The revolution of the dons : Cambridge and society in Victorian England

This sensitive and lively 1968 history made an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between higher education and social change in nineteenth-century England, showing how the internal life of an ancient university was affected by historic events extrinsic to it. The role that university was required to play in society was being forced to evolve: no longer a finishing school for the aristocracy, universities were becoming a place of professional training for the middle classes. This required a new generation of dons to relate tradition to the ideals of the modern world. By showing how Cambridge managed to preserve its aristocratic values without losing its influence in an increasingly industrial and professional society, Dr Rothblatt explores the larger question of a university's impact upon social change. This fascinating work combines historical scholarship with a perceptive appreciation of the social functions of higher education in an industrialised world. Frontmatter (page N/A) Introduction (page 15) Part One A Problem of Social Change (page 27) 1 Closed Scholarships, The Grammar Schools and Social Mobility (page 29) 2 Educational Costs and Social Mobility (page 48) Part Two The Problem Resolved (page 95) 3 Secondary Ends (page 97) 4 Prophet or Sceptic (page 133) 5 Ecce Homo (page 155) 6 Donnishness (page 181) 7 The Idea of College (page 209) Epilogue (page 248) Appendices (page 277) Index (page 305) This fascinating 1968 history made an important contribution to our understanding of the relationship between higher education and social change in nineteenth-century England, showing how the university was affected by extrinsic events. It combines historical scholarship with an appreciation of the social functions of higher education in an industrialised world. Sheldon Rothblatt. Reprint. Originally Published: London : Faber, 1968. With New Introd. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 286-304.