators had aready been used, when they had been
nstaed around 1948. The make of those radators corresponds to the few radators seen n
contemporary photos of concentraton camp Mauthausen. Now, of course, radators were not n use
n the prsoners barracks. They were n use n some work rooms, ke the aundry room. They were n
use n the prsoners offce and the prsoners brothe, where femae nmates from another
concentraton camp had to work.
But what do we make of the fact that the Department for Artstc Research (ts coordnaton offce s
ocated n T/e @uilding, accordng to the webste) coud soon fnd tsef beng heated by the same
radators, whch were mute wtnesses of the pght of femae nmates n the concentraton camp
brothe? To quote the webste of the Lnz art academy, "artstc-scentfc research beongs to the
core tasks of the Art Unversty Lnz, and artstc practce and scentfc research are combned under
one roof. The confrontaton and/or combnaton of scence and art requre ntense research and
artstc deveopment n a methodoogca perspectve, n the areas of knowedge transfers and
questons of medaton. Cutura Studes, art hstory, meda theory, severa strateges of medaton
as we as art and Gender Studes n the context of concrete art producton are essenta eements of
the profe of the unversty." What are the condtons of ths research? What s the bography of ts
hstorca nfrastructure and how can refectng on t hep us to break through the nfatuaton wth
dscpne and nsttutonazaton and to sharpen a hstorca focus n thnkng about artstc
research? Obvousy not every budng w turn out to house such a surprsng nfrastructure. But the
genera queston remans: what do we do wth an ambvaent dscpne, whch s nsttutonazed
and dscpned under ths type of condtons? How can we emphasze the hstorca and goba
dmenson of artstc research and underne the perspectve of confct? And when s t tme to turn
off the ghts?

*)
SPECIFIC

SCIENCE / PUBLIC DEBATE /
ART HISTORY COUNTERINFORMATION

DISCIPLINE RESISTANCE

ART MARKET / AESTHETIC AUTONOMY
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

SINGULAR

45


T/is text appeared irst in ma/0uCine J, =inter <I7I,
http://www.mahku.n/downoad/maHKUzne08_web.pdf

,!8asti<as> Orna%ents?@ as a Continuit9 of Repression
Aistor9;'olitical Conditions of a 'u$lic Art and Educational nstitution
Transated by Lna Dokuzovc
Eduard Freudmann
The foowng artce s based on the work of the Patform Hstory Potcs, an ntatve of students,
actvsts and teachers, who are affated wth the Academy of Fne Arts Venna, of whch the author
s aso a member.|1| The Patform Hstory Potcs began n 2009, as a sef-organzed pro|ect, and
defnes tsef - as were the other work groups whch arose wthn the framework of the 2009/2010
Academy occupatons|2| - as an open coectve that strves towards ant-herarchca organzatona
structures and dscusson-based decson-makng n ts work process. Hstory-potca contentons,
such as those carred out by the group, are based on the noton that the constructon of hstory and
ts potca nterpretaton are mmanent to both the Hstory Scences as an academc dscpne as
we as to hstory producton as a soca practce. Memory can never be termnated. We consder
rememberng to rather be an actve process, n whch we am at producng and medatng resstant
knowedge whch can be empowerng for emancpatory nterventons nto the hegemonc mages of
hstory. Wth our work, we am to evoke a contnuous process wthn whch the partcpaton of the
Academy of Fne Arts Venna n coonasm, Austro-fascsm and Nazsm s crtcay refected and
deat wth pubcy. Our actvtes have, however, consstenty expanded the mmanent borders of the
nsttuton, because t has proven necessary, through the observaton of ts nvovement n regard to
the far-reachng ramfcatons - n the feds of potcs, art, cuture, pedagogy, scence and research,
for exampe, meanng n the soca contexts that the Academy s part of as a pubc art and
educatona nsttuton.
***
A toast a%idst s8asti<as
I remember the day I entered the assemby ha of the Academy of Fne Arts Venna for the frst tme.
It was 1999, |ust a few days after I began my studes n Fne Arts there. On that day - I most key
ended up there for an exhbton openng - I stood n the mdde of the room, stunned. It was
certany not because of the excessve mpera grandeur and patrarcha swank that fed the space,
but because I saw how the Academy teachers, students and admnstratve empoyees exchanged
news, wne gasses n tow, durng the cheerfu reunon after ther summer vacaton, amdst
swastkas, surroundng the assemby ha n the form of ornaments.
