the history of cambridge university.docx

7/23/2019 the history of cambridge university.docx

1/17

The history of Cambridge University Liceul Teoretic Neagoe Basarab Oltenita

Foreword

y name is Barbu adalina!Cristina" # am a student at Neagoe Basarab high school

from Oltenita$in the last grade" # am a very sensitive %erson but # am also very meticulous"# li&estudying and # am very organi'ed"

The reason # have chosen this sub(ect is that # strongly believe that education is the mainasset of a %erson in order to hel% him achieve his success in life"

For me$ education is very im%ortant" # li&e to read and to discover everything new" # thin&

Cambridge University is one of the universities that tests your limits$ offers the o%%ortunity todiscover and to assert yourself" For this reason # believe that the dream anyone who li&es to learn

and is very organi'ed is to study at Cambridge University"

The University is %laced in Cambridge$ which is a beautiful city that embraces the old

and the new" #n addition to the University and Colleges with their ancient and modern buildings$it is home to a huge veriety %ubs$ clubs$ theatres and venues with big name acts $ sho%%ing$

restaurants and coffee sho%s ) something for everyone"

The University of Cambridge is one of the world*s oldest universities and leading

academic centres$ and a self!governed community of scholars"#ts re%utation for outstandingacademic achievement is &nown world!wide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its

students$ as well as world!class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the

Colleges" The University is world!renowned for the +uality of its teaching and the degress it

offers" There are twenty!nine courses to choose from$ each of which can hel% you to e,%lore yoursub(ect interests$ fulfill your academic %otential and challenge what you understand about the

world" Cambridge can broaden your hori'ons$ introduce you to new e,%eriences and createo%%ortunities for life"

# &now life at Cambridge University is organi'ed very differently from elsewhere$ both in

terms of entry re+uirements and in terms of teaching system" - further advantage is that$ atCambridge$ regardless of the fact that you study -rt$ .istory or /cience and 0ngineering$ you

learn to thin& for yourself ouring to the fact that you aren*t s%oon!fed someone else*s o%inion"

Ta&ing everything into consideration$ # can strongly say that Cambridge University is agood choice for any young %erson who really wants to study"

1


2/17


0arly years

2


3/17


By the end of the thirteenth century$ Cambridge was already ma&ing its mar& in

%hiloso%hy$ with 3uns /cotus %roducing disru%tive ideas in theology 4some of which by the 25th

century had become Catholic orthodo,y6" -fter the fall of Constantino%le$ the 7enaissance gotgoing and challenged the curriculum" Cambridge$ li&e other medieval universities$ had taught

grammar$ rhetoric and logic for the B-$ then arithmetic$ music$ geometry and astronomy for the

-8 much of the course material came from -ristotle" /uddenly this tradition was under fire$and the big debate was whether to teach Terence as well as -ristotle" #n 19::$ the rebels won; we

started offering a four!year B- with two years in


4/17


The edieval University

9


5/17


The students who floc&ed to Cambridge soon arranged their scheme of study after the

%attern which had become common in #taly and France$ and which they would have &nown inO,ford" They studied first what would now be termed a foundation course in arts ! grammar$

logic and rhetoric ! followed later by arithmetic$ music$ geometry and astronomy$ leading to the

degrees of bachelor and master" There were no %rofessors8 the teaching was conducted bymasters who had themselves %assed through the course and who had been a%%roved or licensed

by the whole body of their colleagues 4the universitas or university6" The teaching too& the form

of reading and e,%laining te,ts8 the e,aminations were oral dis%utations in which the candidatesadvanced a series of +uestions or theses which they dis%uted or argued with o%%onents a little

senior to themselves$ and finally with the masters who had taught them" /ome of the masters$ but

by no means all$ went on to advanced studies in divinity$ canon and civil law$ and$ more rarely$

medicine$ which were taught and e,amined in the same way by those who had already %assedthrough the course and become doctors" The doctors grou%ed themselves into s%ecific faculties"

#t soon became necessary$ to avoid abuse of the royal %rivileges conferred on scholars$ to

identify and authenticate the %ersons to whom degrees had been granted" 0nrolment with alicensed master was the first ste% towards this8 it was called matriculation because of the

condition that the scholars name must be on the masters matricula or roll$ but later theUniversity itself assumed this duty" #t was also desirable to mar& the stage in a scholars %rogress

by a ceremony of admission 4graduation6 to the different grades$ or degrees$ of membershi%"

