The Academic Contract : From Simply a metaphor to Technology

The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the ontological assumptions that underlie the idea of a contract in Academic Capitalism. Far from being “simply a metaphor”, there are now concrete examples of real contracts in Swedish universities, which we here designate “academic contracts”. In investigating the perceived function of academic contracts, we will try to answer this fundamental question: For which problem, in what conception, is signing a contract between a student and an academic teacher a solution? By analysing four existing academic contracts from Swedish universities through the lens of a very influential economic theory of the nature and function of contracts, New Institutional Economics (NIE), we will argue that the implementation of academic contracts is totally at odds with the Humboldtian tradition and the classic university. Our contention is that the introduction of academic contracts does not facilitate, but rather undermines, the academic teaching and learning process

The strange case of Western cities: Occult globalisations and the making of urban modernity

This paper explores the implications for thinking about Western cities of the argument, within post-colonial studies, that Europe (and, therefore, the West) needs to be provincialised. It is argued that Western cities might also be successfully provincialised. The example of the occult is used to show: first, how distinctions between the West and the rest of the world have been drawn; secondly, to reveal how magical beliefs and practices circulate through Western cities, exposing occult globalisations that do not necessarily begin or end in the West; and, thirdly, to unsettle the prevalent assumption that Western cities are untouched by magic. Having tracked the occult globalisations that flow (in time and space) through Western cities, it is concluded that it is vital to provincialise the West both by placing it within older and wider patterns of knowledge and power and, additionally, by paying close attention to the magic of modern city life