University

Definition

The original Latin word universitas refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc".[4] At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialized "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.[5]

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees,"[6] with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.[7]

The original Latin word referred to degree-awarding institutions of learning in Western and Central Europe, where this form of legal organisation was prevalent, and from where the institution spread around the world.

Academic freedom

An important idea in the definition of a university is the notion of academic freedom. The first documentary evidence of this comes from early in the life of the University of Bologna, which adopted an academic charter, the Constitutio Habita,[8] in 1158 or 1155,[9] which guaranteed the right of a traveling scholar to unhindered passage in the interests of education. Today this is claimed as the origin of "academic freedom".[10] This is now widely recognised internationally - on 18 September 1988, 430 university rectors signed the Magna Charta Universitatum,[11] marking the 900th anniversary of Bologna's foundation. The number of universities signing the Magna Charta Universitatum continues to grow, drawing from all parts of the world.

Antecedents

See also: Ancient higher-learning institutions
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the earliest universities were founded in Asia and Africa, predating the first European medieval universities.[2] The University of Al Quaraouiyine, founded in Morocco by Fatima al-Fihri in 859, is considered by some to be the oldest degree-granting university.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Their endowment by a prince or monarch and their role in training government officials made early Mediterranean universities similar to Islamic madrasas, although madrasas were generally smaller, and individual teachers, rather than the madrasa itself, granted the license or degree.[20] Scholars like Arnold H. Green and Hossein Nasr have argued that starting in the 10th century, some medieval Islamic madrasas became universities.[21][22] However, scholars like George Makdisi, Toby Huff and Norman Daniel[23] argue that the European university has no parallel in the medieval Islamic world.[24][25] Several other scholars consider the university as uniquely European in origin and characteristics.[26][27][28] Darleen Pryds questions this view, pointing out that madaris and European universities in the Mediterranean region shared similar foundations by princely patrons and were intended to provide loyal administrators to further the rulers' agenda.[29]

Some scholars, including Makdisi, have argued that early medieval universities were influenced by the madrasas in Al-Andalus, the Emirate of Sicily, and the Middle East during the Crusades.[30][31][32] Norman Daniel, however, views this argument as overstated.[33] Roy Lowe and Yoshihito Yasuhara have recently drawn on the well-documented influences of scholarship from the Islamic world on the universities of Western Europe to call for a reconsideration of the development of higher education, turning away from a concern with local institutional structures to a broader consideration within a global context.[34]


Their endowment by a prince or monarch and their role in training government officials made early Mediterranean universities similar to Islamic madrasas, although madrasas were generally smaller, and individual teachers, rather than the madrasa itself, granted the license or degree.[20] Scholars like Arnold H. Green and Hossein Nasr have argued that starting in the 10th century, some medieval Islamic madrasas became universities.[21][22] However, scholars like George Makdisi, Toby Huff and Norman Daniel[23] argue that the European university has no parallel in the medieval Islamic world.[24][25] Several other scholars consider the university as uniquely European in origin and characteristics.[26][27][28] Darleen Pryds questions this view, pointing out that madaris and European universities in the Mediterranean region shared similar foundations by princely patrons and were intended to provide loyal administrators to further the rulers' agenda