A history-political tour|3|
First stop: memorial tablet
'emperdepot, 'tudio building o t/e !cadem4. @ullet /oles /ave been preserved in t/e
outer acade, surrounding a =indo= on t/e ground loor. !n acr4lic plaSue is mounted
atop t/em =it/ t/e inscription+ 15$NK' 5" *6*5(T.
46
Ths memora tabet s the ony spata manfestaton wth whch the Academy has
reated to ts hstory over the ast few decades. It was hung n the 1990s, n the course of
the adaptaton of the budng from the former theater and opera stage depot to the
Academy studo budng. What one notces rght away when ookng at t s how nebuous
t s. It s not cear who s makng the statement, meanng who marked the buet hoes
and dentfed them as "wounds of memory." The meanng of the statement aso remans
uncear: s t the buet hoes that eave behnd wounds n the memory - f so, n the
memory of what? Or s t the memory of the buet hoes that eaves behnd the wounds
- f so, then wounds n what?
The hoes n the facade are - n a probabty|4| - the consequences of the sheng by
the Red Army durng the so-caed "Venna Offensve" n Apr 1945. In eu of those
crcumstances, the observaton of the space of memory shows that the use of the term
"wound" for descrbng the evdence of Vennas beraton from Nazsm represents a
twofod sef-vctmzaton: f we ook at the wounds from the perspectve of the Nazs,
accordng to ther deuson of "raca hygene," these wounds are those whch were
nfcted by "the Boshevk" onto the "heathy raca corpus" that had prevousy been
"freed from the parastes"; from the post-Naz perspectve, accordng to vctm
mythoogsm,|5| they represent the wounds that were nfcted by "the radng and
pagng Russan" onto the "dsgraced body" of the "sufferng Vennese cv socety" n
the "Inferno of the fna warrng days." It s certany cear what s not beng remembered
here: there s no memory of the dsfranchsement, dspossesson, persecuton, expuson
and extermnaton, nor of the war of conquest and ts "scorched earth," nor of the
nvovement of art and ts nsttutons.
(re8in" post;8ar ste8
For speca occasons, such as annversary ceebratons, the Academy reeases books about ts
hstory. Wofgang Wagner, the author of a comprehensve chronce for the 275-year annversary,
wrtes n 1967: "Hardy more than two decades after the end of WWII |...| the excessve damage of
the war and the NS era s entrey emnated |...| - undoubtedy mpressve evdence of the
unfractured vtaty of ths tme-honored nsttuton."|6| Whe audng to the reconstructed wng of
the Academy budng havng been damaged after the attack, the author brews the usua post-war
stew out of vctm myth and reconstructon pathos,|7| presentng us wth a rdde when referrng to
"excessve damage |...| of the NS era" that has to be seen as "entrey emnated." Hs summonng
of gory, honor and unfractured vtaty must, on the contrary, be deemed sheer mockery, especay
snce on a 492 pages of hs comprehensve chronce, he adamanty conceas the Academy and ts
affates nvovement n Naz crmes. As a matter of fact, Wagner does not thereby present an
excepton, but the rue - the nsttutons nvovement was worth no menton n any of the respectve,
subsequent pubcatons ether.|8|
Second stop: Kaisers relief
!ssembl4 /all o t/e !cadem4. ?n t/e central point across rom t/e entrance, a relie
portra4s t=o ormer !ustrian rulers. %orresponding dedications are situated beside it+ To
Raiser -eopold ?, ounder o t/e !cadem4D and "ranC .osep/ ?, erector o t/is ediice.D
For the 200-year annversary of the Academy, that room was dedcated to two ndvduas
that the Academy fees tes to.|9| The atter set a word war nto moton wth an attack
aganst Serba. The former unted two eements n hs potcs that were fundamenta for
the coona, fascst and Naz processes of ths country: expansonsm and ant-|udasm.