These were conferred by the whole body of masters$ with the Chancellor e,ercising the %ower ontheir behalf$ as his de%uty$ the ice!Chancellor$ came to do later" The grades of scholar became

differentiated by a series of variations on the gown$ hood and ca%" 7eminders of these terms and

%ractices survive today"

The 7egent asters$ who were the teaching body$ soon found that in addition to a

ceremonial head they needed other re%resentatives to s%ea& and act for them" The first of these

were the two Eroctors 4literally re%resentatives6 whom they elected annually to negotiate on theirbehalf with the town and other lay authorities$ to &ee% the accounts$ to safeguard their treasures

and boo&s$ to moderate in e,aminations$ and to su%ervise all other ceremonies" These duties were

soon to be shared by other elected officers; Bedells$ at first attached to the faculties$ %residedover ceremonies8 and a Cha%lain too& charge of treasures and boo&s" By the si,teenth century a

7egistrary recorded matriculations$ admissions to degrees$ and decisions of the regent masters$

while an Orator wrote ceremonial letters and addresses" ost of these offices remain today$

although in some cases for ceremonial %ur%oses only"

- community of such com%le,ity needed rules" To this end$ as %roblems arose$ /tatutes

were ado%ted by the whole body of the University" These were not at first arranged or codified$but were noted ha%ha'ardly in boo&s &e%t by the Eroctors" The earliest &nown version of these

decisions is a co%y made in the mid!thirteenth century$ which is now in the Biblioteca -ngelica

in 7ome"


6/17


oves to inde%endence

@


7/17


ost of the scholars of the University were at first cler&s or clergymen$in holy orders ofsome sort$ and e,%ecting careers in the Church or in the Civil /ervice 4as di%lomats$ (udges or

officers of the royal household6" To su%%ort them during their years of study$ they loo&ed for

%referment in the Church 4a benefice$ a canonry$ even a dignity in a cathedral6$ but as ordainedcler&s they were at first sub(ect to the local ecclesiastical authorities$ that is$ the -rchdeacon and

the Bisho% of 0ly" Before the end of the fifteenth century$ however$ they had freed themselves

from this$ and were inde%endent of all ecclesiastical authority e,ce%t the Eo%es" The Chancellorbecame an ecclesiastical (udge in his own right$ hearing all cases involving the morals or

disci%line of scholars$ and %roving the wills of all who died in residence" -t about the same

%eriod$ the Chancellor also %rovided scholars with a secular court to which they could resort for

the trial of all civil and criminal cases e,ce%t those concerning ma(or crimes"

The Crown added to the Universitys inde%endence" #t introduced measures to %rotect

scholars against e,%loitation by townsmen who had ac+uired mar&et and toll rights which

enabled them to raise the %rices of food$ fuel and candles" To counter this$ the University wasgranted the right to %roceed at law against mar&et %rofiteers$ and to enforce the conduct of

assi'es$ or tests$ of bread and ale by the town"

The ac+uisition of these %owers continued to be a source of friction between town and

gown 4the University6 until the nineteenth century" ore immediately$ it is thought that theattac&s on University %ro%erty in the town in 1>:1 were %artly ins%ired by resentment of this

interference"

#f this is so$ the attac& was ill (udged$ since as a result of a 7oyal in+uiry into thedisturbances$ the University was granted a (urisdiction which allowed the Chancellor not only to

%rosecute the %rofiteers$ but also those falsifying weights and measures$ endangering %ublic

health by the adulteration of food and drin&$ interru%ting the su%%lies of fresh water$ or wilfullyintroducing infection during e%idemics of %lague" Further control of traders was allowed to the

Chancellor with the grant of (urisdiction over law suits arising during mar&ets and fairs" The last

vestiges of these rights did not disa%%ear until the nineteenth century$ and the University retainseven today certain res%onsibilities in connection with %olicing and licensing"

G


8/17


/i,teenth century

:


9/17


The effect of the early academic and religious changes of the century can be seen in the

%hysical a%%earance of the town; a great new College$ Trinity$ was founded by .enry ### fromthe two small houses of Hings .all and ichaelhouse8 3r Caius enlarged Aonville .all to ma&e

it almost a new foundation$ called Aonville and Caius College$ which occu%ied a large site close

to the Old /chools8 0mmanuel absorbed the 3ominican site$ /idney /usse, that of theFranciscans$ and agdalene absorbed the former Benedictine house of studies &nown as

