Read complete books and articles on: Oxford University

Oxford University - at Oxford, England, one of the oldest English-language universities in the world. The university was a leading center of learning throughout the Middle Ages; such scholars as Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus, John Wyclif, and Bishop Grosseteste were associated with it. It has maintained an outstanding reputation, especially in the classics, theology, and political science

Colleges

Oxford Univ. has its beginnings in the early 12th cent. in groups of young scholars who gathered around the learned monks and teachers of the town. The system of residential colleges began with Merton College (1264), although University College and Balliol had been founded earlier. Consisting of a corporation of scholars and masters, having its own statutes, property, buildings, and customs, the medieval college maintained almost complete autonomy within the university, as it does today.

The present colleges, with their dates of founding, include University (1249), Balliol (1263), Merton (1264, for men), St. Edmund Hall (1269), Exeter (1314), Oriel (1326, for men), Queen's (1340), New (1379), Lincoln (1427), All Souls (1438, for male fellows), Magdalen (1458; pronounced môdˈlĭn), Brasenose (1509; pronounced brāzˈnōz), Corpus Christi (1516), Christ Church (1546, for men), Trinity (1554), St. John's (1555), Jesus (1571), Wadham (1610, charter received 1612), Pembroke (1624), Worcester (1714), Keble (1871), Hertford (1874), Lady Margaret Hall (1878, charter received 1926), Somerville (1879, charter received 1926, for women), St. Hugh's (1886, charter received 1926, for women), St. Hilda's (1893, charter received 1926, for women), St. Anne's (1893, charter received 1952), St. Peter's (1929, charter received 1961), St. Catherine's (1962), and Rewley House (1990). Nuffield (1937, charter received 1958), St. Antony's (1948, charter received 1953), Linacre (1962), St. Cross (1965), Wolfson (1965), and Green (1979) are postgraduate colleges of men and women. Most of the undergraduate colleges were founded as either men's or women's colleges and later became coeducational.

Faculties, Instruction, and Facilities

Oxford's faculties include theology, law, medicine, literae humaniores, modern history, English language and literature, modern languages, Oriental studies, Japanese studies, modern Middle Eastern studies, Slavonic and East European Studies, mathematics, physical sciences, biological sciences, physiological sciences, psychological studies, social studies, music, fine arts, archaeology and the history of art, and anthropology and geography.

Instruction at Oxford is by lectures and the tutorial system, by which each student writes a weekly paper on a prescribed subject and discusses it with his tutor. Women first received degrees in 1920, but they were not admitted to full university status until 1959. A large sum was left for scholarships for foreign students by Cecil Rhodes.

The Ashmolean Museum (see under Ashmole, Elias) and the Bodleian Library are notable features of the university. The Oxford Univ. Press was established by 1478, and the Oxford Union is a world-famous debating society. Until 1948 the university had two representatives in Parliament.

Bibliography

See C. E. Mallet, History of the University of Oxford (3 vol., 1924–27, repr. 1968); F. Markham, Oxford (1967); J. P. V. D. Balsdon, Oxford Now and Then (1970).

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Oxford University

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The History of the University of Oxford:Seventeenth-Century Oxford (Vol. IV) » Read Now
by Nicholas Tyacke. 1012 pgs.

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Volume IV of the magisterial History of the University of Oxford covers the seventeenth century, a period of institutional and intellectual expansion for the University and of religious and political tumult for Oxford in general. In this volume, leading experts examine Oxford and its University's...
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Volume IV of the magisterial History of the University of Oxford covers the seventeenth century, a period of institutional and intellectual expansion for the University and of religious and political tumult for Oxford in general. In this volume, leading experts examine Oxford and its University's role in the major British events of the century, including the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and the Restoration.
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2.

The History of the University of Oxford: The Eighteenth Century (Vol. V) » Read Now
by T. H. Aston. 958 pgs.

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3.

The History of the University of Oxford: Nineteenth-Century Oxford (Vol. VI) » Read Now
by M. G. Brock, M. C. Curthoys. 812 pgs.

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The University of Oxford saw far-reaching intellectual and institutional changes in the course of the nineteenth century, shifting from an Anglican institution in an Anglican state to an undenominational "free-thinking" institution. Volume VI of the magisterial History of the University explores the major developments of the period.
4.

