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The modern [[social sciences]], as well as all other forms of [[knowledge]], are primarily studied and taught in universities. Not all the social sciences disciplines can trace their [[origins]] directly back to the twelfth century when universities first appeared. Many evolved indirectly from subjects taught at the original universities, such as [[law]], [[logic]], [[philosophy]], and [[medicine]]. But the university’s main role in the development of the social sciences is primarily the result of manifold [[change]]s occurring in the second half of the nineteenth century. Demographic and urban growth, industrialization, democracy, and religious pluralism provided new arenas for academic [[inquiry]] and problem-solving and produced the array of disciplines commonly united under the heading of the social sciences. [[Economics]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], demography, [[psychology]], city planning, and history of science came of age as autonomous university-based disciplines.

The modern [[social sciences]], as well as all other forms of [[knowledge]], are primarily studied and taught in universities. Not all the social sciences disciplines can trace their [[origins]] directly back to the twelfth century when universities first appeared. Many evolved indirectly from subjects taught at the original universities, such as [[law]], [[logic]], [[philosophy]], and [[medicine]]. But the university’s main role in the development of the social sciences is primarily the result of manifold [[change]]s occurring in the second half of the nineteenth century. Demographic and urban growth, industrialization, democracy, and religious pluralism provided new arenas for academic [[inquiry]] and problem-solving and produced the array of disciplines commonly united under the heading of the social sciences. [[Economics]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], demography, [[psychology]], city planning, and history of science came of age as autonomous university-based disciplines.

==Origins==

==Origins==

As a special type of [[education]]al institution, universities emerged almost unnoticed in three locations: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna Bologna], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Paris], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford]. The circumstances were propitious. Trade had improved, cities were expanding, and municipal, imperial, and ecclesiastical authorities were in need of trained [[talent]]. Cities provided the necessary [[population]], the facilities, the markets, and the career opportunities. Student fees, gifts, and ecclesiastical resources supported [[teaching]], and universities were expected to help define and encourage [[religious]] [[belief]]. Until approximately the nineteenth century, most graduates of universities entered clerical careers, and most academics were ordained priests and ministers. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism Secularism] and pluralism called into question many religious assumptions. At the same time universities embraced new forms of [[critical]] and [[scientific]] [[thinking]], and as a consequence [[theology]] became just another subject rather than a primary [[focus]], even within [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_based faith-based] colleges.

As a special type of [[education]]al institution, universities emerged almost unnoticed in three locations: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna Bologna], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Paris], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford]. The circumstances were propitious. Trade had improved, cities were expanding, and municipal, imperial, and ecclesiastical authorities were in need of trained [[talent]]. Cities provided the necessary [[population]], the facilities, the markets, and the career opportunities. Student fees, gifts, and ecclesiastical resources supported [[teaching]], and universities were expected to help define and encourage [[religious]] [[belief]]. Until approximately the nineteenth century, most graduates of universities entered clerical careers, and most academics were ordained priests and ministers. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism Secularism] and pluralism called into question many religious assumptions. At the same time universities embraced new forms of [[critical]] and [[scientific]] [[thinking]], and as a consequence [[theology]] became just another subject rather than a primary [[focus]], even within [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_based faith-based] colleges.

In the beginning, the [[intellectual]], [[philosophical]], and scientific starting point of all [[teaching]] and [[learning]] was the [[corpus]] of encyclopedic writings mainly but not solely derived from [[Aristotle]], preserved by [[Arabic]] scholars and transmitted to Italy in what historians have called the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_of_the_twelfth_century Renaissance of the Twelfth Century]. This was the first of two revivals of ancient [[Greek]] and [[Latin]] learning in the Western world, the second commencing with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_renaissance Italian Renaissance] of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The medieval [[curriculum]] itself derived from the seven Roman liberal arts of [[logic]], [[rhetoric]], [[grammar]], dialectic, [[astronomy]], [[music]], [[geometry]], and [[arithmetic]], but these were regarded as preparation for the professions of medicine, law (civil and canonical), and divinity rather than subjects in their own right. All were grouped into administrative structures called “faculties.” Although at first glance the seven liberal arts appear to be limited to [[mathematical]] and [[language]] studies, the process of teaching and expounding them furthered their development as multifaceted disciplines.

In the beginning, the [[intellectual]], [[philosophical]], and scientific starting point of all [[teaching]] and [[learning]] was the [[corpus]] of encyclopedic writings mainly but not solely derived from [[Aristotle]], preserved by [[Arabic]] scholars and transmitted to Italy in what historians have called the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_of_the_twelfth_century Renaissance of the Twelfth Century]. This was the first of two revivals of ancient [[Greek]] and [[Latin]] learning in the Western world, the second commencing with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_renaissance Italian Renaissance] of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The medieval [[curriculum]] itself derived from the seven Roman liberal arts of [[logic]], [[rhetoric]], [[grammar]], dialectic, [[astronomy]], [[music]], [[geometry]], and [[arithmetic]], but these were regarded as preparation for the professions of medicine, law (civil and canonical), and divinity rather than subjects in their own right. All were grouped into administrative structures called “faculties.” Although at first glance the seven liberal arts appear to be limited to [[mathematical]] and [[language]] studies, the process of teaching and expounding them furthered their development as multifaceted disciplines.