Buc&ingham College" These new foundations were concerned with the education of men for the

%riesthood in the national church$ but they$ and Trinity es%ecially$ attracted for the first time largenumbers of lay students"

The si'e of the official University greatly increased$ but the total %o%ulation of young

men in the town included those who came to Cambridge$ not so much with the intention ofeventual graduation$ but to %rofit from unofficial contacts and e,tra!curricular activities$ and who

then went on for a year or so to an #nn of Court in London" These lay students$ their servants$ and

the tailors$ fencing!masters$ tennis!court!&ee%ers$ riding!masters and the li&e$ who came to %rofit

from them$ %ut very great %ressure on living accommodation and food!su%%lies in the town andcreated serious %roblems of %ublic order" This was a %eriod when town!gown relationshi%s were

very severely strained"

The changing character of the student body is reflected in the curriculum" .enry ### had

issued a series of in(unctions to the University in 1>@ su%%ressing the Faculty of Canon Lawand forbidding the study of scholastic %hiloso%hy" The study of canon law declined$ and the

Aree& and Latin classics$ mathematics and Biblical studies now came to the fore"

The changes in the University were %er%etuated by successive 7oyal interventions8 themonarchs were concerned with the universities as %roducers of the future leaders of the reformed

church$ and the /tatutes of 1G5 ensured this" They concentrated authority not$ as %reviously$ in

the 7egent asters and the Eroctors$ but in the ice!Chancellor and the .eads"

The endowment by .enry ### of five %rofessorshi%s$ the 7egius %rofessorshi%s of

divinity$ .ebrew$ Aree&$ %hysic and civil law$ em%hasised changes in teaching methods and setan e,am%le for %rivate donors" The national u%heavals of 1@95 to 1@@5$ and to a lesser degree of

1@::!:?$ led to disturbances in a%%ointments and disci%line$ but 7oyal influence in the sha%e of

Erivy Council orders$ and of re+uests for degrees for the courts nominees 4mandate degrees6

continued until the early eighteenth century"

?


10/17


Nineteenth and twentieth centuries

15


11/17


3es%ite these develo%ments$ there was in the first half of the nineteenth century a

continued call for change and reform in the University$ which in %art reflected the %olitical

movements of the country as a whole" The election as Chancellor of Erince -lbert the ErinceConsort in 1:9G is an indication of the strength of the movement for reform$ and in 1:5 a 7oyal

Commission was a%%ointed to in+uire into the two ancient universities of O,ford and

Cambridge" The Commissions re%ort resulted in the %romulgation of new /tatutes forCambridge in the Cambridge University -ct of 1:@" These /tatutes have been much revised

since their first a%%earance$ but the form of government which they embodied has remained as a

framewor&" The ultimate authority in the University was at first the /enate$ the whole body ofgraduates$ together with the Chancellor$ ice!Chancellor$ and doctors"

-ll im%ortant %owers of this body came in time to be e,ercised by those of its members

holding official %ositions in the University or Colleges 4the 7egent .ouse6$ who in turn elect a%ro%ortion of members of the e,ecutive body$ the Council" Curriculum and the content of

e,aminations were the res%onsibility of another elected body$ the Aeneral Board of the Faculties

4which began in 1::26$ while the Financial Board 4now the Finance Committee of the Council6

dealt with accounting and the management of the Universitys estate" Committees or boardsconcerned with teaching within individual disci%lines develo%ed into systematic Faculties during

the inter!war years" 0ach Faculty has its own managing board and degree committee"

The introduction and e,amination of new studies ! building %artly u%on Cambridges

ancient strength in mathematics ! advanced very ra%idly after the 7oyal Commission of 1:5 hadre%orted" The natural sciences and moral sciences 4now %hiloso%hical6 Tri%oses were a%%roved as

early as 1:1$ and before 1?55 Tri%oses in law$ history$ theology$ #ndian languages$ /emitic 4later

oriental6 languages$ medieval and modern 40uro%ean6 languages$ and mechanical sciences 4later

engineering6 were all established" To develo% these new branches of learning a number of new orremodelled %rofessorshi%s were established by the University and by %rivate benefactors$ the

earliest being the 3isney Erofessorshi% of archaeology in 1:1"

