Högskolans ansvar

Andrew Casson has written a book in what for Sweden is a fairly neglected genre - the serious scrutiny of higher education, its weaknesses and its possibilities. One important message that Casson conveys is that university staff underestimate the freedom they can actually wield, despite statutes and regulations. Casson's ideal can be described as a new shoot from the centuries-long tradition of bildung or self-formation within schools and universities, that has almost always been forced down by the defenders of a strict and mean-spirited order. Casson defends the imagination and believes that teaching should primarily serve to awaken student's curiosity and their thirst for knowledge. He argues his case inspiringly and unflaggingly and his book deserves many readers and lively discussions both in the world of higher education and in society at large." - Sven-Eric Liedman, Emeritus professor, University of Gothenburg