EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an research universitiesA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
have a long history that arguably dates back to the founding of the
University of BolognaThe University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in Europe, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
in 1088, although the
University of ParisThe historic University of Paris was founded in the mid 12th century, likely between 1160 and 1170 , In 1970 it was reorganized as 13 autonomous universities...
and the University of Magnaura are other contenders for this position. In the 19th and 20th centuries, European universities focused on
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
and
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
, and their structures and philosophies have shaped the
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
as we now know it. The original medieval universities are thought to have arisen from schools in churches before developing into what can now be definitively considered the “university.” Aims of early universities included training
profession"A profession is a vocation founded upon specialised educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain"....
als, investigating science, improving society, and teaching students to research and think for themselves. Many external influences, such as eras of
humanismRenaissance Humanism was a European intellectual movement that was a crucial component of the Renaissance, beginning in Florence in the latter half of the 14th century. The humanist movement developed from the rediscovery by European scholars of Latin literary and Greek literary texts. Initially,...
,
EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
,
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
, and revolution, shaped research universities during their development, and the discovery of the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
in 1492 added
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
and
international lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
to the university
curriculumIn formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
.
By the 18th century, universities published their own
research journalsAn academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research. Content typically takes the...
, and by the 19th century, the German and the French university models had arisen. The German, or Humboldtian model, was conceived by
Wilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
and based on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal ideas pertaining to the importance of
freedomFreedom is the right to act according to ones will without being held up by the power of others. From a philosophical point of view, it can be defined as the capacity to determine your own choices...
,
seminarSeminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at a university or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested...
s, and
laboratoriesA laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
in universities. The French university model involved strict discipline and control over every aspect of the university.
Universities concentrated on science in the 19th and 20th centuries, and they started to become accessible to the masses after 1914. Until the 19th century,
religionA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
played a significant role in university curricula; however, the role of religion in research universities decreased in the 19th century, and by the end of the 19th century, the German university model had spread around the world. The British also established universities worldwide, and
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
became available to the masses not only in Europe. In a general sense, the basic structure and aims of universities have remained constant over the years.
The first European universities
The first European university is often considered to be the
University of BolognaThe University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in Europe, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, founded in 1088, although some dispute this statement based on the intangibility of the definition of “
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.” In addition, the concept of the University of Bologna as the “mother of European Universities” was created as a symbol for Italy’s national unity, which detracts from the legitimacy of its being considered the first. If the term "university" requires that a single corporate body be made up of students and professors of different disciplines, rather than that a corporate body simply exists, the
University of ParisThe historic University of Paris was founded in the mid 12th century, likely between 1160 and 1170 , In 1970 it was reorganized as 13 autonomous universities...
, founded in 1208, can be considered the first university; however, the University at Magnaura Palace was founded much earlier, in the 9th century. The University of Magnaura can be defined as a university because it brought prominent scholars together to create a “focal point of medieval Greek science and culture”. The first universities in Europe were influenced in many ways by the
MadrasahMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
institutions in
Islamic SpainAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Arab and North African Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
, the
Emirate of SicilyThe Emirate of Sicily was an Islamic state on the island of Sicily , which existed from 965 to 1072.-First Arab invasions of Sicily:...
, and the
Crusader statesThe Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land . The Middle Eastern Islamic powers eventually conquered them...
.
Traditional medieval universities are thought to have arisen from schools in churches, which began to require more structure as a result of their increasing popularity. This need, along with the advancing complexity of society, which required specialized training for administrators, lawyers, doctors, notaries, and ecclesiastics, and the rediscovery of ancient knowledge, such as new translations of Aristotle and Roman law, led to the development of student guilds, or universitates, and eventually the definitive university. Early universities, according to Professor of sociology and general editor of
A History of the University in Europe Walter Rüegg, were meant to allow people to develop “knowledge for the sake of knowledge;” however, around the 16th century, knowledge was seen to be valuable as a part of the civil community. Universities at this time aimed to train clergymen, lawyers, government officials, and doctors. At the same time, according to Rüegg, people studied in order to further scientific investigation and attend to the demands of society. Science during the 16th century was an essential part of university curriculum, incorporating “openness to novelty” and the search for the means to control nature into the course of study.
The structure and spread of early European universities
The European University proliferated in part because groups decided to secede from the original universities to promote their own ideals; the
University of ParisThe historic University of Paris was founded in the mid 12th century, likely between 1160 and 1170 , In 1970 it was reorganized as 13 autonomous universities...
fostered many universities in Northern Europe, while the
University of BolognaThe University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in Europe, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
fostered many in the South. Some leaders also created universities in order to use them to increase their political power and popularity. For example,
Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II of Hohenstaufen was Holy Roman Emperor from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, and of Burgundy...
founded the University of Naples in 1224 to train lawyers and administrators who could rival the University of Bologna's influence, which served the hostile
Lombard LeagueThe Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Crema, Bergamo, Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Lodi, Reggio Emilia and Parma, and even some...