The numbers of other established teaching %osts remained small$ and most undergraduate

teaching was done by lecturers$ a%%ointed and %aid by the Colleges$ or by %rivate coaches" -s

numbers of students grew during the last half of the century 4matriculations increased from 991in 1:5 to 1$1?1 in 1?156$ much accommodation was added to e,isting Colleges$ three entirely

new institutions a%%eared during the century 43owning$ /elwyn and /t 0dmunds6$ and a number

of attem%ts were made to %rovide chea% non!collegiate hostels catering for %oorer students" ost

of these hostels had disa%%eared before 1?55 4the buildings of one$ &nown as Cavendish College$are now occu%ied by .omerton6$ but a new non!collegiate society too& over their wor& and later

became Fit'william College"

7esources for the study of art$ architecture and archaeology had been %rovided$ under the

will of /ir 7ichard Fit'william$ by the establishment of the museum which bears his name" -n

even more e,tensive series of %remises was housed on the old site of the Botanic Aarden whichmoved to .ills 7oad$ leaving free a considerable area behind Free /chool Lane for the New

useums site" This site came to house the Cavendish Laboratory for e,%erimental %hysics$ as

well as de%artments of medicine$ chemistry$ 'oology$ anatomy$ and engineering" eanwhile

across the street some of the sur%lus land originally ac+uired for 3owning College was sold to

11


12/17


the University and %rovided on the 3owning /ite s%ace for laboratories and museums for botany$

geology$ agriculture$ %hysiology and archaeology and anthro%ology$ and a law school" The

University Library$ substantially enlarged on the Old /chools site during the nineteenth century$outgrew its original home and moved in 1?> to s%lendid new buildings west of the 7iver Cam

with the aid of a very substantial benefaction from the 7oc&efeller Foundation"

0,tension lectures in %rovincial centres were an im%ortant feature of University

activities in the late nineteenth century" They were often associated with attem%ts to %rovide

%rofessional teaching and e,aminations for girls through the local e,aminations for schools%rovided by the University in con(unction with O,ford" Training courses for male graduate

teachers began in Cambridge at much the same time$ but %erha%s the most far!reaching effect of

the movement was the establishment at Cambridge of two Colleges for women students 4Airton

in 1:@? and Newnham in 1:G26" From the first$ these Colleges aimed to %re%are their students forthe Tri%os$ and the first women were in fact e,amined in 1::2" -ttem%ts to ma&e women full

members of the University were re%eatedly defeated until 1?9G" From the 1:@5s$ Colleges began

slowly to %ermit their Fellows to marry" This had a %rofound influence on Cambridge society and

on the to%ogra%hy of the town when houses came to be built to accommodate the new families" -few advanced students a%%eared in the University$ es%ecially in the laboratories$ in the early

twentieth century but %ostgraduate degrees$ chiefly the Eh3$ made a slow start after theirintroduction in 1?21"

Organised s%ort came to %lay a notable %art in the life of the Colleges and Universityafter 1:1" The boat!race between O,ford and Cambridge and the inter!university cric&et

matches had already begun as early as 1:2G$ and became annual events in 1:>?" eanwhile$ boat

clubs$ other athletic organisations and inter!collegiate com%etitions 4Lents and ays ! named

after the terms in which they too& %lace ! and Cu%%ers6 became a well established feature ofunder!graduate life" The Eroctors continued$ in con(unction with College officers$ to su%ervise

%ublic order and maintain disci%line and it should be noted that until 1?G5 gowns were worn on

the streets after dar& by all (unior members$ and Colleges closed their gates well before midnight"

#n the First =orld =ar 41?19!1?6$ 1>$:G: members of the University served and 2$9G5

were &illed" Teaching$ and the fees it earned$ came almost to a sto% and severe financialdifficulties followed" -s a conse+uence the University first received systematic state su%%ort in

1?1?$ conditional u%on a further in+uiry into its resources and organisation$ and a 7oyal

Commission a%%ointed in 1?25 recommended that the University 4but not the Colleges6 should

receive an annual grant$ and should be reorganised so as to ta&e over res%onsibility for lecturesand %ractical teaching" The Colleges retained control of individual teaching of their students and

this division of res%onsibility continues today"

12


13/17


The University after 1?9

1>


14/17


This %eriod has seen an accelerated rate of develo%ment in almost every direction" The

re%utation of Cambridge scientists had already been established in the late nineteenth century by

Cler& a,well and the 3arwins among others and was maintained afterwards by D" D" Thomson$Lord 7ayleigh and Lord 7utherford" =or& done by their %u%ils and associates during the /econd

