With funding cuts well under way and many institutions already promising to charge the maximum £9,000 yearly tuition fee, university education for the majority is under threat. This book exposes the true motives behind the government's programme and provides the analytical tools to fight it.

Widespread student protests and occupations, often supported by staff, unions and society at large, show the public's opposition to funding cuts and fee increases. The contributors to this sharp, well-written collection, many of whom are active participants in the anti-cuts movement, outline what's at stake and why it matters. They argue that university education is becoming increasingly skewed towards vocational degrees, which devalues the arts and social sciences – subjects that allow creativity and political inquiry to flourish.

Released at the beginning of the new academic year, this book will be at the heart of debates around the future of higher education in the UK and beyond, inspiring both new and seasoned activists in the fight for the soul of our universities.

Michael Bailey is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex. He is the author or editor of The Uses of Richard Hoggart (2011), Mediating Faiths (2011) and Narrating Media History (2008). He has held visiting fellowships at Goldsmiths, the LSE and the University of Cambridge.

Des Freedman is Reader in Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London and an editor of the journal Global Media and Communication. He is the author or editor of The Politics of Media Policy (2008), Television Policies of the Labour Party (2003) and War and the Media (2003). He is secretary of the Goldsmiths branch of the University and College Union.