Changing the narratives of university history

Authors

• Anders Ahlbäck Helsingin yliopisto
• Laura Hollsten

Abstract

Our article discusses the methodology of university history in relation to the field of history of science. Many university histories contain parallel chronicles of the scientific and institutional development within different disciplines and faculties. Such histories can be both informative and analytical, yet they tend to compartmentalize the disciplines. In this article, we problematize traditional methodologies and call for new approaches to study the creation, reception and dissemination of academic knowledge at universities. Using an ongoing research project on the history of Åbo Akademi University in the twentieth century as a case study, we explore the possibilities and difficulties of an approach structured around a set of transverse social phenomena, characteristic of knowledge formation at universities.