Comparison between medieval and modern universities

¶ … Rise of the Universities by Charles Haskins. Specifically, it will compare the experience of a medieval student at a university compared with that of a modern student here at Polytechnic University. The university experience is certainly not the same today as it was in medieval times, but there are more similarities than many people might believe, in fact, some of the similarities are quite startling in their commonality.

Clearly, medieval universities were quite different from the modern universities, and so, the experience of students was far different in medieval institutions of higher learning. First, medieval students did not enjoy many of the extra-curricular activities or even basic study assistants students enjoy today. As Haskins notes early in his book, "[T]he medieval university had no libraries, laboratories, or museums, no endowment or buildings of its own" (Haskins 2). He continues, "Such a university had [...] no college journalism, no dramatics, no athletics, none of those 'outside activities' which are the chief excuse for inside inactivity in the American college" (Haskins 2). Thus, the medieval student attended classes solely to learn and gain valuable knowledge, while modern universities, such as Polytechnic, are a blend of academic and social activities that turn out a well-rounded student, who can function academically and socially.

While the differences are apparent and quite compelling, there are some startling similarities to American universities of today in the lives of medieval students. First, the students were not afraid to protest when they were unhappy with the university and its professors' teaching methods. Haskins sites several instances of student discord and unrest, including student protests and riots during the rise of the universities (Haskins 11-15). Protests like this continue today, with students in large university organizing everything from marches to protest wars to strikes and boycotts to protest everything from academic grading to the food served in school cafeterias and food courts. In addition, there is a quite disturbing similarity between violence on college campuses today and in medieval times. Haskins mentions several instances of violence against teachers and other students in ancient universities, and this is quite similar to several attacks on college campuses today. It seems violence in society may not be as modern an institution as many people believe, and the records of medieval universities help bear this out.

Like modern students, medieval students also had to earn money to attend school. They raised money "by loans and by the sale of text-books" (Haskins 61), just like today's students selling back their books at the Polytechnic bookstore after every semester, and applying for student loans to fund the next semester. In addition, students liked to spend time together when they were not in class, and often banded together to party and hang out in town squares or in the streets of their university towns, just like students do today. Sometimes they were carried away with their celebrations, just like students do today, and some residents of the towns often complained about their behavior, just like today. In addition, just like today, sometimes the antics got out of hand. Haskins writes, "Many of them go about the streets armed, attacking the citizens, breaking into houses, and abusing women" (Haskins 62). There are also many different classes of students, from rich to poor, academic to struggling. It seems that motivation has been a perennial problem for students, as Haskins notes, "Many eat cakes when they ought to be at study, or go to sleep in the class-rooms, spending the rest of their time drinking in taverns or building castles in Spain" (Haskins 64). Thus, the students of today that so many adults and professors call "slackers" are not that very different from many of the students in medieval times. School is discipline and many young students struggle with discipline throughout their academic career. If anyone takes a short walk around the Polytechnic campus, these same students can be seen today - lingering over a cappuccino in the library or the commons, drinking a beer at one of the local bars, sleeping in or missing class, and sleeping in after a late night of partying with friends. Many of these students will eventually graduate after they manage to get their lives together, just as most of the medieval students managed to gain certificates of learning from their professors.

While many students had trouble with motivation, many others did not. Many of today's students are highly motivated and sure of their future, and so were many medieval students. A majority of the records that exist about medieval student life are from the students themselves, in the form of poetry, manuals, and letters (Haskins 66), and many of these were the top students of their time. Often, the students requested money in their letters, with books and lodging being the main costs for many students. Many other letters indicate that just as today, many students are loath to leave the university environment, and continue in their studies, become "perpetual students." Haskins continues, "Such youths were slow to quit academic life. Again and again the ask permission to have their term of study extended" (Haskins 81). Students looked forward to their summer breaks, and many of the wealthier students traveled during their breaks, visiting some of the more famous cities in Europe.

At the modern university, it is often the brash, reckless students who gain attention, and the studious scholars often blend into the background. This was also common in medieval universities. As Haskins notes, "The good student's occupations are best reflected in the course of study, his assiduity best seen in his note-books and disputations" (Haskins 90). Another walk around the Polytechnic campus would show these students too, but they do not stand out, so they might be harder to discover. They are the ones bent over their laptops in the library, laboriously taking notes from a stack of texts, and the ones with their lights on the latest in the dormitories, studying long after the rest of their roommates have disappeared for the night or have gone to sleep. These are the students who hold their professors responsible for their teaching, and are intent on learning as much as they can to ensure a bright future. All of the students at Polytechnic, or any university, are not that dedicated, but many of them are, and their roots lie in the very same type of students in medieval times. As Haskin states about medieval students, "In substance, though not in form, many of them are almost as representative of modern Harvard or Yale as of mediaeval Oxford or Paris" (Haskins 92). Many modern students might expect their age-old counterparts to be quite different from the students of today, but the truth is, there are far more commonalities than differences between the modern university student and the ancient scholar.