Opinion

Managers have gone to work on the RAE figures, and now Gloria Monday does not know if her university has gone up, down or nowhere at all. But she knows she’s unlikely to be any better off

The standard critical and academic response to the film Australia from the likes of Germaine Greer miss the point about the artificiality of cinema and the use of sentiment as style, argues Tara Brabazon

Gary Day finds a Santa lookalike in Egypt, bigotry in Kansas, sublime jazz and rapidly melting Arctic ice

Sheep have moved on since the nativity, says Frank Burnet as he ruminates on the ruminants with star quality to spare

By exerting steady upward pressure on quality, the RAE gave the UK much to celebrate and the world much to envy, says David Eastwood

Gary Day on life after the Army, teenagers and technology, lost childhoods and 90 years of the RAF

Tara Brabazon argues that popularising serious ideas enlightens no one

RAE 2008 has proved that UK universities are dominant on the world stage, but the proportion of staff submitted is still an issue

Journals want 'no ifs and buts' research, but Tim Birkhead wants honesty

Gloria Monday wonders about the dean’s motives in choosing the evening of the RAE results day for his annual Christmas party

At a time when writing on technology and the future is banal, Tara Brabazon discovers a new source of trenchant critical commentary

John Ashworth wonders whether Cara's 75th anniversary is really a cause for celebration or a reason for reflection

The lack of an intensity measure could dent confidence in the outcome of the research assessment exercise, says Brian Cantor

Gary Day on the physics of time, lonely women flirting with youth, religion, and the aftermath of flu

University-led institutes involving employers and councils can give vocational education the status it deserves, says Ron Dearing

Felipe Fernández-Armesto takes a farewell look from Tufts' hilltop campus

An academic is calling for all dons with permanent posts to get the title. Melanie Newman reports

Sally Feldman lauds the daredevils who inspire students to defy and test limits

A publicly supported national university would benefit all students, says Brian Roper, rather than just the best prepared

Oxford interviewers are in pursuit of potential - not privilege, says Kevin Sharpe, who seized his opportunity to show himself off to advantage

Kafka, the porn connoisseur - he's a laugh; but after trips to Italy, Gary Day finds Walford a tad depressing

Tara Brabazon on John Sergeant and Kristina Rihanoff’s thrilling subversion of the controlling, conservative dark side of light entertainment

The three-year limit on PhDs is creating conflict: are they for learning research skills or for making advances in the field?

The European Reference Index for the Humanities seeks to highlight research, not criticise it, says Michael Worton

On the eve of Darwin's bicentenary, Michael Reiss argues that there can be a dialogue between religious believers and empiricist

With high expectations for the credible Devil's Whore, Gary Day attempts to avoid a Spanish flu outbreak

Tara Brabazon on the rise of the soundbite over analysis

As deputy head of department, Gloria Monday finds herself in the unenviable position of looking for ways to cut costs

Gender and ethnicity are subject to constant scrutiny, but middle and upper-class dominance of academia must be challenged

Kevin Fong seeks a middle ground between affirmative action and passivity

Through its failure to reward academics for their social responsibility, the RAE is encouraging moral bankruptcy, argues Stefano Harney

After a Gok Wan-inspired 'domestic', Gary Day muses on religion, eternal life and the ugliness of bigotry

Bursaries should remove barriers to participation, but instead they confuse and perhaps even deter those they were intended to help

Alan Ryan muses on the London Met chief's views on state funding for Oxbridge

Frank Furedi on the assumptions, agendas and distinctly iffy data behind those ubiquitous words, 'research shows'

Take great care when answering questions about your academic interests in online surveys, William Keenan warns

John Holford fears that the Denham 'user group' may be unaware of Tawney's ideal of education's generous, humane and liberal spirit

HRH's 60th birthday: what's to celebrate, asks Gary Day. Plus, old bones, tired comedy and undead spies

For three decades, Laurie Taylor has constantly reminded us of our better and freer intellectual selves, says Peter Scott

Natural selection is too hard for educators - not the kids, says Tim Birkhead

Many years ago, Frank Burnet fought for modularisation and credit transfer. The war was won, but victory was pyrrhic

John Widdowson says universities and colleges should focus on the positives aspects of changes to foundation degree-awarding powers

Gary Day watches out-of-control teenage bodies, an unkempt Russell Brand and a cleaned-up Dickens

In his latest TV series, Jamie Oliver adopts a ministerial cloak while undermining governmental efforts and mechanisms to effect social change, argues Tara Brabazon

As in the US, UK academe can offer much to the Government. But both sides must first overcome their mutual mistrust

Felipe Fernández-Armesto on Teach for America's force for educational good

Tara Brabazon offers her students funky furniture and an opportunity to find out what their international peers are up to

Sally Feldman says the responsibility for financing disabled students is unclear

To understand Rothko, one must cross boundaries. We should force students to do the same, says Mary Evans

The UK has the opportunity to make dynamic changes to European higher education if only it would make the effort, writes Anne Corbett

Gary Day watches Jamie at boiling point while Schama remains calm, but Indian men prove sadly delusional

Business may be surprised at what academe can teach us all about collaboration and synthesis, argues Doug Yarn

The Russell Group must not be the only focus for widening access, says Pamela Taylor. Local provision is a good fit for many students

Gary Day on victims of the credit crisis, women on top, glamorous historians and a bit of Strictly escapism

When a whiny colleague approaches Gloria for a favour, she braces herself for extra work. Instead, she gets a surprise promotion

The meetings called all too frequently by administrators are all too often unnecessary, and all too often hellish, says Tara Brabazon

If society believes a university education is important, it must find ways to fund it to enable all abilities to reach the right level