.
The structure of these early classes involved a master reading from texts and commenting on the readings, as well as students learning by teaching other students. Masters also offered disputed questions to their classes for discussion. Moving into the 18th century, professors became less focused on simply training university teachers and more focused on “forming the minds of the elite” of a larger society.
Philosophical and external influences on universities
While humanistic ideas of the 14th-16th century
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
were slow to catch on, they eventually spread from France, to Germany, to England during the 16th century
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
. Under the influence of the increasingly popular humanist mode of thought, university education began to include the preparation of students for lives of civility, civilization, and culture, along with a response to social concerns. Important to the medieval university curriculum were the trivium and quadrivium, two classifications of the liberal arts intended to prepare students for further learning, usually in the areas of
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
,
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
, or
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. Trivium included the three verbal disciplines: grammar, rhetoric, and logic, while
QuadriviumThe quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities after the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" or "the four roads": the completion of the liberal arts. The quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy...
included the four mathematical disciplines:
arithmeticArithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division...
,
geometryGeometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers....
,
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
, and
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. The discovery of the New World in 1492 prompted additions to the European University curriculum, as subjects such as
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
and
international lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
became relevant to current times (Rüegg v.2, 22). Newly conquered Spanish territories raised questions about aboriginals’ rights, and discussion stemmed from the Bible, medieval natural law theories, and humanistic ideas of toleration. Rüegg links the idea of the ‘New’ World to the idea of ‘new’ knowledge as opposed to the old works of the ancients. In the mid-16th century, scholarly and scientific journals became a popular way to “spread innovations among the learned,” and by the 18th century, universities were publishing their own research journals.
EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
in the 18th century also encouraged the transition from the “preservation and transmission of accepted knowledge” to the “discovery and advancement of new knowledge,” although newer universities more quickly adapted ideas of Enlightenment and
AbsolutismAbsolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by any other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...
than older ones.
Modern universities
The end of the medieval period marked the beginning of the transformation of universities that would eventually result in the modern research university. Many external influences, such as eras of
humanismRenaissance Humanism was a European intellectual movement that was a crucial component of the Renaissance, beginning in Florence in the latter half of the 14th century. The humanist movement developed from the rediscovery by European scholars of Latin literary and Greek literary texts. Initially,...
,
EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
,
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
, and revolution, shaped research universities during their development.
Moving into the 19th century, the objective of universities evolved from teaching the “regurgitation of knowledge” to “encourag[ing] productive thinking.” Two main university models, the German and the French, arose and gave rise to other models such as the British and Russian. The German model, conceived by
Wilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt , government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, friend of Goethe and in particular of Schiller, is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of...
, was also known as the Humboldtian model. In 1810, Humboldt convinced the King of Prussia to build a university in Berlin based on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal ideas; the goal was to demonstrate the process of the discovery of knowledge and to teach students to “take account of fundamental laws of science in all their thinking, ” thus, seminars and laboratories started to evolve. Humboldt envisioned the university education as a student-centered activity of research:
Just as primary instruction makes the teacher possible, so he renders himself dispensable through schooling at the secondary level. The university teacher is thus no longer a teacher and the student is no longer a pupil. Instead the student conducts research on his own behalf and the professor supervises his research and supports him in it.
Freedom was an important concept in the German university model, and the system of professors was based on competition and freedom: although professors served as state functionaries, they had the freedom to choose between several states, and their identity and prestige arose from the specialization of scientific disciplines.
The French University model lacked the freedom of the German model, consisting of severe discipline and control over the curriculum, awarding of degrees, conformity of views, and personal habits (for example, there was a ban on beards in 1852). French university professors trained at the
École Normale SupérieureThe École Normale Supérieure is a French grande école...
, and much of their prestige depended on their schools’ reputations. By 1866, though, the German model had begun to influence the strict French model.
The German university model was also used in Russian universities, which hired lecturers trained in Germany and which dedicated themselves to science. At the same time, Russian universities were meant to train the bureaucracy in the same way as the French
grandes écolesThe grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public universities system...
. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Russian universities underwent much variation in their degrees of strictness and control.
British universities also modeled themselves after the German university. They enjoyed a great deal of freedom because the state granted them an
autonomyAutonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it refers to the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
that allowed them initiative and flexibility. The Universities of
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
and
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
emphasized the importance of
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
, arguably more authentically implementing Humboldt’s idea of a university than even German universities, which were subject to state authority.
