Degrees 'R' Us

‘Degrees 'R' Us' is narrated by Dr Felix Glass, the erstwhile Head of Philosophy Department at St Sebastian's. When the novel opens the new Vice Chancellor, Alf Flannagan, as part of his money making plans, has phased philosophy out of the university's curriculum in favour of offering degrees funded by partnerships with outside institutions, in subjects that he believes will be more attractive to students. The degrees include: Brewing Technology, Professional Golf, Celebrity Studies, and Casino Management. The plans for the latter, which include turning the university's Great Hall into a casino, are only scuttled when it transpires that the partner institution in Las Vegas, the King Midas Casino College, is primarily a brothel with a casino attached, run by the Mafia-style Mancini Organisation.

In both the above paragraphs, it was a fight only narrowly won not to end every sentence with an exclamation mark! But that would have over-stressed the Carry-On film nature of much of the humour in the books. That sentiment is not meant to denigrate either the films or the books, but does establish the level of the humour; it is unabashedly in the style of gag, pratfall and slapstick. Any reader who found Boris Johnson funny, pre-May 1st and his election to Mayor of London, when it suddenly became clear that that joke wasn't funny anymore, will find both books very amusing. To that end ‘A Campus Conspiracy' carries a cover endorsement from Boris Johnson, and ‘Degrees 'R Us' is dedicated to him. But that said, the style and tone of the books do make both immensely readable, and successfully manages to provide a very accessible way to highlight the very serious issues that the books raise. Most readers, if not all, will find it impossible not to find distinct parallels to their own university, and that is, to anyone who cares about the state of British higher education, both amusing and terrifying in equal measure.

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Sat, 19/09/2009 - 11:07 — Admin