Free education was a demand outlined in response to the introduction of tuition fees across the higher education sector over the past twenty years. Students and workers have fought against the marketisation of the education and in the process formulated an alternative vision that goes far beyond this original demand.

In this workshop, we’ll explore what free education means, the ways we can fight for it, and how Solidarity College relates to all this.

Raewyn Connell is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney. Connell is known for introducing the concept of hegemonic masculinity and work on class, education, gender, and southern knowledge.

In 2019, Connell published the Good University which explores the fundamentals of the higher education and offers a practical vision for a different kind of University. The book came out of Connell’s experiences in strike action at the University of Sydney in 2013.

We’ll discuss Chapter Seven of the Good University which explores ‘Universities of hope’. Its available, along with the full text, here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kiw7NIHrHBGVD8FOJZJlIUqsLJv5RQvO?usp=sharing