Colleagues, who might overlook the article in today's Education Guardian, [scroll down to read the opening of the article]
because it relates to East Asian studies, might nonetheless have a second
look: it contains some ideas for life after death for a a secondary school
or university department. See the article 'Last man standing' by Matthey
Killeys on page 12 about how the head of East Asian studies at Durham
university persuaded the vice-chancellor to keep him on, and his hopes for a
revival.
The only trace of a department's demise is usually lost in the archives.
The reference to textbooks and teaching materials reminds me of the time
that I expanded my own Latin library from a skip when a school decided it
needed more space.
Last man standing
All his staff have been made redundant, leaving the head of East Asian studies alone in his office. Matthew Killeya reports
Tuesday September 25, 2007
The Guardian
As universities up and down the country prepare to welcome students back, Don Starr has no last-minute timetable issues to iron out in his department, no updates to make to his welcome speech, no nagging concerns about what trouble this year's intake of freshers might find themselves in.
This term, the head of East Asian studies at Durham will be on his own in his department - literally on his own - when its doors officially close on Sunday. This time next week, he will still be in his office, but it will be subsumed by the House of Sport, a non-university centre for sports development officers. For now, overflowing skips sit outside the entrance. Inside, stacks of chairs are piled in corners. "We've had people in smashing up all the desks," he says. "New people want new desks, don't they?" The desks were old, though perfectly OK, he adds.
