When Oxford University Was Founded
When oxford university was founded, it was a time of great change. It was a time of reform and reorganization of the college system.
It was also a time of intense competition from rival institutions. The 1854 Act broke the ecclesiastical grip on Oxford, clearing away the clerical office-seekers and setting it on track to become a proper educational institution.
The foundation
Oxford has a long history and is an important centre of research. It is ranked as number one in the world for research, and its staff, students and alumni have made major contributions to a range of fields.
During its nine centuries of existence, Oxford has been at the heart of many debates and conflicts, and has played a significant role in the development of Britain, Europe and the rest of the world. It was at the center of the 14th century battle over the translation of the Bible into English, and its faculty has been at the forefront of many political and religious debates in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The university was founded with the aim of educating the next generation of leaders, teachers and civil servants. It is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and is known for its scholarly research.
At the time of its foundation, Oxford was considered the most prestigious of all the universities. It was the center of a lively intellectual debate, and its teaching was known for its excellence in the classical disciplines.
But, like all prestigious institutions, it was also vulnerable to change. It was not entirely destroyed by the 1854 act, but its Tractarian professoriate was finished off – most of its old titles were lost and its curriculum became more scientific.
There were still some great tutors at Oxford, however. Copleston, Whately and Arnold remained strong. They emphasized the holistic training of leaders, educators and political servants, not just in classics and mathematics, but in moral philosophy and in the sciences.
It is this educational vision that helped to shape the college tutorial system – it was not simply about teaching the basics of classics, but about shaping the character and morals of its students. This philosophy was a crucial part of the Noetics – the philosophy of William Copleston and Thomas Arnold.
This approach also served to bolster the influence of the colleges, and by the end of the nineteenth century they had become a central and vital part of the university. This was because they tended to control their own tutorials and could set the rules on teaching.
The first students
During the medieval period, Oxford was home to some of the world’s most famous scholars. It was also the site of numerous scholarly debates, a tradition that continues to this day.
A key aspect of this scholarly activity was the education of students. To this end, the university’s first formal classroom was located in the Divinity School, where students gathered to learn under the impressive fan-vaulted ceiling that still graces this room today.
In 1249, the school grew to include University, Balliol and Merton Colleges, each of which housed students in the medieval buildings that form its core. Each student was required to keep specified terms of residence, which typically lasted nine weeks at a time.
These terms of residence are now referred to as “terms of study,” but they were originally a mandatory part of the admission process for Oxford students. During these nine terms, students were expected to attend classes in the various departments of their colleges.
Although these days the term of study is no longer required, students are still encouraged to stay in Oxford for a significant amount of time. This is to ensure that they remain on campus for the duration of their course and to make sure that they are involved in all aspects of university life.
There are many notable alumni from the university, including many Nobel prize-winners in chemistry, physics and medicine. Other notables include Percy Shelley and Matthew Arnold, who studied in the 19th century, as well as Vera Brittain, who went to Somerville College in the early twentieth century and later became a leader in women’s emancipation.
In the 20th century, the school was associated with many notable thinkers and scientists, such as Tim Berners-Lee and Stephen Hawking. It was also the site of many important historical events, such as the first international students at Oxford and a major religious revival.
The university is a member of the Russell Group of research universities, and is among the world’s top three universities for scientific and medical research. It has a worldwide reputation for its teaching and research, with 40% of the faculty drawn from abroad.
The first professors
The University of Oxford has a history as one of the world’s greatest learning institutions. As a result, it has educated many of the great leaders in British and global politics. It has also produced many notable literary figures, such as Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis, and a number of Nobel Prize laureates.
Although the university was founded in the 12th century, it was only in the 19th century that Oxford began to become a truly modern institution. It underwent several important curricular reforms, establishing a more specialized curriculum, and getting rid of certain privileges.
At that time, the university was dominated by a conservative High Church hierarchy and an ecclesiastical oligopoly. The scholastic curriculum, based on ancient Greek and Latin, was largely irrelevant for professional life. There were a few professors in physics, mathematics, and philosophy, but most of the university’s teachers came from the clergy.
In 1825, Henry Drummond of Albury Park, a former student at Oxford, offered to endow a Chair in Political Economy (which was originally to be held under the School of History). The offer was viewed suspiciously by some of the more conservative High Church dons, who saw this new discipline as dangerously non-Christian and argued that it was a secular science which was not compatible with Christian teaching and ethics.
But Drummond’s offer was welcomed by the Oriel Noetics, led by Richard Whately. These men were devoted to intellectual achievement and were regarded as the ‘hyper-intellectuals’ of their day.
This group of men, known as the ‘Oriel Noetics’, was a core part of the Oxford intellectual scene in the early 19th century. The group included Richard Whately, John Davison, Edward Hawkins, Thomas J. Arnold, and John Blanco White, as well as Baden Powell.
After the 1854 Reform, which made university government more democratic and reorganized the professoriat, the scholastic curriculum was reformed to include political economy. It was also introduced as a separate honours course, alongside the classics.
During the 20th and early 21st centuries, Oxford established major new research capacities in the natural and applied sciences, including medicine. These have been a key part of the city’s traditional role as an international focus for learning and a forum for intellectual debate.
The first buildings
The first buildings at Oxford were constructed around the time when the university began to grow in popularity. There was evidence of teaching in some form as early as 1096, but it is unclear when the university came into being.
The city of Oxford is known worldwide for its prestigious university, which is the oldest in the English-speaking world. In his poem ‘Thyrsis’ the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold described it as “the city of dreaming spires,” and the university is often portrayed in films and television series.
It is also the county town of Oxfordshire and a major tourist attraction. It is a lively city with a mix of industries, shops and colleges. It is also a bedroom community for Londoners, who enjoy its bustling streets and lively energy.
In the medieval period there was much friction between students and the townspeople of Oxford, resulting in riots in which as many as 93 students were killed in the St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355. Academics fled to Cambridge and established the University of Cambridge, which has since become one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
As the University expanded, more and more colleges were created. In 1612, Wadham College was founded and Pembroke College was established in 1624.
These colleges were designed to nurture students in their own way, but the central administration of the university was left to the Chancellor. He was able to build up a network of buildings that could house classes and seminars, test students’ learning, and host ceremonies.
There was also a physic garden, where medicinal plants were grown and used to treat illness. It was enlarged in 1621, and is still maintained by the university today.
Other notable buildings at Oxford include the Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, possibly Britain’s oldest public museum, which opened in 1683. It houses the university’s art and archaeology collections, and is open to the public free of charge.
The Sheldonian Theatre, also built in 1668, is the site of the university’s Congregation and concerts and degree ceremonies. It is a beautiful building and has been the location of many films and TV shows.