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Readings and discussion in English. Many of the issues we grapple with today regarding higher education have a long history dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the first modern universities were founded in Germany. What is the relation of research to teaching? How do we define scholarship? What is the difference between professional training and academic study? How do we distinguish secondary education from higher learning? What obligations does the university have vis-à-vis the state, which often finances it in whole or in part? What protections does the state owe the university when it pursues research that runs counter to the interests of state? What purpose does the ivory tower serve in an age in which higher learning is no longer limited to the classroom but is widely available (via books, radio, television, the internet)? In this class we will explore the rich literature from the nineteenth century on the idea of the university and the value of learning. We will conclude the course with an examination of the German roots of Johns Hopkins. Cross-listed with History