Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China

by William C. Kirby

Overview

The modern university was born in Germany. In the twentieth century, the United States leapfrogged Germany to become the global leader in higher education. Will China challenge its position in the twenty-first?

Today American institutions dominate nearly every major ranking of global universities. Yet in historical terms, America’s preeminence is relatively new, and there is no reason to assume that US schools will continue to lead the world a century from now. Indeed, America’s supremacy in higher education is under great stress, particularly at its public universities. At the same time Chinese universities are on the ascent. Thirty years ago, Chinese institutions were reopening after the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution; today they are some of the most innovative educational centers in the world. Will China threaten American primacy?

Empires of Ideas looks to the past two hundred years for answers, chronicling two revolutions in higher education: the birth of the research university and its integration with the liberal education model. William C. Kirby examines the successes of leading universities—The University of Berlin and the Free University of Berlin in Germany; Harvard, Duke, and the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States—to determine how they rose to prominence and what threats they currently face. Kirby draws illuminating comparisons to the trajectories of three Chinese contenders: Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, and the University of Hong Kong, which aim to be world-class institutions that can compete with the best the United States and Europe have to offer.

But Chinese institutions also face obstacles. Kirby analyzes the challenges that Chinese academic leaders must confront: reinvesting in undergraduate teaching, developing new models of funding, and navigating a political system that may undermine a true commitment to free inquiry and academic excellence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674737716
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/05/2022
Pages:	504
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

William C. Kirby is Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration and T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University, as well as Chair of the Harvard China Fund and Faculty Chair of the Harvard Center Shanghai. His many books include Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction: The "World-Class" University 1

1 The University in Germany: A Historical Introduction 17

2 The Modern Original: The University of Berlin 26

3 Truth, Justice, and Freedom in a Cold War World: Free University of Berlin 63

4 The Rise and Challenges of American Research Universities 97

5 Rising through Change and through Storm: Harvard University 112

6 Public Mission, Private Funding: The University of California, Berkeley 167

7 Outrageous Ambitions: Duke University 201

8 A Chinese Century? The Revival and Rise of Chinese Universities 236

9 From Preparatory Academy to National Flagship: Tsinghua University 267

10 The Burden of History: Nanjing University 302

11 Asia's Global University? The University of Hong Kong 337

Conclusion: Lessons and Prospects 376

Notes 397

Index 475

Editorial Reviews

This superb and compelling book is both a vast scholarly achievement and an essential guide to the future of universities under conditions of increasing global competitiveness. It places contemporary trends in their historical context and draws on Kirby’s unique personal experiences of engagement with some leading universities in three countries. It is essential reading for everyone interested in the future of higher education and research as a global phenomenon.

Sir Malcolm Grant

William Kirby’s new book is unique. I know of nothing else on higher education that resembles it in breadth, scope, and sheer comparative information and analysis. He has plotted the rise and evolution of the modern university in three major societies—Germany, the United States, and China—in a way that illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of each model. Anyone interested in the nature of universities during the past two centuries will want to read this volume.

Neil L. Rudenstine

This timely and important book by one of the world’s leading historians on global higher education makes the compelling case that the center of innovation and creativity is and always has been moving within the highly competitive global landscape of universities. Kirby cogently argues that in recent decades we witness a shift of the dynamics to China. Government backing and incentives have greatly enhanced China’s innovation potential in higher education. The growing success of Chinese universities discredits the idea that only the West is amenable to innovation. A must-read!

Klaus Mühlhahn

Kirby is in a unique position to tell this story, since nobody else can equal his extensive knowledge of the subject. His insights take us behind the scenes and beyond the university rankings. Fascinating and compelling.

Yingyi Qian

Empires of Ideas offers deep insights on the practical achievement of institutional excellence, as well as the relationship between power and learning. The book raises profound questions about the outlook for America’s public universities as state governments continue to cut educational budgets, and the country’s ability to compete globally with other institutions in Europe and China. This learned work is a tour de force in the art of academic governance.

Wen-hsin Yeh

This book takes off from the simple if little explored idea that no country has emerged as a great power without also developing great universities. But what feature of universities have allowed them to play this role, and how might the answer change over space and time? To answer this question, Kirby sets off on a comparative history of emerging models of higher education ranging from Germany in the early nineteenth century through twentieth-century United States to the China of this very day. With his extraordinary breadth of curiosity and equal ease in the histories and cultures of these countries, only Bill Kirby could have written this book. It is must-reading for everyone who cares about universities, a thought-provoking lesson in the strange mix of durability and vulnerability that defines this key modern institution.

Richard Brodhead

Substantive on virtually every page, the author actually understands how universities work…An impressive performance.

Marginal Revolution - Tyler Cowen

Although Empires of Ideas is nominally about the rise of the research university from its origins in 19th-century Germany though America’s global leadership in the 20th, it will probably be what Kirby has to say about China in the 21st that will generate the most interest…Rigorous in its arguments, Empires of Ideas is also well-written.

Asian Review of Books - Peter Gordon

Rather than offering an overview of the university landscape, Kirby adopts the case-based approach employed in the curricula of the Harvard Business School. He traces the history of eight institutions whose trajectories he views as exemplary…There are advantages to Kirby’s case study approach. Tracing the history of an individual institution offers the reader a vivid sense of the interplay of historical contingency, policy mandates, and individual actors.

Issues in Science and Technology - Robert Frodeman

Timely…he makes a powerful argument about what it takes to be a leading university dedicated to the creation of new knowledge…Kirby’s book shows how catalytic is the combination of strong nations and universities that advance knowledge and foster critical and creative thinking. Now more, perhaps, than ever.

Wall Street Journal - Michael S. Roth

A lively and insightful analysis of modern research universities in three key countries. Kirby is the perfect author—he brings personal experience of each country, academic expertise, and an analytic framework. Empires of Ideas provides an unparalleled perspective on the origins and contemporary challenges of research universities.

Philip G. Altbach

A masterful account of higher education in Germany, the United States, and China.

University Bookman - Lee Trapanier

Kirby offers an excellent, thorough historical account of the modern research institution told through eight case studies. Its informative chapters successfully place the contemporary moment in higher education in the longue durée of postsecondary education – a story that, after two hundred years, is still unfolding.

History of Education Quarterly - William Krause

Kirby weaves together traditional historical analysis with personal narratives and experiences with German, American, and Chinese higher education systems…Offers a genuine insider’s glimpse into the inner workings of these universities.

Hansa Review of Books - Ryan M. Allen

What factors make research universities great—and, conversely, what variables threaten these institutions’ eminence? [Kirby’s] case studies are highly revealing…[A] fascinating book.

Inside Higher Ed - Steven Mintz

Engrossing.

Foreign Policy - Howard W. French