The University and the Global Knowledge Society

David John Frank; John W. Meyer

Published by Princeton University Press 2020

The University and the Global Knowledge Society

David John Frank and John W. Meyer

Volume 6 in the series Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691202075

Overview
Contents

About this book

How the university went global and became the heart of the information age

The university is experiencing an unprecedented level of success today, as more universities in more countries educate more students in more fields. At the same time, the university has become central to a knowledge society based on the belief that everyone can, through higher education, access universal truths and apply them in the name of progress. This book traces the university's rise over the past hundred years to become the cultural linchpin of contemporary society, revealing how the so-called ivory tower has become profoundly interlinked with almost every area of human endeavor.

David John Frank and John Meyer describe how, as the university expanded, student and faculty bodies became larger, more diverse, and more empowered to turn knowledge into action. Their contributions to society underscored the public importance of scholarship, and as the cultural authority of universities grew they increased the scope of their research and teaching interests. As a result, the university has become the bedrock of today's information-based society, an institution that is now implicated in the solution to every conceivable problem.

But, as Frank and Meyer also show, the conditions that helped spur the university's recent ascendance are not immutable: eruptions of nationalism, authoritarianism, and illiberalism undercut the university's universalistic and rationalistic premises, and may threaten the centrality of the university itself.

Author / Editor information

David John Frank is professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, and the coauthor of Reconstructing the University. John W. Meyer is professor emeritus of sociology at Stanford University and the coauthor of Hyper-Organization and Science in the Modern World Polity.

Reviews

"This is more than a book on higher education: it explores modern humanity and its many ties to the knowledge produced and certified by universities. Frank and Meyer offer a significant contribution to social theory and our understanding of the evolution of society."—Christine Musselin, Sciences Po, Paris

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
1. The University as a World Institution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Worldwide Instantiation of the University Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
3. The University Population in World Society and University Organizations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
4. The Societal Culture of Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
5. The Human Actor and the Expansion of Academic Knowledge Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
6. The Expanded University and the Knowledge Society LINKAGES AND BOUNDARIES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
7. Reflections on the Global Knowledge Society Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177