Leopod I prompted the commencement of the so-caed Great Turksh War (1683-1699),
whch subsequenty ed to the expuson of the Ottomans from Centra Europe and the
ascent of Austra to a Great Power. A ater expansonst potcs must be seen as a
contnuty of ths war of conquest towards the East; whch ncudes the wars under the
Habsburgs, such as WWI, as we as WWIIs conquest of extermnaton or the economc
47
expanson potcs of the ast 20 years, the Austran neocoonasm n East and Southeast
Europe. Leopod I not ony decreed the expuson of the Ottomans from Centra Europe,
but aso the expuson of |ews from Venna. Unt 1670, there had been a reatvey arge
and prosperous |ewsh communty, whch ved n the area of todays Leopodstadt, the
2nd Dstrct of Venna. -eopold3s 'tadt (%it4&) The gratefu profteers dd not aow
anyone to take the possbty away from them of denomnatng the dstrct n honor of
the Kaser who expeed the |ews for them, certany not wthout frst carryng out arge-
scae pogroms aganst them.
,Are t4ere an9 Ar9ani-ed O$.ects in t4is Acade%9>@|10|
There was an od German stye massve antque tabe wth matchng armchars n the Academys
conference room. After the number of partcpants n the coega conferences rose, due to ega
amendments, there woud be a need to move to a arger room and to acqure a arger tabe. The
massve antque tabe was then whsked away nto the anteroom of two offces, where t remans to
ths day. Insttuton rumors cam that the tabe was "Aryanzed," meanng t was ooted durng the
systematc dspossesson of the |ews and everyone cassfed as such by the Nazs. Due to the gven
state of knowedge, t cannot be assessed whether or not that rumor s true or fase. However,
athough the Academy Rectors Offce s aware of the rumor, the approprate nvestgaton has not
been ntated to date. The mantenance of the condton of not-beng-abe-to-|udge s remarkabe
nsofar as t s symptomatc of the way the nsttuton deas wth the porton of ts property whch
ooted ob|ects coud be found n. The systematc research on the provenence of ts furnshngs and
the nventory of ts coectons, as has been done n the Austran federa coectons as we as n
comparabe nsttutons such as the Unversty for Apped Arts, has been mssng to ths day.|11|
Third stop: warriors memorial
! bronCe sculpture in t/e rig/t-/and corner o t/e assembl4 /all. ?t displa4s a nude male
4out/, in t/e neoclassical st4le, =it/ t/e base s/o=ing t/e inscription 787M;787J.D
We are standng n front of the "Memora for the Faen Art Academcs" from the year
1925. Its creator, |osef Mner, was deepy connected to the Academy for over haf a
century. After havng studed at the nsttuton, he was apponted Professor durng the
tme of the Monarchy. He exercsed hs teachng actvtes durng the Frst Repubc,
durng Austro-Fascsm and durng Nazsm a the way to hs retrement durng the Second
Repubc n 1948. Mner was cosey connected to German natona
Burschenschaften|12| durng hs entre professona fe. He created the prototype for
the war propagandstc "Wehrmann n Esen," the raca-mythca "Segfredskopf" of the
Unversty of Venna, a memora for Vennas ant-Semtc Mayor, Kar Lueger, as we as
a bust of Adof Hter, whch was erected here at the centra pont of the assemby ha of
the Academy. After the defeat of Natona Socasm, Mner was competey absoved.
The respectve certfcaton of de-Nazfcaton attested that he "carred out no Naz
propaganda" and even more so "had spoken out frequenty and ferventy aganst the
Naz regment |sc!|."|13| Whe the fgure hods bay eaves n hs rght hand as a sgn of
the trumph wthn the defeat, he paces hs eft hand on hs forehead as a gesture of
mournng. Thereby, the memora suppresses both Austras responsbty for startng the
war aong wth the fact that the art academcs to be mourned are the resut of the
expansonst potcs of Franz |oseph I, to whom homage s rendered wthn ths very
room. It thereby testfes to the sef-vctmzaton wthn the defeat, and shoud endow
dentty through the aesthetczaton of mass murder and mass death, egtmzng cams
to soveregnty.|14|
T4e fili$usterers vs& t4e student 8or< "roup
In the foreword of the book, "Im Rech der Kunst - De Wener Akademe der bdenden Knste und
48
de faschstsche Kunstpotk"|15| ("In the Rech of Art - The Venna Academy of Fne Arts and
Fascst Art Potcs"), from 1990, edtors Mchae Lunard, Peter |osef Popuorum and Hans Seger
wrote: "There was ntay an attempt to ntate a pro|ect that woud be supported by a groups of
Academy assocates (students, md-eve facuty, Professors). That attempt faed because of the
fbusterng done by ndvdua commsson members. Utmatey there was a symposum organzed
on the sub|ect Art n Fascsm/Natona Socasm and the Academy of Fne Arts n 1989, whch ended
up beng organzed by ony one student work group n 1989. Ths pubcaton has been produced as
based on the event and as the concuson to the entre pro|ect |...|. The hope remans that the ssues
whch are mssng or have faen short, or aso the questons that have arsen wthn the
contrbutons, provde the occason for further research to be stmuated by those responsbe at the
respectve unversty factes."
