Spaces and Stories of (Higher) Education: An Historical Investigation

The landscape of Higher Education in the UK and elsewhere is being rapidly and radically reconfigured amidst the changing contexts of mass education, market forces, technological advances and pedagogical innovation. The re/design and re/construction of old and new spaces is a key part of every university’s strategic planning and there has been an exponential growth in the development of new environments for teaching and learning. These developments have begun to be accompanied by a critical literature which examines the relationships between spatiality and pedagogy. However this literature tends to focus on an evaluation of new spaces and recent pedagogic trends, and neglects a historical dimension. As the recent work of Catherine Burke (2008) illustrates, current trends and initiatives have their roots in previous decades and debates, and historical enquiry is an important component of contemporary critical analysis. The proposed research aims to address this by examining the historical relationships between pedagogy, curriculum and space in Higher Education institutions using archival and oral history methodologies.

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