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To many who walk their halls universities feel timeless, whether seen as ivied citadels of knowledge or ivory towers of privilege. However, this façade of durability has been punctured by recent controversies over research funding, inclusion, speech, and independence that recast the academy as a contested and surprisingly precarious domain. Far from immutable, American colleges have undergone four centuries of change, evolving from ministerial schools into billion-dollar institutions that concurrently sustain advanced research activities, residential communities of students, professional schools, and sports empires. Through a combination of seminar-style discussions and lectures, this course will cover the history of higher education in America from the colonial era to the present. It gives particular attention to topics such as the purposes of colleges and universities, their relation to their cities, states, and the federal government, curriculum and pedagogy, access and inclusion, academic freedom, funding structures, and campus culture. It will survey a range of different institutions, highlighting the multiplicity of higher education in the United States, but special focus will be given to the history of Johns Hopkins – the first American “research university,” which marks its sesquicentennial anniversary this year.