Humboldt and the Modern German University: An Intellectual History

When the Berlin Universität opened in October 1810, it inaugurated a new era in the history of education. The man behind it was the Prussian official, linguist, and educational reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt. In a famous manifesto, he drew up the guidelines for the new institution. The first modern university had been born.

That, at least, is the traditional version of the story. When examined more closely, things turn out to be more complex. Over the last two decades, researchers have completed a thorough historicisation of the birth of the modern university. Their findings reveal that the Humboldtian tradition is actually an invention of the late-nineteenth century, and that Humboldt's ideas have been appropriated for different purposes in different historical contexts. Those who wish to present well-grounded reflections on the foundations of the university must incorporate these new insights.

The analysis in this book concentrates on three significant periods of reform: the immediate post-war period in the late 1940s, the Federal Republic in the 1960s, and the Bologna Process in the early 2000s. Combining approaches from intellectual history, conceptual history, and the history of knowledge, the book explores the wider sphere of which the university reforms were part. Of central importance are the ideological and intellectual conflicts that arise when an old educational ideal is challenged by a new one and, more specifically, the seismic shift in the idea and constitution of the university since the Second World War - from Berlin to Bologna.

Humboldt and the modern German university is intended for an audience engaged with the modern intellectual and educational history of Europe, particularly the history of the university. It will also appeal to readers interested in higher education, research policy, and the knowledge society more generally.