Synopses & Reviews
For two hundred years Oxford and Cambridge Universities were home to some of Britain's greatest teachers and intellects, each forming the minds of the passing generations of students and influencing the thinking and practice of university learning throughout the country and the world.
In this entertaining, informative book, Noel Annan is at his incisive best. Displaying his customary mastery of his subject, he describes the great dons in all their glory and eccentricities: who they were, what they were like, why they mattered, and what their legacy is. Written with love and wisdom, the great minds of the pastand#8212;figures such as John Henry Newman, John Sparrrow, and Isaiah Berlinand#8212;are brought alive. In addition, Annan's often quoted article "The Intellectual Aristocracy" is included in this book.
No other work has ever explained so precisely and so intimately the significance of the dons and their important role in shaping higher educationand#8212;at a time when the nature of learning is ever more the subject of dissension and uncertainty.
Synopsis
AcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsIntroductionsI. The Dons Create an Intellectual AristocracyII. The Genesis of the Modern Don--William BucklandIII. The Charismatic Don--John Henry NewmanIV. Benjamin Jowett and the Balliol TraditionV. The Don as Scholar--Frederic MaitlandVI. The Pastoral Don--The Ethos of King'sVII. The Trinity Scientists--J.J. and RutherfordVIII. The Don as Wit--Maurice BowraIX. The Don as Performer--George RylandsX. The Don as Dilettante--John SparrowXI. The Don as Magus--Isaiah BerlinXII. Women Dons in CambridgeXIII. The Don as AdministratorXIV. "Down with Dons"Annexe: The Intellectual AristocracyIndex
Synopsis
For two hundred years Oxford and Cambridge Universities were home to some of Britain's greatest teachers and intellects, each forming the minds of the passing generations of students and influencing the thinking and practice of university learning throughout the country and the world.
In this entertaining, informative book, Noel Annan is at his incisive best. Displaying his customary mastery of his subject, he describes the great dons in all their glory and eccentricities: who they were, what they were like, why they mattered, and what their legacy is. Written with love and wisdom, the great minds of the past--figures such as John Henry Newman, John Sparrrow, and Isaiah Berlin--are brought alive. In addition, Annan's often quoted article "The Intellectual Aristocracy" is included in this book.
No other work has ever explained so precisely and so intimately the significance of the dons and their important role in shaping higher education--at a time when the nature of learning is ever more the subject of dissension and uncertainty.
Synopsis
"[A] wonderfully gifted and energetic writer. . . . Noel was one of the few figures in English public life known simply by his first name. There was no mistaking him for anyone else."-Jonathan Mirsky,
New YorkerFor over two hundred years, Oxford and Cambridge were home to some of Britain's greatest teachers, each forming the minds of students and influencing the practice of university learning everywhere. These teachers-the "dons"-are at the heart of this lovingly crafted and supremely engaging book. Noel Annan, a member of the rank himself, recalls these great minds in all their glorious idiosyncrasy, reminding us who they were, what they were like, and why they mattered.
About the Author
Noel Annan (1916-2000) was elected provost of King's College, Cambridge, at age thirty-nine and went on to become the first full-time vice-chancellor of the University of London. He is perhaps best known for his book Our Age and for his often-quoted article "The Intellectual Aristocracy," reprinted here.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Introductions
I. The Dons Create an Intellectual Aristocracy
II. The Genesis of the Modern Donand#8212;William Buckland
III. The Charismatic Donand#8212;John Henry Newman
IV. Benjamin Jowett and the Balliol Tradition
V. The Don as Scholarand#8212;Frederic Maitland
VI. The Pastoral Donand#8212;The Ethos of King's
VII. The Trinity Scientistsand#8212;J.J. and Rutherford
VIII. The Don as Witand#8212;Maurice Bowra
IX. The Don as Performerand#8212;George Rylands
X. The Don as Dilettanteand#8212;John Sparrow
XI. The Don as Magusand#8212;Isaiah Berlin
XII. Women Dons in Cambridge
XIII. The Don as Administrator
XIV. "Down with Dons"
Annexe: The Intellectual Aristocracy
Index