Month: March 2026

The Sound of Community

Henri Matisse: La danse (I), 1909, Museum of Modern Art.

In recent years at UK universities such as the University of Edinburgh, the language of community and belonging has become increasingly visible. This is evident in institutional initiatives – task groups, staff and student guidance, and strategic plans – that foreground connection, inclusion, and student experience. One explanation is straightforward: universities are responding to identifiable …

A rich aesthete, a therapist, and a manager walked into a university…

Claude Gillot (1673–1722): Four Commedia dell'arte Figures - Three Gentlemen and Pierrot, c. 1715

Introduction A rich aesthete, a therapist, and a manager walked into a university… It sounds like the setup for a joke, but it is no laughing matter. These three characters have quietly shaped the moral logic of many contemporary universities and show no signs of leaving. In After Virtue, Alasdair MacIntyre diagnoses modern culture as …