Fourth stop: Schillerplatz
T/e par0 in ront o t/e main building o t/e !cadem4 at 'c/illerplatC.
Immedatey after the Naz takeover n Austra, the Academy expeed teachers, students
and admnstratve empoyees who were |ewsh or cassfed by the Nazs as |ewsh, those
marred to |ews and those n potca opposton to Nazsm from the nsttuton.|16|
Subsequenty, the Academy ntated the expuson of |ews and those cassfed as such
by the Nazs from ths park. The Academy tted the foowng etter to the Cty of Venna
wth the demand "Scherpatz shoud become |ew-free,":|17| "The Academys
provsona drecton perceved the approva of Scherpatz as the whereabouts for the
|ew wth great astonshment. The unappeang strangers we woud so eagery ke to see
removed from the pureus of our cty now hudde by day, of a paces, on the benches
under our Scher memora, whch summons reverence for our greatest poet wthn
every race-conscous German. |.| The fact that no dsturbance of the peace has arsen
unt now can ony be ascrbed to the consderate, cam tactfu composure of our
students. |...| The Academy commsson fees compeed to ndcate these facts and to
request ther amendment." In the foowng month, the Muncpaty of the Cty of Venna
conveyed that "the case concernng the vstaton of the Scherpatz garden by |ews |...|
had been taken care of by the responsbe authortes n the meantme."|18| To ths day,
the Academy has made no gesture of repentance on that matter.|19|
E%p4ases 8it4in self;representation
The Academys webste states that: "The Academy of Fne Arts Venna has been a eadng European
tranng centre for artsts for more than 300 years."|20| A tmetabe sts three entres about the
nsttuton durng Nazsm; teray:
"1938: Ceansng of the teachng body, appontment of provsona drecton
1941: Master cass for Art Educaton
1944-1945: "Teachng was resumed by the provsona Rector Herbert Boeck n the bady damaged
budng at Scherpatz n Apr 1945."|21|
That means four words on the expuson of teachers (the quotaton marks do not make a dfference
regardng the dsgustng affrmatveness of the expresson used), four words on the Nazfcaton of
the nsttuton (whereas that meanng can ony understood by those knowng the obfuscated
notons), fve words on a fed of actvty whch was ntroduced at the Academy then and whch
remans to ths day (ths - entrey uncontextuazed - auson to "achevement" remnds one of the
commony estabshed manner of argumentaton, referrng to hghway and empoyment pocy)|22|
and 19 words of sef-vctmzaton and Reconstructon Pathos. That means zero words on the
expuson of aeged and actua |ews, on the expuson of potca resstors, on the expuson of
students and admnstratve empoyees; zero words on the Naz pantngs, Naz scuptures, Naz
budngs; zero words on the Naz deoogy and ts contnutes n teachng. Zero words on the
deoogca roe of art and ts nsttutons n Nazsm, zero words on ther contrbuton to the raca-
natona constructon of dentty as we as to war and extermnaton propaganda.
49
Fifth stop: Nazi bust
!t t/e perimeter o 'c/illerplatC, in ront o t/e !cadem4 building+ a bronCe bust o t/e
NaCi poet, .ose 1ein/eber.
Ths bust was created n 1940 by the Academy graduate, |osef Bock. The tme when t
was paced n ths ocaton has been untraceabe for us unt now. After 1945, t was
panted over mutpe tmes wth ant-fascst sogans, once the bust was supposedy even
h|acked by unknown actvsts. To smpfy ts ceanng and protect aganst theft
afterwards, the Cty of Venna repaced the orgna sandstone pedesta wth ths one
here, n 1975: t s made from grante and seaed n a one-and-a-haf by one-and-a-haf
meter concrete foundaton hdden underground.|23|
The depcted, |osef Wenheber, entered the NSDAP n 1931 and was actve from 1933 as
the "Fachschaftseter fr Schrfttum" (Leader of the Department for Lterature) n the
"Kampfbund fr deutsche Kutur" (Combat League for German Cuture). Adof Hter
paced hm on the so-caed "Gottbegnadeten-Lste" (God-Gfted Lst) n 1944, a cataog
of 1,041 NS artsts, who were absoved from war servce due to the mportance of ther
work. In ght of the nevtabe defeat, Wenheber chose to take hs own fe on Apr 8th,
1945.
