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Theories with wonderful names are emerging to describe our post-postmodern culture and society. Alan Kirby is fascinated by the 'cultural dominant's' shadow

Michael B¨¦rub¨¦ on the life lessons to be found in uncompetitive sport - and a fiercely competitive son with Down's syndrome

Many mission statements are leaden rather than inspirational. Matthew Reisz asks if they can justify the time and money spent on them

Politicians expect Welsh universities to deliver social justice and economic growth. Is this an opportunity for the sector finally to fulfil its potential, or a blow to its research strength? Hannah Fearn reports

It takes courage to stand against accepted dogma. Barbara Oakley has risked her life, literally and academically, but believes the search for truth will ultimately be supported and be successful

Most humanities 'research' is the self-indulgent pursuit of obscure hobbies that neither need nor merit funding, and produces only unsold, unread and unreadable books, argues Clive Bloom

Crystal N. Feimster has a live-in Zen master: her four-year-old son Charles, who constantly reminds her of the joys of living in the now

Many academics view the loss of their 'solitary cells' as a threat to their autonomy, while managers promote places of 'communal engagement' that foster intellectual interaction. Matthew Reisz looks at the tensions arising in the redevelopment of the UK's ivory towers

Aids denialism is estimated to have killed many thousands. Jon Cartwright asks if scientists should be held accountable, while overleaf Bruce Charlton defends his decision to publish the work of an Aids sceptic, which sparked a row that has led to his being sacked and his journal abandoning its raison d'etre: presenting controversial ideas for scientific debate

A conversation in a Dublin bar in 1987 proved crucial to Sir Ian Wilmut's research and led ultimately to the first clone of an adult animal

Why do scholars enjoy exploring their academic genealogies? Jon Adams believes it is a desire to be associated with a dynastic intellectual legacy

Beset by the twin pressures of democratisation and 'impact', the study of the past faces an uncertain future. Richard Overy analyses the threats and offers hope that history will triumph

Paris is not the only thing that France and Texas have in common: both have been subject to heavy-handed efforts to turn history to ideological ends. Robert Zaretsky considers the republics' revisionism

Engineering's decline in popularity could be reversed by showing potential students its power to tackle global challenges ranging from sustainability to energy security, says J.D. Turner

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? David J. Gunkel mourns the betrayal of his Cold War boyhood's dreams of jetpacks, lunar adventure and the futuristic allure of the metric system

His research into Soviet and Stasi operatives and their sympathisers in the academy led Anthony Glees to see the risks posed today by Islamic terrorists on campus

The title could describe the feelings of overseas students in Australia and also the universities that enrol them. Phil Baty examines how violence against foreigners has put institutions' reliance on and treatment of international students under scrutiny

After an earlier plan was scrapped by an incoming Labor government, Australia is finally set to launch its scheme to assess the quality of all academic departments. Zo? Corbyn reports

You don't have to be a devout believer to study the Bible - its insights into the human condition are enlightening for everyone, writes Dale Salwak

The London Met crisis has left university mergers and governance under scrutiny. Melanie Newman recaps the debacle and gauges its effects

People are beginning to ask how long Scotland can go without asking students to contribute something towards the cost of their university education. Hannah Fearn reports

Sunil Manghani and his young daughter find quietude as apprentice calligraphers practising the Japanese art of shodo, the way of writing

Computing courses must address the fact that most IT failures are due to human error and management problems, says Darrell Ince

In pursuing excellence, whether in golf or in research, the time invested in training and preparation is vital. So how long should a master's degree be? asks Don Olcott Jr

Stephen Mumford describes two intellectual breakthroughs that breathed life into a moribund field and challenged the Newtonian world view

Both vice-chancellors and academics enjoyed healthy pay rises in 2008-09, although they may seem a distant memory to those now feeling the pinch. Using an exclusive analysis by Grant Thornton, John Morgan and Hannah Fearn look at who got what in the last year of plenty

Although vice-chancellors' pay packets rival those of top private-sector CEOs, they shoulder few of the same competitive burdens, Iain Pears notes, while doing great harm to UK academia

...or, why cars have speedometers. 'Persistent violator' Lou Marinoff on nirvana in the fast lane, governmental highway robbery and the dazzlingly effective absent-minded-professor defence

