The university depoliticized: research and knowledge in an authoritarian state

Update Item Information
Title The university depoliticized: research and knowledge in an authoritarian state
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Social & Behavioral Science
Department Political Science
Author Odencrantz, Joana Catherine
Date 2012-05
Description This dissertation explores the impact of an authoritarian state on the university as represented by the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. I examine how academics negotiate their tasks of acquiring, disseminating and producing knowledge within the confines of an authoritarian state. The 2003 Arab Human Development Report argues that a knowledge society, consisting of the acquisition, dissemination, and production of knowledge is needed to overcome developmental lags within the Arab Middle East. My dissertation explores that argument within the microcosm of the knowledge society as represented by the Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Most critically I ask the question of how the university was depoliticized by an authoritarian state. Hence, my work begins to uncover the irrelevance to the Egyptian Revolution and ouster of President Husni Mubarak in 2011. My dissertation reveals how an authoritarian state depoliticizes a university and improves our understanding of the utility of elements of the social capital concept. Known metaphorically as bridges and holes, the linkages or mechanisms (bridges) that span networks that are not affiliated with one another (holes) can inhibit or support change as well as inhibit or promote the introduction of new knowledge and resources. It is this last conceptual finding that holds most promise for future research in diverse settings.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Education; Egypt; Knowledge society; Social capital
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Joana Catherine Odencrantz 2012
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 597,151 bytes
Identifier us-etd3/id/654
ARK ark:/87278/s61v5vs0
Setname ir_etd
ID 194819
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61v5vs0
Back to Search Results