Agenda of the protoco from the frst meetng of the professora counc after the
beraton from the Nazs, |une 27
th
1945; frst tem: "Obtuary to the deceased honorary
members Prof. Rudof Bacher and Honorary Dr. |osef Wenheber. The Rector hed a warm
obt for both passed honorary members |.|. Durng a mnutes sence the
commemoraton of the deceased was exceptonay venerated. Those present rose from
ther seats for the occason."|24|

Respecta$le traditions5 presti"ious co%%e%oration>
"The st of the honorary members of the Academy of Fne Arts Venna refects the hstory of ths
nsttuton n an mpressve way," the Academy procamed n |une 2010, after the Rectors Offce
and the Senate decded to "revve ths respectabe tradton"|25| and award honorary membershp
to the panter, Mara Lassng, and the author, Frederke Mayrcker.
An excerpt from the condoence etter from the Academy Rector to Hedwg Wenheber from |une 6th,
1945: "I was deepy shaken upon recevng the news of the demse of your consort |.| ndsputaby,
the greatest Austran yrcst of our tme. |.| Wth prde, we count the recenty deceased as one of
our honorary members, and fed wth woe, we commemorate the great poets so|ourn at our
nsttuton, partcuary the ectures of hs own work wthn the Crce of Frends of the Academy and
the 250-year annversary of the Academy n October 1942, whch was upheaved by our honorary
member through hs presence and for whch ceebraton he versfed a gorous proogue for us.|26|
The name of the passed w ve on n the Academy budng and hs commemoraton w be
preserved hgh n honor forever."|27| The promse was kept: |osef Wenhebers name st remans
on the Academys st of honorary members to ths day.
!i:t4 stop= arc4ived resistance
The denazfcaton of the Academys personne was mted to the dsmssa of a handfu
of exposed ndvduas. In order to enabe them remanng at the nsttuton, however, the
ma|orty of the Nazs receved a certfcate attestng ther so-caed "mnma
burden."|28| How secure those n queston were can be deduced by the mpressve
account of ncrmnatng documents whch can be found n the Academy archve -
apparenty no one saw reason to emnate them.
It s unknown whether any documents, whch woud testfy to records of ant-fascst
50
resstance, have dsappeared. One case, however, can certany be reconstructed wth
the hep of exstng matera: It pertans to one of the students Adran Egger, |osef
Grogger, Kar Hauser, Othmar |and, Hermann Letner, Peter March, Kurt Posner,
Ferdnand Ruesch, Franz Staud, Rchard Stenhofer and Egon Weths 1938 sgned
nterventon for the renstatement of the Professor for Scupture, Abert Bechtod, |29|
who had been expeed for potca reasons. It remaned unsuccessfu after a. Bechtods
renstatement at the Academy foowng the beraton from Nazsm, whch he had to
appy for on hs own ntatve, was re|ected by the professora counc under fmsy
substantaton. 51 years after Bechtods expuson, Irene Nerhaus states: "For the
record, the Academy has found no gesture of recognton for Bechtod to ths day."|30|
For the record, to ths day nothng has changed, 22 years after Nerhaus statement.
"!8asti<as> Orna%ents?@
Back when I was stunned by the confrontaton of the reveers, amdst the swastkas, I dd not have
the guts to ask about the pattern on the foor. The actons of the attendees seemed so natura that I
feared any expressed doubts woud trgger doubts about my santy. Severa years ater, for a smar
occason, I stood wth a group of teachers and tod them about that occurrence. In the end, I asked f
they were not rrtated by the pattern on the foor - "No, why?" - because t conssts of swastkas
after a. "These are not swastkas, but rather a doubed-meander pattern," they expaned, "whch
were avdy used as a reference to Greek antquty n neocasscsm." That was cear to me, but
consderng the conducted appropraton of the symbo here n ths regon through raca-natona
Germanc movements and ther not unsubstanta nfuence on the hstory of ths country, ths cty,
ths nsttuton, the swastka n ths pattern cannot smpy be repudated. They seemed rrtated:
"Ths pattern coud not have had anythng to do wth swastkas. After a, the admred archtect
worked durng a tme when no trace of the Nazs coud be found far and wde." They then ooked at
me wth pty and determned: "Who cams the contrary ether dsregards the hstory of the occdent
or suffers from persecutona mana."