Overall, science became the focus of universities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Students could conduct research in seminars or laboratories and began to produce doctoral theses with more scientific content. According to Humboldt, the mission of the University of Berlin was to pursue scientific knowledge. The German university system fostered professional, bureaucratically regulated scientific research performed in well-equipped laboratories, instead of the kind of research done by private and individual scholars in Great Britain and France. In fact, Rüegg asserts that the German system is responsible for the development of the modern research university because it focused on the idea of “freedom of scientific research, teaching and study.”
Professors and Students
University professors, according to Schleiermacher, had to “reproduce [their] own realization[s]” so that students could observe the “act of creation” of knowledge. He asserted that professors served as models of how to “intelligently produce knowledge.” Appointment to professorship was awarded to distinguished scholars who were only relieved of their positions if guilty of serious crimes. From Kansas State University president emeritus James McCain’s point of view, professors in 20th century Europe were more prestigious and well respected than those in the United States. They had a great deal of freedom while keeping to formal relationships with their students. In addition, professors shifted from being mainly lecturers, and research became "an integral part of the professor's task.
The accessibility of
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
slowly began to expand to the masses after 1914. A remaining obstacle to students was the high cost of a university education. Great Britain continued to offer only a costly education to aristocrats for most of the 19th century, and it was not until the early 20th century that new universities such as the
University of LondonBased primarily in London, England, United Kingdom, the University of London is a federal mega university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes...
opened higher education to the masses. Universities first accepted women after the middle of the 19th century; however, women faced considerable difficulties. Lacking basic civil rights and facing strong prejudices against their capacity and right to be a part of the higher education system, women only slowly became a part of the university system. The influx of non-elite, non-aristocratic students into European universities presented challenges to the German model, because suddenly there existed a variety of students from different backgrounds and with different expectations, resulting in a less concretely Humboldtian university.
European university students in the 19th and 20th centuries were largely responsible for their own educations (McCain, 206). Professors did not take attendance, the only exams occurred at the end of courses, and students chose their own courses of study. Rüegg suggests that students’ propensity to develop student movements based on current political situations echoed their attitude of freedom and responsibility.
With new educational and political philosophies came changes in the role of
religionA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
in European universities. During the 18th century, most universities had a strong connection to the church, and both the appointment of teachers and the admission of students took into account the religious orientations of students. In the 19th century, religion ceased to be part of the “compulsory curriculum.” New universities like the
University of LondonBased primarily in London, England, United Kingdom, the University of London is a federal mega university made up of 31 affiliates: 19 separate university institutions, and 12 research institutes...
were non-denominational, and chapel attendance decreased at Oxford and Cambridge In France, specifically, Napoleon’s secular
Université de FranceThe University of France was a highly centralized educational state organization founded by Napoleon I in 1808 and given authority not only over the individual, previously independent, universities, but also over primary and secondary education. The former individual universities were henceforth...
troubled Catholics. The
Loi Falloux of 1850 attempted to give some power back to the church, but the Université de France essentially controlled higher education. At the same time, in Great Britain, the Oxford Act of 1854 passed, getting rid of religious requirements at Oxford and Cambridge, and from that time on, the role of religion in universities declined. :)
The legacy of European universities
European research universities ultimately developed lasting traditions of university education that spread around the world. By the end of the 19th century, the German university model had spread throughout
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and to
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In America, the Spanish, and then the English and French, founded universities in lands that they conquered in the early 16th century. These universities aimed to fulfill the needs of colonists, spread religion, provide professional training to colonists, and help overseas rulers with effective administration. By the 19th century, the British had established institutes of higher learning in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, and the
Cape ColonyThe Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, all of which were modeled after European universities. Japan, the
Near EastNear East today is an ambiguous term that covers different countries for archeologists and historians, on one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, and
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
all had universities based on European models in the 19th century. These universities disseminated Western European
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
and
technologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
and trained natives to develop resources.. Entering into the 20th century, higher education became available to the masses of the world as a result of
urbanizationUrbanization is the physical growth of urban areas from rural areas as a result of population immigration to an existing urban area. Effects include change in density and administration services. While the exact definition and population size of urbanized areas varies amongdifferent countries,...
and industrialization. Some of these universities promoted the aims of rulers, while others had a revolutionary impact on the power structure of the countries in which they were located. Generally speaking, the most basic structure and aims of research universities have remained constant over the years; according to author Clark Kerr, universities “are among the least changed of institutions.”
See also
- History of education
The history of education is the history of teaching and of learning, and the history of what might be described as the curricula: what it is that is taught or learned.Learning something new or news of some kind has been around forever...
- History of Europe
The history of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting Europe to the present day. For convenience, historians divide long periods into more manageable eras....
- University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
- Redbrick Universities
External links