H. L. Goodall, Jr. Spotlights UT's IE Initiative
In the June 2013 issue of Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies, Professor H. L. Goodall, Jr. spotlights UT's IE initiative, calling for "a rethinking, and reworking, of the role of education and learning through new collaborations, cooperation, and communication between and among academics and practitioners." He writes:
"There are other new models of innovative educational programs that reverse the 'conformity/industrialized/labor logic' that guides how schools are constructed as well as what is taught or encouraged in them. One such successful program at the college level is the University of Texas at Austin's called Intellectual Entrepreneurship. The mission of IE is to educate 'citizen-scholars'--individuals who creatively utilize their intellectual capital as a lever for social good. IE is not a program, nor a compartmentalized academic unit or institute; it is an intellectual platform and educational philosophy for instigating learning across disciplinary boundaries and generating collaborations between the academy and society. .. This example underscores the idea that for a real revolution to take place we don't need to take to the streets but we do need to get out of our individual offices. . . Collaborations, cooperation, and communication between and among academics and practitioners aimed at solving real world problems and improving our communities can save us from further dismantling by proving that as far as investments are concerned, our work yields real value. Moreover, such a revolution can protect as nothing else can the sanctity of our primary cultural role: teaching and learning with our students how to improve our world."
Read the article:
http://csc.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/03/11/1532708613480477.abstract