Wie sozialisiert man eine Hochschule? Die Eröffnungsfeiern der mittelalterlichen deutschen Universitäten und die Gründung der Erfurter Universität (28. April 1392)

In pre-Reformation Germany, nearly all university foundations culminated in elaborated opening celebrations which were closely linked to the local liturgy. This article tries to understand these well-recorded acts as rituals and asks how social knowledge of what a university actually was was transmitted to the non-academic environment. It shows that the opening celebrations were designed both to make the new institution acceptable and to distance it from its environment, thus reducing its vulnerability.     

Best Practice und Worst Case? Der Umgang mit der Hochschulzeitgeschichte an der Universität Jena und der Humboldt‐Universität: ein exemplarischer Vergleich

Best Practice vs. Worst Case? How East German Universities Deal with their Contemporary History: the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Jena. East German universities are often criticized for a lack of efforts to come to terms with their own history in the GDR. Two universities are regularly compared to illustrate the chances and shortcomings in this field: while the University of Jena is considered as very active in dealing with their own contemporary history the Humboldt University of Berlin is claimed to have substantial deficits. As a part of a general survey of the efforts of East German universities concerning their own contemporary history this contrastive picture is examined. It can be shown that the main differences between the two universities are less the intensity of historical self‐reflection but rather the thematic focus and the forms of presentation.