Against the insistent pressure for the marketability and impact, David Siegel emphasizes the value of play in higher education. The time and space for play is the one irreplaceable thing that higher education provides, and Siegel traces the uses of play from Schillers aesthetic education to current alternatives, such as Freedom University, Anti-University, and Heterodox University. The book answers, beyond the many critiques of contemporary higher education, how might we restitute its better possibilities? -- Jeffrey Williams, Carnegie Mellon University Despite talk of creativity and innovation, universities often seem to be increasingly concerned with the reproduction of the same, delivered efficiently by highly managed knowledge workers. In this splendid and well written book, David Siegel celebrates another form of knowledge production, in which dissent and play show us a refusal of the demand to be fast and useful. Read it slowly! -- Martin Parker, University of Bristol Brimming with insights, David J. Siegels vision for the future of higher education is an enticing contrast to the current corporatized university. This book is a welcome addition to the growing scholarship in critical university studies, and will be required reading in any course on the philosophy of higher education. -- David J. Staley, Ohio State University; author of Alternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education
