Social Justice Issues and the Valuation of People as Knowledgeable

In this article I am going to try and identify certain social justice issues involved with valuing the individual outside of the formal education context.  I will be dealing with the premise of what a just society is, and suggesting that if a person has some knowledge which is prevented from being valued then they are being excluded from society. Their being is withheld from acknowledgement, and by virtue of that, their liberty is taken from them as they are prevented from engaging in and with a community of peers. Read more…

Podcast: Drew Whitworth Introduces Session on Information Inequalities

This is a podcast of a panel session chaired by Dr Andrew Whitworth (Manchester Institute of Education) entitled Information Inequalities: do they exist and are they a problem for Manchester?   This session considers how policies other than strictly ‘education’ policies can impact upon access to informational resources, and thus the learning capacity of communities. Read more…

Information Inequalities and Cultural Life: University of Manchester Policy Week Nov 2014

This piece of writing came about through being asked by Dr Drew Whitworth to present at University of Manchester Policy Week on Information Inequalities.   The Ragged University started as a project to foster existing communities and improve people’s lives by bringing people together around knowledge building. It occurred that there was a need to be met beyond the formal spaces, not as an alternative, but as a complement to them which belonged and was shaped by the community which participated in the knowledge sharing.
Rather than taking an organisational route which involved administrating interpersonal interactions, and forms of bureaucracy which had a formalising influence on the social activities, the Ragged project aimed to authentically reflect the needs of the community without the creation of an administrative superstructure. Read more…

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Ragged University Website Development Workshop Pilot by Mike Harkness

This is an account of the pilot of the website development workshop brought together to promote digital literacies and help realise people’s ambitions through sharing in a community setting.  More workshops will be coming, and this would not be possible without the generosity, support and contributions of Graeme Sturrock (owner of Edinburgh Computer Repairs), and Derek Howden (owner of Great Website Hosting)… Read more…

How To Do Ragged University Events by Carrie Newman

Previously Ragged University events were run in Glasgow by a team of dedicated people. The primary coordinator was Carrie Newman who was introduced to the project by business partner and friend David Hughes. They, along with David Newman and Heather Sinclair took to the idea like ducks to water using their knowledge of theatre and cultural events to produce several seasons of talks (approximately seventy five events) which gripped the local imaginations. Read more…

The Rough Etiquette of Ragged University

Ragged University is an open community of individuals who are interested in sharing and learning. The events are put on by coordinators who are there to facilitate.  Coordinators are not gatekeepers or overseers of ‘quality control, they are not authorities in the public spaces which the Ragged University events occur.  They are there to enable those who want to share their knowledge and passion and to work to try and make sure that everyone in the room, space or event is comfortable and happy. Read more…

The Differences Arise In Group Psychology

The behaviour of the group is enigmatic and group psychology has long been studied to understand certain behaviours. A group acts in our minds as a corporate person in as much as we imagine what the norm is and normalize behaviour to what this imagined person embodies. This gives rise to worrying outcomes in many situations. Throughout history, the madness of crowds has been known to overtake the individual responsibility of thinking and acting according to personal responsibility.
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