Many of the UK's 'accidental' administrators think that their work is not valued and that their US counterparts enjoy higher status. John Morgan considers what gives the professional edge

Lin Foxhall's rural childhood enabled her to see the significance of studying the lives of people traditionally overlooked by historians and archaeologists

The email conversations at the heart of 'Climategate' suggest a campaign to nobble journals, marginalise climate-change sceptics and withhold data from other researchers, says Andrew Montford

Lord Mandelson has wielded the axe on university spending, and whichever party wins the general election, further cuts are likely. Using an exclusive analysis of institutions' financial statements by Grant Thornton, Melanie Newman assesses the sector's fitness to ride out the tempest

Joe Moran enjoys the pleasures of office birdwatching and notes the parallels with academic life

Laurie Taylor began his academic career as a devotee of B.F. Skinner, but he escaped the behavioural maze thanks to Noam Chomsky and a tipsy rat

American universities will soon have to be more open about tuition charges and student retention rates. Many fear that the push to provide consumer-oriented information will lead to even greater cuts in gover nment subsidies. Jon Marcus reports

Children have some odd ideas about university and what happens there, but they also have lofty ambitions in which they see ÖйúAƬ playing a key role, as Rebecca Attwood and Sarah Cunnane learn from visiting schools for the launch of our

Bureaucracy is an inescapable fact of life in today's academy. John Morgan unravels the true extent and consequences of red tape

British universities' inexorable loss of autonomy will soon reach the point of no return unless all institutions work together to win real public support for their sector, says Nigel Thrift

Richard Larschan recalls a genealogical quest and how the generosity of strangers in a foreign land led to unintentional revelations

Harry Collins' research in the 1970s led him to realise that when scientists were trying to detect gravitational waves, there was no way of verifying that the detector itself was actually working...

Widening participation is a site of 'moral panic', marked by uncertainties over data and the efficacy of public funding. Despite all this, the academy is striving to deliver on its promise: greater equality. Rebecca Attwood writes

Socrates dreamt of a society of critical thinkers. Linda Elder explores how we can cultivate Socratic traits and methods to develop clear-headed and rational thought

John D. Brewer reflects on his passion for two artists who transcended social convention and produced work redolent of a bygone time and place

Many scholars feel that their freedom to question is in danger of being eroded or even lost. Zoe Corbyn examines the threat in the UK, while Christoph Bode and David Gunkel consider the state of affairs in Europe and America

Mike Petterson's geological expertise has seen him travel the world, but perhaps his greatest eureka moments have come in Afghanistan, amid his efforts to help rebuild a shattered country

Politicians and people profess to prize authenticity and integrity, but discerning the truthful person from the sincere but self-deceived and the dissembling is tricky. Simon Blackburn ponders questions of virtue

The University of Hong Kong has rebuilt its curriculum from the ground up to embrace 'experiential learning' and internationalism so as to produce 'global citizens'. Hannah Fearn reports

Peter Lennox keeps chickens, and they have taught him a great deal about behaviour, ethics, evolution and the psychopathic nature of modern 'efficiency'

Ron Johnston's investigations into the impact of geography on democracy have revealed that people in the same class position tend to support different parties depending on where they live

When Bob Blaisdell was finally persuaded to use index cards for study, he became as obsessive about them as he was about the baseball cards of his youth

As universities agonise over greatly reduced funding from the state, David Greenaway reminds them that they were once much more financially self-reliant and would do well to rekindle the old spirit

Projects to boost staff wellbeing are all the rage, but some people wonder if the interest in workers' psychological health belies a rather less altruistic agenda. Melanie Newman reports

Protests against the idea that academics be given teacher-training are misguided, argues Eric Sotto

Therese Huston's lifelong passion for baking has provided happiness and sustenance on many levels

The universities that do well in Times ÖйúAƬ's Student Experience poll put students first, but as Rebecca Attwood learns, there is more than one way to do that

Many in the humanities feel that their disciplines and relevance are under attack. Matthew Reisz asks if 'the best that has been thought and said' still has a place in today's universities

Cheerless and drab but 'full of amazing stuff'. The British Library Newspapers collection at Colindale is moving and also becoming increasingly digitised. Huw Richards wonders if researchers will miss the feel of the paper beneath their fingers

For the young Robert Appelbaum, music was his guide, teaching him the language of life and leading him ever further away from the musicals of his parents to John Coltrane - and back