I very much enjoyed Christopher Bigsby's article on campus novels ("Farce majeure", 21 June). His conclusion, which asks whether such novels are "an acknowledgement that universities have become a sideshow, invited by government to demonstrate their 'relevance', 'impact', 'outreach'", seems to finds its answer in "Failing the Turing test", Fred Inglis' excoriation of the research excellence framework published in the same issue (the "bureaucratic beast devoid of logic and intelligence"). Indeed, I wonder whether "Farce majeure" might have been a fair title for Inglis' piece, too.
I predict a radiant future for the literary genre of the campus novel and, consequently, no lack of "excellent" submissions to the REF from creative writing departments.
Anna Notaro, Contemporary media theory, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee