The University of Oxford: A History - Hardcover

Brockliss, L.W.B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199243565 ISBN 13: 9780199243563

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2016

Synopsis

This fresh and readable account gives a complete history of the University of Oxford, from its beginnings in the eleventh century to the present day. Written by one of the leading authorities on the history of universities internationally, it traces Oxford's improbable rise from provincial backwater to one of the world's leading centres of research and teaching.

Laurence Brockliss sees Oxford's history as one of discontinuity as much as continuity, describing it in four distinct parts. First he explores Oxford as 'The Catholic University' in the centuries before the Reformation, when it was principally a clerical studium serving the needs of the Western church. Then as 'The Anglican University', in the years from 1534 to 1845 when Oxford was confessionally closed to other religions, it trained the next generation of ministers of the Church of England, and acted as a finishing school for the sons of the gentry and the well-to-do. After 1845 'The Imperial University' saw the emergence over the following century of a new Oxford - a university which was still elitist but now non-confessional; became open to women as well as men; took students from all round the Empire; and was held together at least until 1914 by a novel concept of Christian service. The final part, 'The World University', takes the story forward from 1945 to the present day, and describes Oxford's development as a modern meritocratic and secular university with an ever-growing commitment to high-quality academic research. Throughout the book, Oxford's history is placed in the wider context of the history of higher education in the UK, Europe, and the world. This helps to show how singular Oxford's evolution has been: a story not of entitlement but of hard work, difficult decisions, and a creative use of limited resources and advantages to keep its destiny in its own hands.

About this title

Review

Brockliss's great achievement is to place the University of Oxford within the context not only of the history of universities but of Britain and Europe more broadly, revealing it as both the product of and a player in these larger developments. (Tamson Pietsch, Journal of Modern History)

Brockliss has achieved a considerable statement in the history of higher education. (David B. Taylor, History of Education)

Brockliss's masterly, energetically written history uncovers a wealth of fascinating details. (Paula Byrne, The Times)

Magnificently readable ... The particular benefits of this volume are that it brings the story right up to 2015, and that the author makes excellent use of a comparative knowledge of higher education in the UK and globally (Oxford Today)

An extraordinary achievement, resting on a staggering amount of research ... Professor Brockliss has processed a truly terrifying amount of material, and seems equally assured on medieval scholasticism, modern medicine, or the quantities of wine consumed by 18th-century dons (it was a lot - even more than you might expect). It is also a remarkably easy read. (The Revd Peter Anthony, Church Times)

well written, expertly presented, comprehensive, clear in its judgements. (Michael Alexander, Tablet)

generous in its detail and clear in its narrative. (Oxford Culture Review)

Brockliss' work is crammed with fascinating discussions, debates and analyses concerning the university and its place in history ― and, indeed, in the world. (Ben Ray, Cherwell)

The book is a balanced and highly readable account of an institution which remains a beacon of knowledge and scholarship around the world (Commonwealth Lawyers' Association)

This magisterial synthesis ... is an independent scholarly work, rich with details and insights and setting Oxford into larger educational contexts. Excellent illustrations, fine maps, and revealing tables enhance a volume that is sure to become a standard classic ... Highly recommended. (CHOICE)

About the Author

Professor L.W.B. Brockliss is a historian of education, science, and medicine with a particular interest in early-modern France and England. His doctoral thesis was on the University of Paris and his first book was a study of French Higher Education in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (1987). More recently, he has been the editor and co-author of Magdalen College, Oxford: A History (2008). For many years he was the English representative on the international commission for the history of higher education and he has also edited the journal History of Universities.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0199243565
• ISBN 13: 9780199243563
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 912