Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China

Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China by William C. Kirby

This book explores Universities around the world and how they have adapted and changed. While universities have been around for hundreds of years, ones we would recognize as "modern" are only a fairly recent occurrence. Germany had started schools that resembled the modern research universities. The United States adopted some of the principles. Some of the existing universities tacked on research focus to their liberal education. Some new schools (like Johns Hopkins) started with research first. There was a big boom in land grant schools that adopted the twin missions.

The World Wars significantly curtailed the influence of Germany. The iron curtain further divided the schools in the country. The German schools were almost entirely dependent on state support which differed from state to state. In the USA, the GI bill and the end of World War II led to a huge uptick in universities and attendance. Schools were nearly free for attendees. However, the good times did not last. Government cutbacks and tuition increases greatly increased costs. Schools turned more towards private fundraising. Engineering became a greater focus. They also branched out overseas.

Modern Asian Universities are much newer. Some of the earlier ones were started by foreigners. There were also offshoots of American universities present. They gradually began to grow in importance and add their character.

This book presents general themes of universities, with focus on a few schools, such as Harvard, UC Berkeley, Humboldt University, and Tsinghua University. There is a general theme of "passing the baton" from region and school as the innovators survive.