What Is the University For?

hat is the University For?: Explorations of Transformative Learning, Critical Inquiry, and Liberatory Potential

engages a core question being asked around the country, from classrooms and community spaces to the highest echelons of power—what is the purpose of the university?

Building on this year’s celebration of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies 50th year at UW–Madison, we recognize that the university represents a fertile ground for mobilizations for justice and the analysis of power, but also that this liberatory potential cannot be taken for granted. In a historical moment defined by austerity and precarity within higher education, we seek to critically analyze, theorize, and
strategize around the university as a site of liberation while thoughtfully considering how we might further build higher education partnerships across Wisconsin.

Our series of events will build upon this year’s CRGW programming to explore the historical and ongoing significance of university spaces for civic engagement and democratic inquiry, showcasing student activism, community-engaged partnerships, and research in critical university studies.