Note that this information was provided by the Aotearoa/New Zealand Tertiary Chaplains' Association (ANZTCA). It has been placed on the TCMA website for the benefit of TCMA members but TCMA has no part in the planning of these conferences. All enquiries should be directed to the relevant people in Wellington.
There are two conferences happening back to back, both organised by ANZTCA chaplains.
- The chaplains' conference Clay in the Potter's Hand - Chaplaincy and Formation which takes place 17-19 November. The brochure and registration form for this can be downloaded from this site. The link to the webpage will be put up here as soon as it is available.
- The public conference Critical Thoughts: Recovering Higher Education which takes place 20-21 November. The call for papers is below.
Critical Thoughts: Recovering Higher Education
Call for papers
What is the vocation of the university in the twenty-first century? In an era of departmental closures, performance based research funding and strategic management, the primary purpose of universities and the core values sustaining that purpose are often far from obvious. At this juncture, Newman's vision of the University as a School of Universal Learning seems a distant memory rather than a future target.
Critical Thoughts is a major conference that seeks to address these issues. Hosted by the Combined Chaplaincies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, the conference aims to stimulate thinking on the university's role in the development of students, society and culture. Under the pressure of market forces, how can teaching occur and knowledge be pursued in ways that promote wisdom and understanding?
Confirmed keynote speakers for the conference include Professor Alison Phipps, Director of Glasgow University's Centre for Faith, Culture and Education, and Dr Wilf Malcolm, former Vice Chancellor of Waikato University, and co-author with Nicholas Tarling, Emeritus Professor of Auckland University, of the recently book, Crisis of Identity?, The Mission and Management of Universities in New Zealand.
Critical Thoughts will take place at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand on 20-21 November 2008. While there will inevitably be a New Zealand aspect to the conference, the issues at stake are of universal application, and we welcome international contributors.
We are seeking papers on any area relevant to the role and calling of the contemporary university, including:
- Higher learning or learning for hire?
- The nature of truth and knowledge.
- The university's role in providing liberal education.
- The university as critic and conscience of society: who's listening?
- The impact of the Performance Based Research Fund on the pursuit of wisdom.
- The role of formation within university teaching.
- Academic excellence and funding constraints.
- Styles of governance and management appropriate to the university's character as a collegial learning community.
Abstracts and other inquiries should be submitted to Dr Tim McKenzie, tim.mckenzie@vuw.ac.nz, (04) 463 5499, or c/- VUW Chaplaincy, PO Box 600, Wellington. Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted by 1 August 2008.