By the early modern period hundreds of universities had been founded in Europe by both secular and religious authorities, spreading from the Atlantic to Russia. During the ages of exploration Spain and Portugal established universities in their New World colonial territories, primarily to train imperial administrators and priests. Further north, the British settlements, beginning with Massachusetts, established university colleges to provide the colonies with an educated class. The first university in Japan came at the end of the nineteenth century, and in China in the twentieth. By the nineteenth century the utility of universities and college alternatives was so clearly accepted that governing elites associated their [[existence]] with the [[health]] of a modern bureaucratic [[state]] and [[economy]].

By the early modern period hundreds of universities had been founded in Europe by both secular and religious authorities, spreading from the Atlantic to Russia. During the ages of exploration Spain and Portugal established universities in their New World colonial territories, primarily to train imperial administrators and priests. Further north, the British settlements, beginning with Massachusetts, established university colleges to provide the colonies with an educated class. The first university in Japan came at the end of the nineteenth century, and in China in the twentieth. By the nineteenth century the utility of universities and college alternatives was so clearly accepted that governing elites associated their [[existence]] with the [[health]] of a modern bureaucratic [[state]] and [[economy]].

==New Knowledge and Structures==

==New Knowledge and Structures==

There is a popular tendency to regard universities as conservative institutions and resistant to [[change]]. Academic costumes, rituals, and ceremonies provide an impression of unbroken [[tradition]] through the ages, as do the forms of teaching. But the conservatism of universities is merely apparent. Sometimes deliberately, but often accidentally, the pursuit of learning by its very [[nature]] yields new conceptions, [[methods]] of [[inquiry]], and startling [[intellectual]] [[movements]]. Two of the most closely studied are the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_revolution scientific revolution] of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the transformation of the liberal arts during the Italian Renaissance.

There is a popular tendency to regard universities as conservative institutions and resistant to [[change]]. Academic costumes, rituals, and ceremonies provide an impression of unbroken [[tradition]] through the ages, as do the forms of teaching. But the conservatism of universities is merely apparent. Sometimes deliberately, but often accidentally, the pursuit of learning by its very [[nature]] yields new conceptions, [[methods]] of [[inquiry]], and startling [[intellectual]] [[movements]]. Two of the most closely studied are the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_revolution scientific revolution] of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the transformation of the liberal arts during the Italian Renaissance.

In both cases examples can be found of innovations that grew out of the scholarly methods taught at universities. But there was also internal resistance. The heliocentric universe described by the Polish astronomer [[Copernicus]] (1473–1543) and publicized by the Italian [[physicist]] [[Galileo]] (1564–1642) undermined theological assumptions about the [[purpose]], scale, and [[physical]] laws governing the [[cosmos]]. As a consequence, subsequent generations of scientists gravitated to newly establish royal societies where they could work unimpeded. In the same way, humanistic scholars using new critical methods of historical [[analysis]] founded academies where the liberal arts could be taught from a different [[perspective]]. Ruling elites were in favor. They desired [[education]] more closely focused on statecraft and better suited to the growing [[individualist]] [[culture]]s of the Renaissance. Yet intellectual cooperation between universities and the outside world never altogether ceased.

In both cases examples can be found of innovations that grew out of the scholarly methods taught at universities. But there was also internal resistance. The heliocentric universe described by the Polish astronomer [[Copernicus]] (1473–1543) and publicized by the Italian [[physicist]] [[Galileo]] (1564–1642) undermined theological assumptions about the [[purpose]], scale, and [[physical]] laws governing the [[cosmos]]. As a consequence, subsequent generations of scientists gravitated to newly establish royal societies where they could work unimpeded. In the same way, humanistic scholars using new critical methods of historical [[analysis]] founded academies where the liberal arts could be taught from a different [[perspective]]. Ruling elites were in favor. They desired [[education]] more closely focused on statecraft and better suited to the growing [[individualist]] [[culture]]s of the Renaissance. Yet intellectual cooperation between universities and the outside world never altogether ceased.

Disciplines alter over time, but so does the organization of teaching. Within a century or two of the founding of universities, colleges joined faculties as centers of instruction, improved [[discipline]], and residence for students and instructors. Colleges were either freestanding or connected to existing universities, and among the most academically enterprising and successful were the Jesuit foundations of the Counter-Reformation. By the nineteenth century, however, colleges had largely disappeared from Europe, except for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_oxford Oxford] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge Cambridge], where they remain, or in America with its distinct family of liberal arts colleges. Other examples of new administrative and teaching structures that arose, especially in the later centuries, are disciplinary departments, scientific laboratories, botanical gardens, observatories, art museums, marine biological stations, and ethnographical institutes. Libraries continued to buttress all [[pedagogical]] efforts.

