The modernization of universities: Memoirs against time

Abstract

The discourse of modernization has invaded universities, including in Portugal, especially after the years 2006/2007. In the first part of these memoirs, I maintain that this discourse is based on an urgent conception of time. This is the reason for the success of concepts and practices that are defined in a short time: employability, excellence, entrepreneurial management, entrepreneurship. In the second part, I argue that we cannot close ourselves in a hurried present that takes us away from our responsibility for the future. The university has to adopt for itself a conception of long and slow time, that is necessary for a liberal education, for the work of science and human formation, for democratic participation and for the exercise of public responsibility.