Internationalism Reshaped, 1185–1800

Abstract

The University of Bologna celebrated its 900th anniversary in 1988. It was a grand and colourful party with academics travelling from fellow universities to take part: academic dress may be medieval but must now be brighter than the eleventh-century norm. The date was a bit arbitrary, but had a precedent as Bologna held its 800th celebration in 1888 in the first nationalist flush of Italy’s existence as a united country. Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, were both represented and the celebrations had an international touch, with support for a proposed ‘Bologna process’ of harmonising European higher education (see Chapter 9). The party demonstrated not only the resilience and survival of Europe’s universities but also their sense of family. The family was reminded that students and academics, learners and teachers, have always travelled with the pattern of their journeys woven into the university fabric.