British Universities Past and Present

Description

This book is both a concise history of British universities and their place in society over eight centuries, and a penetrating analysis of current university problems and policies as seen in the light of that history. It explains how the modern university system has developed since the Victorian era, and gives special attention to changes in policy since the Second World War, including the effects of the Robbins report, the rise and fall of the binary system, the impact of the Thatcher era, and the financial crises which have beset universities in recent years. A final chapter on the past and the present shows the continuing relevance of the ideals inherited from the past, and makes an important contribution to current controversies by identifying a distinctively British university model and discussing the historical relationship of state and market.

Robert Anderson is professor of modern history at the University of Edinburgh. He has written extensively on the history of universities and of Scottish education. He published Universities and Elites in Britain since 1800 in 1992, and his most recent book is European Universities from the Enlightenment to 1914 (2004).

Title mention in the BBC History magazine, 2007 -- BBC History Magazine "British Universities Past and Present is highly recommended as an initial introduction to both key developments in higher education during the Victorian era and their longer-term origins and consequences." -David Mitch, Victorian Studies, Summer 2007 -- David Mitch "this is a superb book that should be read by all those seriouly interested in British Higher Education" "a thoroughly good read" Oxford Magazine, 2007 -- David Palfreyman ...a thought-provoking addition to narratives treating the evolution of British universities and their relationships with broader society... British Universities Past and Present is an expertly researched monograph of the evolution of the education system in England and Scotland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries... serves as an essential reference for various parliamentary acts and intellectual trends within the last few centuries. -- http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32968 "Professor Anderson, who specialises in the history of universities at Edinburgh University, offers a lucid and nicely paced survey of his subject." -- Michael Wheeler * Church Times * 'His history of the universities is well paced, with early chapters giving just enough flavour of the pre-modern era to introduce some of his main themes...he has a good eye for details that flag up how far attitudes have changed on many fundamental issues.' -- Duncan Campbell-Smith * Times Literary Supplement *