Apr 13

University offers BA in pillow talk and knitting

Tag: Bizarre — doug @ 9:58 am

Welcome to the new egalitarian world of education in the UK, where Bucks New University is offering a degree in selling beds. Bucks is technically an abbreviation for the county of Buckinghamshire, but it might say something about the commercialisation of education. This university’s range is remarkable; apparently it offers three separate degrees in textiles: Textiles Surface and Fashion, Textiles Knit and Textiles Print. There’s nothing like specialisation in the “Faculty of Creativity and Culture”.

There seem to be two very different engines driving this “educational” train. The first is a hangover of silly sixties socialism. Universities are elitist, therefore we shall call everything a university, and allow everyone to gain a degree. The second is a commercial brashness that sees no value in anything that is not immediately economically productive. Skills take priority over knowledge, and training displaces learning.

Next week, a doctorate in crayoning and colour.

One Response to “University offers BA in pillow talk and knitting”

  1. Peter Kirk says:
    April 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am

    It gets more bizarre than that. According to the Daily Mail supermarket giant

    Tesco is to start offering degrees in the art of shelf-stacking and retail management.

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