The History of the University of Oxford: The Twentieth Century (Vol. VIII) » Read Now
by Brian Harrison. 872 pgs.

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This volume, the eighth in The History of the University of Oxford, shows how one of the world's major universities has responded to the formidable challenges offered by the twentieth century. Because Oxford's response has not taken a revolutionary or dramatic form, outside observers have not always...
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This volume, the eighth in The History of the University of Oxford, shows how one of the world's major universities has responded to the formidable challenges offered by the twentieth century. Because Oxford's response has not taken a revolutionary or dramatic form, outside observers have not always appreciated the scale of its transformation. Here full attention is given to the forces for change: the rapid growth in provision for the natural and social sciences; the advance of professionalism in scholarship, sport, and cultural achievement; the diffusion of international influences through Rhodes scholars, two world wars, and the University's mounting research priorities; the growing impact of government and of public funding; the steady advance of women; and the impact made by Oxford's broadened criteria for undergraduate admission. The volume also provides valuable background material for the discussion of educational policy. In short, its presents the reader with a rich cornucopia of insight into many aspects of British life.
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5.

Dons and Workers: Oxford and Adult Education since 1850 » Read Now
by Lawrence Goldman. 366 pgs.

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Dons and Workers is a history of university adult education in England. It focuses on the University of Oxford whose leading contribution to this movement presents an unfamiliar portrait of this "elitist" university and its influence on the nation. Lawrence Goldman considers the relationship between...
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Dons and Workers is a history of university adult education in England. It focuses on the University of Oxford whose leading contribution to this movement presents an unfamiliar portrait of this "elitist" university and its influence on the nation. Lawrence Goldman considers the relationship between intellectuals and the working class over the past century and a half, examining the role of adult education in the evolution from late-Victorian liberalism to twentieth-century socialism.
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6.

Georgian Oxford: University Politics in the Eighteenth Century » Read Now
by W. R. Ward. 298 pgs.

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...GEORGIAN OXFORD Oxford University Press, Amen House, London E.C.4 GLASGOW NEW...KUALA LUMPUR CAPE TOWN IBADAN NAIROBI ACCRA c Oxford University Press 1958 GEORGIAN OXFORD...
7.

Protestant Reformers in Elizabethan Oxford » Read Now
by C. M. Dent. 262 pgs.

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...REFORMERS IN ELIZABETHAN OXFORD C. M. DENT OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP London...Mexico City Nicosia Oxford is a trade...
8.

Decline of Donnish Dominion: The British Academic Professions in the Twentieth Century » Read Now
by A. H. Halsey. 386 pgs.

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In this intriguing study, the dean of educational sociologists traces the evolution of the present crisis in British higher education.
9.

Oxford: An Architectural Guide » Read Now
by Geoffrey Tyack. 370 pgs.

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Geoffrey Tyack chronicles the architectural development of Oxford and its university buildings from the 11th century to the present in this study that emphasises what is visible. The book features suggested walks that follow the text's descriptions.
10.

Oxford Life (1957) » Read Now
by Dacre Balsdon. 284 pgs.

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...College. Uncurious people. Oxford is a University, and it consists also of a...windows there are copies of Oxford University Examination Statutes 5s...anywhere in the world...
11.

The First Fifty Years of the Rhodes Trust and the Rhodes Scholarships, 1903-1953 » Read Now
by Godfrey Elton, Rhodes Scholarship Trust. 268 pgs.

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12.

Science at Oxford, 1914-1939: Transforming an Arts University » Read Now
by Jack Morrell. 473 pgs.

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The first work in English to examine the twentieth-century development of all the sciences at a major university, this book traces Oxford's period of rapid growth between the two World Wars from a school devoted explicitly to the liberal arts to an important institution for research and...
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The first work in English to examine the twentieth-century development of all the sciences at a major university, this book traces Oxford's period of rapid growth between the two World Wars from a school devoted explicitly to the liberal arts to an important institution for research and experimentation. Jack Morrell shows how this transformation occurred in spite of considerable opposition, detailing the various and ever-present financial, social, and political obstacles typical of the academy. This well-told tale will fascinate anyone interested in the institutionalization of science.
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13.

Wyclif and the Oxford Schools: The Relation of the "Summa de Ente" to Scholastic Debates at Oxford in the Later Fourteenth Century » Read Now
by J. A. Robson. 268 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library