Public Engagement as a Space of Encounter and Dissensus

Abstract

Cooperation between academia and the wider public can take different forms and serve different purposes. But the question of why universities need public engagement concerns the very idea of the universal, which is ingrained in the title of this social institution: interrogating the role of univers(al)ity and its impact on socio-political processes, we call into question the (dis)embeddedness of the university in/from society. Based on the discussions during the “Slavic Studies Goes Public” workshop at the University of St Andrews, this text presents reflections around the purpose of public engagement, which is described as the necessity to liquify the boundary between the university and the public.