Disciplines alter over time, but so does the organization of teaching. Within a century or two of the founding of universities, colleges joined faculties as centers of instruction, improved [[discipline]], and residence for students and instructors. Colleges were either freestanding or connected to existing universities, and among the most academically enterprising and successful were the Jesuit foundations of the Counter-Reformation. By the nineteenth century, however, colleges had largely disappeared from Europe, except for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_oxford Oxford] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge Cambridge], where they remain, or in America with its distinct family of liberal arts colleges. Other examples of new administrative and teaching structures that arose, especially in the later centuries, are disciplinary departments, scientific laboratories, botanical gardens, observatories, art museums, marine biological stations, and ethnographical institutes. Libraries continued to buttress all [[pedagogical]] efforts.

Eventually the [[radical]] curricular changes associated with the early modern period were fully embraced by universities. As a consequence, the thrust of universities changed from places that mainly preserved and disseminated inherited [[learning]], however modified in [[practice]], to places devoted to discovering new knowledge. [[Research]] as the primary missions of universities is usually said to have started in Germany with the [[foundation]] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Berlin University of Berlin] in 1809; there were, however, earlier [[manifestations]]. Yet [[universal]] adoption of the research [[ethic]] was a [[phenomenon]] of the second half of the century, burgeoning in the century that followed.

Eventually the [[radical]] curricular changes associated with the early modern period were fully embraced by universities. As a consequence, the thrust of universities changed from places that mainly preserved and disseminated inherited [[learning]], however modified in [[practice]], to places devoted to discovering new knowledge. [[Research]] as the primary missions of universities is usually said to have started in Germany with the [[foundation]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Berlin University of Berlin] in 1809; there were, however, earlier [[manifestations]]. Yet [[universal]] adoption of the research [[ethic]] was a [[phenomenon]] of the second half of the century, burgeoning in the century that followed.

==Academic Freedom==

==Academic Freedom==

The universities of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_ages Middle Ages] were genuinely international. The [[curriculum]] was similar, and the language of instruction was Latin. Students migrated to the leading centers from all corners of Europe. But the spread and popularity of [[vernacular]] [[languages]], combined with [[political]] and [[religious]] divisions in the early modern period, altered the [[pattern]]s of student mobility. Universities became more conspicuously national. Regarded as extensions of [[state]] [[power]], the [[political]] loyalty of academics was under continual scrutiny.

The universities of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_ages Middle Ages] were genuinely international. The [[curriculum]] was similar, and the language of instruction was Latin. Students migrated to the leading centers from all corners of Europe. But the spread and popularity of [[vernacular]] [[languages]], combined with [[political]] and [[religious]] divisions in the early modern period, altered the [[pattern]]s of student mobility. Universities became more conspicuously national. Regarded as extensions of [[state]] [[power]], the [[political]] loyalty of academics was under continual scrutiny.

Academic commitment to [[religious]] orthodoxy was also closely watched during the early modern period. The wars between Protestants and Roman Catholics created church and state alliances unknown in the centuries of a [[universal]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christendom Christendom]. But no matter how threatening the new conditions to academic [[freedom]] and institutional [[autonomy]] were, they did not compare to the calamities inflicted on universities, [[teaching]], and freedom of [[inquiry]] by [[totalitarian]] regimes and nondemocratic governments of the twentieth century and afterward.  

Academic commitment to [[religious]] orthodoxy was also closely watched during the early modern period. The wars between Protestants and Roman Catholics created church and state alliances unknown in the centuries of a [[universal]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christendom Christendom]. But no matter how threatening the new conditions to academic [[freedom]] and institutional [[autonomy]] were, they did not compare to the calamities inflicted on universities, [[teaching]], and freedom of [[inquiry]] by [[totalitarian]] regimes and nondemocratic governments of the twentieth century and afterward.  

The historical lessons clearly show that [[knowledge]] [[growth]] requires both external and internal freedom. Although universities originally developed as self-governing institutions with the right to own and dispose of property, they are only as free and independent as their societies and governments allow. And they are only as tolerant and open-minded in [[teaching]] and [[learning]] as are the [[devotion]] to those [[ideals]] of professors and students.

The historical lessons clearly show that [[knowledge]] [[growth]] requires both external and internal freedom. Although universities originally developed as self-governing institutions with the right to own and dispose of property, they are only as free and independent as their societies and governments allow. And they are only as tolerant and open-minded in [[teaching]] and [[learning]] as are the [[devotion]] to those [[ideals]] of professors and students.