Worth Listening To

Kerr

We have noted on this blog that UCLA Communication Studies has a YouTube channel with audio recordings of lectures, especially from the 1960s.

One of these is the well-known "Knowledge Industry" lecture at Harvard of then-UC president Clark Kerr, dated March 5-6, 1963. With hindsight, we know that 1963 was the lull before the storm at UC and other universities. But it is interesting to listen with hindsight to Kerr's views at that time about the role of the university ("multi-versity" as he put it) in the larger society. Particularly in the link to Part 2 of the lecture below, he notes the soon-to-be entering baby boomers, predicts that advances in the biological sciences would be the Big Thing of the late 20th century, talks about universities using TV to spread knowledge, says that universities are becoming cultural centers as well as traditional educational institutions. He worries about neglect of undergraduates and balancing research and teaching and takes up Cold War concerns.

Part 1 (poor audio quality at beginning)


Part 2 (a bit of overlap with the end of Part 1)