From Newbury to Salman Rushdie: Teaching the Literature of Imperialism in Higher Education

Abstract

Bulmershe College of Higher Education, like most of the colleges initially concerned with training schoolteachers, has been at the sharp end of many radical educational and organisational changes, even though it was only opened in the mid-1960s. During this short period, we have expanded dramatically to meet a shortage of primary teachers, launched our first four-year B.Ed. degree under the aegis of the local university (Reading), developed new courses to meet a shortage in secondary schools, amalgamated with a sister institution, Easthampstead Park College, changed our B.Ed. validators from the university to the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), developed BA and other courses to create a diversified institution of higher education, and are now discussing the possibility of amalgamating with Reading University!

I know that pedagogy is a depressing subject to all persons of sensibility….

(Lionel Trilling¹)