190014 KU BM 7 Applied Methodology I (AHP+EW+SB) (2020S)

In the course of this seminar, students will develop and apply a collective methodology for the analysis, contextualization, and comparison of classical texts on the university. During the 19th and 20th centuries, different scholars have published an “Idea of the University”. In the German context, Humboldt’s vision on the university is probably most well-known, but one could also think of Newman’s lectures on the university in the Anglo-Saxon context. Roughly, three lines of thinking can be discerned: the German tradition with its focus on Bildung (e.g. Humboldt, Jaspers), the Anglo-Saxon idea of liberal education (e.g. Newman, Oakshott), and the American pragmatist tradition (e.g. Flexner, Kerr). The aim of the seminar is to come to a comparative understanding of these different texts in their respective historical contexts. Methodologically the seminar draws on the historiography of Quentin Skinner to uncover the different meanings of the texts and the intentions of their respective authors.

The course will start with a general introduction of the topic and some first methodological considerations. Thereafter, students will organize their research work in team(s) and develop and apply a methodology in relation to the topic of the course.