Like other manifestations of the broader slow movement, this advocates a steady, thoughtful, and more measured approach to academic research. Proponents are critical of the encroachment of neoliberal practices and values within academia, such as performance and funding targets.
Published in Chapter:
Sustainability Education Beyond the Classroom: How the “Exploding University” Nurtures Collective Intelligence Across Local and Global Communities
Helen Wadham (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Clare Hart (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Anita Hashmi (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Helena Mary Kettleborough (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Roz Marron (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Sally Randles (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Konstantina Skritsovali (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), and Megan Tucker (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
Copyright: © 2023
|Pages: 28
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6172-3.ch010
Abstract
This chapter explores how the authors expanded their teaching and learning beyond the classroom at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. It puts forward the theoretical concept of the “exploding university” as a way to help develop a critical yet hopeful understanding of collective problems at local and global scales. This helps them explore three interrelated initiatives that brought teachers, students, and communities together, namely a sustainability festival, research project on animal rehoming, and community tree-planting drive. The chapter illuminates how exploding the work beyond the classroom enabled everyone involved to take action on the challenges that matter to them, while also developing a “collective intelligence” about their underlying causes. The exploding university thus emerges as a theoretical and practical model, which we can use to inspire students to actively critique, reimagine, and reconstruct the world around them. The authors conclude by encouraging and supporting others who might wish to embark on similar journeys themselves.