Empire of scholars: Universities, networks and the British academic world, 1850–1939

Description

At the start of the twenty-first century we are acutely conscious that universities operate within an entangled world of international scholarly connection. Now available in paperback, Empire of scholars examines the networks that linked academics across the colonial world in the age of 'Victorian' globalization. Stretching across the globe, these networks helped map the boundaries of an expansive but exclusionary 'British academic world' that extended beyond the borders of the British Isles. Drawing on extensive archival research conducted in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, this book remaps the intellectual geographies of Britain and its empire. In doing so, it provides a new context for writing the history of ideas and offers a critical analysis of the connections that helped fashion the global world of universities today. Contents General editor’s introduction Preface and acknowledgements Note on terminology Abbreviations Introduction Part I Foundations: 1802-80 1 Building institutions:localising ‘universal’ learning Part II Connections: 1880-1914 2 Forging links abroad:books, travelling scholarships, leave of absence 3 Making appointments:access, exclusion and personalised trust 4 Institutional association: mutual recognition and imperial organisation Part III Networks: 1900–39 5 Academic traffic:people, objects, information, ideas 6 The Great War: mobilising colonial knowledge and connections 7 After the peace:the Universities’ Bureau and the expansive nation Part IV Erosions, 1919–60s 8 Alternative ties:national and international forces Conclusion Appendix A Foundation dates of universities and colleges established in Britain and the Empire before the Second World War Appendix B Timeline of institutions granted ‘affiliated’status at the University of Oxford Bibliography Index