18th Century Germany

Academic Charisma and the Old Regime

by Kristine Haugen

History of Universities 22,1 (2007): 199-228

How did scholarship and the early modern university interact so as to lay the foundations for the rise of the research... more How did scholarship and the early modern university interact so as to lay the foundations for the rise of the research university around 1800? In effect, how new was the research university at all? This is an article-length review of William Clark, 'Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University' (2006). Through a survey of Germany, England, and the Netherlands, it's pointed out that an intense focus on writing production in the university, the institution of the superstar professor, and the teaching of a select few to become new professors were all firmly established elements of the 16th- and 17th-century university just as well as at Enlightenment Halle (for example). Lastly, was it a move for the better when learning retreated inside the walls of the university and out of the early modern republic of letters?