=orld =ar greatly increased this re%utation and large numbers of students an,ious to use the

laboratories floc&ed to the University and to the growing number of government!s%onsoredinstitutions established in the town 4which was chartered as a city in 1?16" University

de%artments and research institutes were established as new areas of study develo%ed$ and with

them new teaching courses"

The 1?5s and 1?@5s saw an un%recedented e,%ansion of the Universitys teaching

accommodation" /ome older de%artmental and faculty buildings were re%laced ! for instance$

those for Chemistry and 0ngineering ! and the growing arts faculties received %ermanentaccommodation for the first time$ notably in the com%le, of buildings on the /idgwic& -venue

/ite" 3evelo%ment of a huge new regional general hos%ital south of the city$ eventually re%lacing

the ancient -ddenbroo&es .os%ital in the city centre$ %rovided the nucleus for a wide range of

medically related de%artments and institutes$ including a new /chool of Clinical edicine" Theneed for more s%ace than could be made available on the cram%ed central sites led to dis%ersal of

other de%artments$ notably the Cavendish Laboratory to a s%acious site west of Cambridge in the1?G5s" The west Cambridge e,%ansion continues today$ and the area now houses many facilities

including the Com%uter Laboratory and the Centre for Nanoscience"

/ocial and cultural activities were not neglected$ and in this %eriod a %ermanent social

centre for graduate students and staff ! the University Centre ! was established with funds

%rovided by the =olfson Foundation$ a %ur%ose!built music school and concert hall was built$

again %artly from benefactions$ the University Library was again e,tended$ the modern artcollection of Hettles Iard was ac+uired and enlarged$ and 0nglands oldest University

%layhouse$ the -3C$ o%ened by the -mateur 3ramatic Club in 1:$ was leased by the

University and refurbished as a centre for undergraduate drama" /uch develo%ments as theseshowed an increasing awareness of the wider res%onsibilities of the University$ both to its own

members and to the community at large"

ore directly related to its core activities was the develo%ment named the Cambridge

Ehenomenon$ the ra%id and successful growth of science!based industry in and around the city$

much of it deriving from research conducted in University laboratories" Crucial in this %rocess

was the establishment of the Cambridge /cience Ear& by Trinity College$ an innovation whichhas now grown vastly in si'e and which has been followed by other similar develo%ments" The

Universitys own #ndustrial Liaison Office began in the 1?G5s with the su%%ort of the =olfson

Foundation$ and has now develo%ed into the 7esearch Office"

eanwhile the undergraduate numbers were increased after the war by the admission to full

membershi% from 1?9G of women students$ by the foundation of a third womens College$ New.all 41?9$ now urray 0dwards College6$ as well as the foundation of Churchill 41?@56 and

7obinson 41?GG6" ore revolutionary ste%s were ta&en in the 1?@5s" Four new Colleges were

established to %rovide fellowshi%s for some of the growing number of teaching and research

staff$ as well as more %laces for research students "

19


15/17


The future

1


16/17


The University is (ustly famous for its heritage of scholarshi%$ historic role and magnificent

architecture" This heritage su%%orts one of the worlds most im%ortant centres for teaching andresearch" The collegiate structure gives a strong sense of community$ and the University is

determined to remain at the forefront of international scholarshi% and research"

The University of Cambridge is in the middle of the greatest e,%ansion in its history"

Through the generosity of benefactors$ the University has been able to create a new science and

technology cam%us to the west of the city centre$ and is now e,%anding further to the north westof Cambridge"

#n order to continue to maintain its re%utation as a world!leading institution$ the

University*s investment in the North =est Cambridge 3evelo%ment aims at %roviding the rightfacilities to attract and retain the best staff and researchers across the globe" This ambitious long!

term %lan will transform a 15 hectare site into a new district that will be %art of both the

University and the City" The investment in affordable homes for University &ey wor&ers$

community facilities to enable residents to thrive$ and a %lace that is rich with +ualityarchitecture and landsca%e will transform this area and enable the University to meet its growth

needs into the future"

The arts and humanities have seen dynamic changes in their /idgwic& /ite location and

e,%ansion in the city centre"

/ustaining a world!class university demands investment in new facilities$ new areas of

study$ and most im%ortantly$ in %eo%le8 continued fundraising efforts and innovative %artnershi%s

will be vital" The University celebrated its eight hundredth anniversary in 255?$ mar&ing thelegacy of eight centuries and determined to remain among the worlds greatest universities"

1@


17/17


CONCLU/#ON

1G

Documents

the history of cambridge university.docx