What is A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices?

A short comic piece set at Unseen University in which the wizards are subjected to inspection by the Patrician's newly appointed Inspector of Universities, A. E. Pessimal — a parody of UK academic bureaucracy and research assessment. First published in the Times Higher Education Supplement on 13 May 2005, and later collected in A Blink of the Screen (2012).

Is this a Discworld story?

Yes — it is set at Unseen University with the Discworld wizards, though it is a short piece rather than a novel.

What does the title mean?

The title parodies the formal language of institutional documents and assessments — specifically the kind of bureaucratic process phrase that sounds pompous but means something entirely mundane. In this case, the 'Devilish Devices' are the mechanisms of institutional evaluation itself.

A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices

Short story Fantasy High Fantasy

Pages: 6
Published: 2005
Language: English

Synopsis

The wizards of Unseen University face a threat unlike any they have encountered before: an inspection.

The Patrician, Lord Vetinari, has appointed the meticulous A. E. Pessimal as the city's first Inspector of Universities, and the Faculty Council — chaired by Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully, with Ponder Stibbons relaying the demands — must account for what exactly its wizards do: their teaching, their research output, their expenditure, all while waiting for the tea and chocolate biscuits to arrive.

A short comic piece of Discworld satire aimed squarely at academic bureaucracy, first published in the Times Higher Education Supplement on 13 May 2005 and later collected in A Blink of the Screen (2012).