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Articles : Chair of Palaeography at King's College, London under threat.

Chair of Palaeography at King's College, London under threat.

Category : Music Education News  Total views : 130   News posted on : Saturday 06 February 2010

The news that King's College London may loose up to 22 posts in Arts and Humanities by the end of the UK academic year (July 2010) has become an international controversy centred on the possible demise of the Chair of Palaeography. King's has the only established chair in the subject in the country, and the subject teaches skills essential for research in Medieval Music.

The possible fate of Palaeography at King's has attracted international concern, particularly in the United States of America, where humanities departments are also suffering from the after-effects of the Global Financial Crisis. Questions concerning what sorts of musicological work should funded by the higher education system, and how, are being raised with increasing urgency.

Comments (3)
Wednesday 17 February 2010 1:53 PM
It is absolutely appalling that the Chair of Paleography has been targetted for redundancy at King's, and also absolutely true that it is a vital skill for historians of medieval music. However, this chair is not part of the Music Department (it's in Classics), nor does the Music Department currently teach specific medieval music courses. Just a point of correction -- and it's an important one -- cuts have NOT been specified for Music at KCL, except insofar that every academic staff member in the entire School of Arts and Humanities individually has to go through the formality of justifying their existence. This issue has become confused because the Professor of Paleography, whose job has indeed been (unjustifiably IMHO) earmarked for redundancy, is married to a Professor in the Music Faculty at the University of Cambridge.

Friday 12 February 2010 7:37 AM

Sunday 07 February 2010 1:07 AM
Bad times indeed to be in the academic profession--but how do we justify funding such niche areas of expertise when our Universities are under such financial stress? Private Philanthropy, perhaps? At least then the argument would simply be--how can we convince people outside the musicological profession (i.e. rich people) that what they do is inherently worth supporting? If we can't, then perhaps this fate is inevitable, and what we are witnessing is not so much an act of cultural barbarism, as an historical shift in educational priorities.

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