Transgressing unsustainability in universities through material symbols of struggle and resistance

University teaching settings can offer unique opportunities for envisioning alternative futures. Questions have been raised, however, about whether higher education institutions are doing enough to grasp the full potential of these affordances, or whether, instead, their structural dynamics are perpetuating unsustainable societal regimes. This study explored how systemic conditions in UK universities may hinder possibilities for ‘transformative learning’ in the context of Sustainable Development. Thematic analyses of interviews with 21 academics and 12 students revealed structures characterised by corporatisation, bureaucratisation, insularity, and time scarcity. To investigate possibilities for transgressing these constraints, a novel component of the analyses uncovered narratives of struggle and resistance tied to physical objects chosen by participants. The symbolic meanings embedded in these examples offer experiential insight into how educational provision could better harness radical collaboration, institutional critique, responsive teaching, and embodied learning. At this pivotal juncture, where universities can choose to either reinforce or resist dominant norms of unsustainability, this study’s materially-oriented narratives provide fresh impetus for mapping alternative paths forward.