I have a book review out in History of Universities XXXVIII, no. 2 (2026).
The book I have reviewed is a monograph on Nordic universities in the long eighteenth century by Mikkel Munthe Jensen. It covers the changes universities in the Nordic region underwent in the long eighteenth century.
I started writing this review a good while ago, at the encouragement of Professor Mordechai Feingold (Caltech). But life, as it often does, came in the way and I didn’t find time to finish it. Later, Dr Robin Darwall-Smith (Oxford), who’s been very kind to me and helpful with my thesis research, asked me again after he also became editor of History of Universities. And this time, I finally sat down and finished my review.
The eighteenth century is generally considered a dull period for universities. Jensen shows that we should not disregard this period. Many interesting changes were happening within academia at the time. He also sheds light on a region of Europe often overlooked in university history: the Nordic region.
I won’t go into detail on that here. Not now. If you do have access through your university library, please read my book review, as well as all of the other reviews and articles in this fabulous volume of History of Universities, edited by Mordechai Feingold and Robin Darwall-Smith. And pick up Jensen’s book, too!
The full bibliographical info for the reviewed work is: Mikkel Munthe Jensen, Patriotism and Reform in Nordic Universities during the Long Eighteenth Century. (Oxford University Studies in the Enlightenment; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2023), pp. 416.
The review can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197908402.003.0012