The European and American University since 1800

The essays in this book discuss how universities work in relation to other parts of a higher education 'system'.

Sheldon Rothblatt (Edited by), Bjorn Wittrock (Edited by)

9780521031103, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 November 2006

384 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.593 kg

"This book ...takes history very seriously and is the sworn enemy of oversimplified assessments of university development, past and present...This is a substantive anthology." Histoire sociale

Universities are said to be the 'powerhouses' of modern society. They educate leaders and advance our basic knowledge of nature and society. Yet historically they have been vulnerable when meeting the challenges of dynamic industrial democracies or indeed of modern totalitarian states. Today universities are at the centre of society's attention and must therefore balance a great number of contradictory demands and pressures. Can this be done within the structure and ethos of an historic institution called a 'university', or are such institutions now passé and merely part of a bureaucratically managed higher education 'system'? These essays discuss the ways in which universities have coped with complexity since 1800, while retaining their basic 'idea'. Special attention is accorded to the role of the State and the autonomous professions in defining the mission of universities and in their struggle for individuality in the face of mounting pluralistic and bureaucratic pressures.

Notes on the contributors
Introduction: universities and 'higher education' Sheldon Rothblatt and Björn Wittrock
Part I. Fact and Ideals in Liberal Education: 1. The limbs of Osiris: liberal education in the English-speaking world Sheldon Rothblatt
2. In search of Isis: general education in Germany and Sweden Sven-Eric Liedman
Part II. The State, the University, and the Professions: 3. The transformation of professional education in the nineteenth century Rolf Torstendahl
4. From practise to school-based professional education: patterns of conflict and accommodation in England, France and the United States Michael Burrage
Part III. The Ambiguities of University Research in Sweden and the United States: 5. Universities, research, and the transformation of the state in Sweden Aant Elzinga
6. Research, graduate education, and the ecology of American universities: an interpretative history Roger Geiger
Part IV. Complexity: 7. The problem of complexity in modern higher education Burton R. Clark
8. Comparative perspectives on British and American higher education Martin Trow
Part V. The Ironies of University History: 9. The modern university: the three transformations Björn Wittrock
Index.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]