ntervenin" in 4istor9;8ritin"s5 attac<in" politics of oppression
Art s never outsde, t s never unnvoved n soca dsparty, but s aways nvoved n t - aong wth
ts nsttutons. The autonomy of art s nothng other than a frequenty debunked myth. However, the
way that the Academy of Fne Arts Venna reates to ts own hstory certany rases the queston of
whether that recognton has reached the nsttuton or not. After the approprate contenton of the
hstory-potcs of the nsttuton, one s ncned to no onger wonder about anythng anymore - not
about the not-wantng-to-recognze swastkas nor about the attempt to pathoogze the abty to
recognze them. However, breakng the perpetuaton and normazaton of the practces of
trvazaton, represson and coectve obvon, whch characterstcay take pace n ths country,
and thereby aways examnng, denomnatng and contestng the coaescence of art and power anew
s ncumbent on each of those of us who partcpate n the arts as a cutura deoogca state
apparatus.|31|
It s thereby essenta to become aware of the tme and content-orented reatons of varous
systems of expotaton wthout osng sght of ther dscontnutes. Nazsm, for exampe, whch s
eagery partcuarzed as an "entrey abrupt epoch"|32| n ths country, cannot be vewed as an
soated phenomenon, abet the snguarty of ts crmes. To do so woud be a dena of the
coherence and contnutes wth coonasm|33| and captasm.|34| Whch reatons of mpact do
the Habsburgan potcs of expanson, the Austro-Fascst crusader dentty, the Naz "Drang nach
Osten" ("Drve towards the East")|35| and current economc neocoonasm have to one another?
How deepy are Cathoc ant-|udasm and genocda ant-Semtsm nterwoven; how deepy are
hstorca ant-Savsm, ant-Turksm and contemporary racst poces of excuson nterwoven?
Lookng at these compexes from an ant-captast, ant-fascst, ant-ant-Semtc and post-coona
perspectve and thereby consderng the geneaoges of oca expansonsm and oca racazaton s
the precondton for ntervenng nto hegemonc hstory-wrtng and attackng contemporary potcs
of oppresson. These are emancpatory processes to whch the dscosure of hstory-potca
51
monstroctes coud possby make a sma contrbuton. Ths beng sad, I woud ke to concude wth
a quote by the artst, Ivan |urca: "Due to the processes of extermnaton and excuson on a eves,
due to the mssng crtca postons n hstory and art hstory n knowedge producton and n our
studes, I cam - and ths statement s my artwork - By my best w, I can see swastkas
everywhere!"|36|

|1| The foowng ndvduas have worked n the group unt now: Sher Avraham, Sarah Bnder, Lsa
Boyos, Eduard Freudmann, Chrstan Gang, Mara Huetter, Chu Yong |an, Tatana Ka-Browne,
Chrstoph Koar, Nk Kubaczek, Stefan Lenk, Lsa Lnencka, Verena Megare|o Wenandt, Katharna
Morawek, Mara Muhar, Georg Oberechner, Mram Raggam, Chrstoph Schee, Barbara Wdng and
Arn Zadooran.
|2| See, for exampe: Lna Dokuzovc and Eduard Freudmann: Squattng the Crss - On the current
protests n educaton and perspectves on radca change, n: Creatng Words, European Insttute For
Progressve Cutura Poces, http://epcp.net/pro|ects/creatngwords/dokuzovc-
freudmann/en
|3| The ndented passages outne sx stops of a hstory-potca tour through the Academy of Fne
Arts Venna, whch was ntay presented by the Patform Hstory Potcs durng the Open House n
|anuary 2010, and has been repeated on varous occasons.
|4| An exact reconstructon of the combat at ths ocaton s not possbe. Accordng to the Vennese
Hstoran, Rchard Hufschmed, the facade markngs undoubtedy stem from the sheng of
automatc rfes and machne pstos, accordng to the most probabe of a pausbe scenaros, from
the Red Army durng WWII.
