13 Higher Education Reading Group
Arinori, Mori. Life and Resources in America, 1871, Ch. 8 “Educational Life and Institutions” pp. 237-268
We reflected upon five different overarching themes during the reading discussion.
Firstly, we commented upon how Mori observed Education as Nation-Building and Political Project, where the universities in the US were just organizing themselves around this theme. We also noted how much of a spirit of the time the text was, as it was still caught up in optimistic tone of the Reconstruction-era context, suggesting the author wrote during a moment of post–Civil War confidence that had not yet faded. Especially, manifested with comments about gender equality and Afro-American integration. From a historic point in time, the period in question is not usually regarded as a high point of these activities.
We also commented upon the type ‘Wild West’ of institutional formation, where the author himself wondered about inconsistent terminology (e.g., colleges vs. universities), highlighting how institutional labels did not reliably reflect function or status. Here, the lack of clear standardization contrasted with the relatively rapid later standardization seen in systems like the UK. The discussion also noted that the modern separation between research, teaching, and impact activities had not yet crystallized equally.
Another recurring theme was the uneven professionalisation of teaching. The text’s criticism that teaching was undervalued within the educational formation was seen as strikingly contemporary. Concerns about undertrained, overworked, and undervalued teachers were viewed as historically persistent rather than newly emerging problems. This launched a great discussion about contemporary differences in educational organization, and how different forms of teaching modes are inadequate to teach properly.
A key reflective axis around our discussions, was that we had to reframe what do we mean by a “normal” educational system? Here, we recognized that yes project narratives of continuity exist, but lived realities always remain uneven and locally contingent. We connected this observation to our own contemporary concerns about overspecialization, financial sustainability, and systemic lag of social complexity. The persistence of these tensions suggested that education systems are perpetually in partial misalignment with the societies they serve. Maybe, proper education here means what is exemplary in the sense of being a mode of operation that is worthy enough to be emulated and copied by others.
Finally, we made passing comments about how historically educational missions were grounded within religious missions. We found ourselves unable to firstly not recognize this fact, and secondly, to recognize both strength and weaknesses with this type of devotion to the vocation of education. In that the Western intellectual traditions have often positioned themselves as pursuing universal moral standards, but at the same time, also serves as a tool for imperial, colonial, or other worldly missions. How do we square this circle, and not lose our own humanity? Perhaps, this is where genuine progress and innovation can be found, within institutions that are always understaffed, and out of sync with time.
