Coming of Age: Developing a genealogy of knowledge in the LAS field

Quality teaching and learning in higher education has become a mantra in the rhetoric of university policies, and, increasingly, assuring successful student learning is seen asthe core business of the modern university. Ironically, this comes at a time when academic staff are faced with unprecedented demands on their teaching repertoire while being expected to function with fewer resources. Not surprisingly then, many LAS staff find themselves, their knowledge and their skills central to ensuring the university's aspirations, yet in many ways still under threat of intellectual erasure. A contributing factor to this threat, it is argued, is the lack of a clear articulation of the knowledge and skills on which our discipline is based, and therefore, the intellectual contribution that we make to the wider university. This paper suggests that the LAS field, in order to come of age as a discipline, needs to conduct a genealogy of knowledge. It also goes so far as to suggest a basis for discussion in what is an ongoing dialogue about LAS identity.