|5| The proponents of vctm mythoogsm, who domnated the Austran pubc for a ong tme and
who are st n practce to ths day, are of the beef that Austra shoud be vewed as the vctm of
Natona Socast Germany. They many am at denyng or trvazng a responsbty and gut of
Austra as we as ts popuaton for Naz crmes. See, for exampe: "The Vctm Myth,"
http://www.demokratezentrum.org/en/knowedge/statons-a-z/the-vctm-myth.htm
|6| Water Wagner, Kie 2esc/ic/te der !0ademie der bildenden RUnste in 1ien, pubshed by the
Academy of Fne Arts Venna, 1967, pg. 351
|7| The recondtonng of factes, whch had been destroyed durng the course of WWII, was
styzed nto an dentty-generatng natona narratve n Austra. Accordng to the prncpes of vctm
mythoogsm, there was no pace for acknowedgng one's own gut for the crmes of Nazsm and the
compensaton of ts vctms.
|8| See: !0ademie der bildenden RUnste in 1ien 7J9<;789<, pubshed by the Academy of Fne Arts
Venna (Edtor of the textua component: Abert Massczek), Venna 1972. Martn Bek, Kie !0ademie
der bildenden RUnste 78V9PVJ bis 7887P8<. 'tatisti0 der *eistersc/ulen und ?nstitute, pubshed by
the Academy drectorate for the 300-year annversary n 1992. :II .a/re !0ademie der bildenden
RUnste in 1ien 7V8<;788<, composed by the Archve of the Academy of Fne Arts Venna (Ferdnand
Gutsch). Kie !0ademie in der Aeiten=ende, pubshed by the Archve of the Academy of Fne Arts
Venna under the pro|ect management of An|a Wenberg, Venna 2002.
|9| A temporary nterventon by Patform Hstory Potcs nto the memora-potca manfestaton s
documented here: http://www.pattform-geschchtspotk.org/htm/nterventon-
kaserreef.php
|10| The tte of a poster of the Patform Hstory Potcs announcng the hstory-potca tour through
the Academy of Fne Arts Venna n |anuary 2010: http://www.pattform-geschchtspotk.org/
52
htm/poster-rundgang2010-01.php
|11| The "Monument of the Demand for Provenence Research and Resttuton," an nterventon by
the Patform Hstory Potcs, s documented here: http://www.pattform-geschchtspotk.org/
htm/nterventon-tsch.php
|12| Burschenschaften are academc mae communtes n the German-speakng regon. In Austra,
they are prmary affated wth pan-Germansm and a far-rght-wng credo, some of them openy
assocate wth neo-Nazsm and ts payers. For more detas, see e.g.: Footnote 35 n "Fortfed
Knowedge: From Supranatona Governance to Transoca Resstance" by Lna Dokuzovc and Eduard
Freudmann; http://epcp.net/transversa/0809/dokuzovcfreudmann/en/#_ftn35
|13| Academy archve: 436/1946
|14| An nterventon by the Patform Hstory Potcs nto the memora-potca manfestaton s
documented here: http://www.pattform-geschchtspotk.org/htm/nterventon-
kregerdenkma.php
|15| Hans Seger, Mchae Lunard, Peter |osef Popuorum (Eds.): ?m (eic/ der Runst ; Kie 1iener
!0ademie der bildenden RUnste und die asc/istisc/e Runstpoliti0, Verag fr Geseschaftskrtk,
Venna 1990. Subsequenty referred to here as: Im Rech der Kunst
|16| The Academy has not deat wth those expusons yet. Therefore, there s no st of expeed
persons and t s not known whether addtona expusons, besdes ant-Semtc and potcay-
motvated ones were carred out. See, for exampe, the poster by Patform Hstory Potcs
announcng the hstory-potca tour through the Academy of Fne Arts n |anuary 2010:
http://www.pattform-geschchtspotk.org/htm/poster-rundgang2010-02.php
|17| Letter from the Secretary of the Academy, Eduard |osch, on behaf of the provsona drecton
to the vce mayor and head of the Offce of Cuture, Hanns Baschke, from December 10th, 1938
(Academy archve: 1271/1938), from: ?m (eic/ der Runst, pg. 32
|18| Repy from the Muncpaty of the Cty of Venna on |anuary 18th, 1939 (Academy archve
91/1939), from: ?m (eic/ der Runst, pg. 32
|19| An nterventon on the topc s documented here: http://www.pattform-
geschchtspotk.org/htm/nterventon-scherpatz.php; and here:
http://at.ndymeda.org/node/18334
|20| http://www.akbd.ac.at/Porta/akademe/uber-uns; retreved 10 Sept. 2010
|21| http://www.akbd.ac.at/Porta/akademe/uber-uns/Geschchte; retreved 10 Sept.
