Sydney

the Making of a Public University

Julia Horne and Geoff Sherington

Regular price $40.00 Sale

Format: hardback
356 pages
ISBN: 9780522861211

Publication: 13 Jan 2012

Publisher: Miegunyah Press

From its beginnings in 1850, the University of Sydney was created as an institution to suit the needs of New South Wales, not simply to reflect England's ancient universities. A founding principle was that academic merit alone regardless of religious beliefs or social upbringing would be the test for admission.

Sydney: the Making of a Public University explores the principle of public engagement and how it came into practice and was shaped by succeeding generations. From staff, students and curriculum, to sports, philanthropy, faiths and research, Julia Horne and Geoffrey Sherington probe the meaning of the first hundred and sixty years of Sydney University, one of the first public universities in the world.

Richly illustrated, Sydney: the Making of a Public University tells the story of the University of Sydney and its distinctively Australian character.

This is the hard cover with dust jacket edition.

Julia Horne is Professor of History at the University of Sydney. She works on the history and politics of Australian higher education, and her publications include Sydney: The Making of a Public University (Miegunyah Press, 2012, co-authored with Geoffrey Sherington) and Preserving the Past: The University of Sydney and the Unified National System of Higher Education 1987–96 (Melbourne University Publishing, 2017, co-authored with Stephen Garton).

Geoff Sherington is a professor in history of education at the University of Sydney.

"Sydney is an informative and important book. It manages to present many of the details that are core to university history—the achievements and eccentricities of staff, the enthusiasms of students, the curriculum reforms, and research “firsts”—with a lightness of touch that does not overwhelm its key arguments about the endurance and adaptability of the public university."
Kate Darian-Smith Journal of Australian Studies

"The volume is generously illustrated and has comprehensive footnotes, bibliography and index."
Anne-Maree Whitaker Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society

"The book is clearly organised around chapters on a student life, academic life, teaching and research. It is narrative history at its best likely to appeal to a wide audience. The book is amply illustrated with a large selection of captivating photographs covering student life, teaching beyond the lecture halls, academic life, field research and expeditions, social science research and students over time."
Anthony Potts History of Education Review