•  
  •  
 

Keywords

academic civilization, modern civilization, civilization, institutions of higher education, secularization, expansion of academic institutions

Abstract

The concept of academic civilization was developed out of and in relation to that of modern civilization. Prominent characteristics of modern civilization are reflected in institutions of higher education, and they can therefore be regarded as constituting a civilization. The six main characteristics of institutions of higher education that render them a civilization include expansion in terms of scope and growth, flexibility and institutional diversity, center-periphery relations, academic culture, autonomy and academic freedom, and the monopolization of professional training and the professional middle class. This paper addresses the first characteristic — expansion of institutions of higher education — and demonstrates that this expansion process is parallel to that of modern civilization.

Share

COinS