2010
|22| In order to dstract from, trvaze and reatvze Naz crmes, Nazs and Naz sympathzers n
Austra tend to aude to aspects of Naz potcs whch are (abe to be) seen as postve by the
broader popuaton. The purportedy "proper empoyment pocy" (|rg Hader) as we as the
successfu constructon of hghways, supposedy for the "good of the peope," are the most
commony used exampes. The fact that such processes base and perpetuate mechansms of Naz
rue - n the aforementoned cases, for exampe, on the bass of save abor and mtarzaton
poces - aways reman conceaed.
|23| An nterventon of the Patform Hstory Potcs s documeted here: http://www.pattform-
geschchtspotk.org/htm/nterventon-nazbueste.php; and here:
http://at.ndymeda.org/node/18334
|24| Academy archve: 350/1945
|25|
http://www.akbd.ac.at/Porta/akademe/aktuees/news/akbd_event.2010-05-20.32
53
33050875; retreved 10 Sept. 2010
|26| Passage from the proogue, Wenhebers "Sautaton to the Academy": "Ths house, sheterng
ts own forevermore, as ony a homeand does |...|. Ths house! Prased, because t prases, reman
the aegory of true human dgnty!" From the cataog for the "Annversary Exhbton" from October
25th, 1942 to |anuary 1943, pubshed by the Academy of Fne Arts Venna.
|27| Academy archve: 306/1945. Letter from Rector Herbert Boeck, the handwrtten notaton
"return" ndcates that the etter dd not reach the recpent. Apparenty a etter - contaned n the
same fe - of weakened sub|ect matter and weakened form was sent nstead.
|28| Accordng to the Natona Socast Law of 1947, "mnmay burdened" Nazs were abe to
temporary mted atonement duty, whch extended to tax mpcatons, exstenta and career
mpcatons, potca and persona mpcatons, as we as mpcatons on apartments and
furnshng. See: the Natona Socast Law of 1947. Further deveopment of the Prohbton Law and
the War Crmna Law to the NSG 1947, Cauda Kuretsds-Hader,
http://www.nachkregs|ustz.at/servce/gesetze/nsg1947.php; retreved Oct. 11
th
2010.
|29| Letter to the Mnstry of Educaton from March 25th, 1938. Academy archve: 682/1938.
|30| Im Rech der Kunst, pg. 89.
|31| Lous Athusser: "Ideoogy and Ideoogca State Apparatuses" (Notes To=ards an
?nvestigation&, n: -enin and ,/ilosop/4 and ot/er 6ssa4s, Monthy Revew Press 1971, from the
French by Ben Brewster;
http://www.marxsts.org/reference/archve/athusser/1970/deoogy.htm
|32| Astrd Messerschmdt, "Postkoonae Ernnerungsprozesse n ener postnatonasozastschen
Geseschaft - Vom Umgang mt Rasssmus und Antsemtsmus," n: ,erip/erie ; Aeitsc/rit Ur
,oliti0 und W0onomie in der dritten 1elt, Issue 109/110, 28, 2008. http://www.zetschrft-
perphere.de/109-110_Messerschmdt_Er.pdf
|33| Ibd.
|34| See, for exampe: Max Horkhemer: "De |uden n Europa," n: Aeitsc/rit Ur 'oCialorsc/ung
VIII/1939. http://www.stud.un-hannover.de/-muab/horkhe39.htm
|35| The expresson goes back to German natonast dscourses of the 19th century as a buzzword
and was used durng the 20th century n Posh, Czechosovakan and Sovet hstory-wrtng of
German potcs of expanson.
|36| Passage from the performance "The Verba Extenson as the Meanng of an Image," Graduate
work by Ivan |urca from |une 2009 n the Cass for (Post-)Conceptua Art Practces at the Academy of
Fne Arts Venna; http://abschussarbeten.akbd.ac.at/over_vew?
a_ds=661&a_ndex=0
/ttp+PPeipcp.netPtransversalP7<7IPreudmannPen
"Swastkas? Ornaments!" as a Contnuty of Represson
10 2010
54