Durkheim on French Universities

8/22/2019 Durkheim on French Universities

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Reports and DocumentsE M IL E D U R K H E I M O N T H E F R E N C H

U N I V E R S I T I E S IINTRODUCTORY N O T E

IN 1900, Paris was the scene of n ume rou s int erna tion al congresses held incon jun cti on with the Exposition universelle of that yea r One of these wasthe Congr~s int ern atio nal de l'6duc ation sociale, domin ated by the r emark ableradical republican politician, L6on Bourgeois. Despite the 54 foreigners inattenda nce, the Congr~s was essentially a Fr en ch affair which brought togetherma ny of those who wished to see Fren ch society move towards greater provisionfor the welfare of its members. During the preceding decade, influentialpoliticians, administrators and intellectuals, motivated b y a complex mixtu re ofaltruism an d self-interest, had come to the conc lusion that only extensivemeasures of social welfare to improve the condition of the lower classes couldsave contemporary society from violent revolution and socialist collectivism.Bourgeois sought to prov ide the intellectual and institutional conditions whichwould uni fy the variou s groups and individuals pursuin g diverse aspects of thisgoal. His book, L a S o l i d a r i t d , which had appeared in 1896, set forth aphilosophy of social reform. By 1901, Bourgeois had succeeded in making"s oli da ris m" the official doctrine of the newly-constituted Radical a ndRadical-Socialist Party which domi nat ed Fre nch go vernmen ts for most of thenext four decades, z

Bourgeois argued that since individuals were depe nden t on society for allthey possessed, they owed a debt to society. Since the debt of those born towealth and com fort was especially great, they h ad a special responsibil ity tocontribut e, through a gra duated inc ome tax, to the welfare of the less fortunate.Society was based on a quasi-contract requiring a general consensus whichcould be achieved only if unjustified inequalities were eliminated. Althoughthey agreed that certain tasks could be discharged only by the state, solidaristsemphasised the role of pri,cate associati ons-- mutua l-aid societies, produce r andconsu mer cooperatives, trade u nion s and pop ula r universities. Besides providingremedies for particular evils .of capitalistic society, these also afforded practicaltraining in solidarity. Solidarism embraced both the self-interested solidarityof the small association and the sol idarity of all s~ciety. The dooWine aimed toachieve cooperation between classes--and between states--in place of conflictand violence. The wealthy were urged to share some of their wealth, the poorwere urged to pursue the ir legitimate grievances through gradua l reforms whichdid not call capitalist society into question.

1 Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was one of the most outstanding sociologists of the pastcentury. The essay printed here has been discovered by Dr. George Weisz who has alsotranslated it and supplied the introduction and notes. [Editor.]2 On the solidarist movement, see Haywood, J. E. S., " Solidarity: the Social History ofan Idea in 19th Century France ", I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e v i e w o f S o c i a l H i s t o r y , IV, 2 (1959);" The Official Social Philosophy of the French Third Republic: L6on Bourgeois and Solidar-ism ", ib id . , VI, 1 (1961); " Educational Pressure Groups and the Indoctrination of theRadical Ideology of Socialism, 1895-1914 ", ib id . , VIII, 1 (1963); and " Solidarist Syndical-ism: Durkheim and Duguit ", in S o c i o l o g i c a l R e v i e w , VIII, 1 (July 1960), pp. 17-36, andVIII, 2 (December 1960), pp. 185-202. Also see chapters on the subject in Scott, J. A.,R e p u b l i c a n I d e a s a n d t h e L i b e r a l T r a d i t i o n i n F r a n c e : 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 1 4 (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1951); and Zeldin, Theodore, France 1848-1945, vol. I: A m b i t i o n , L o v ea n d P o l i t ic s (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1973).


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378 R e p o r t s a n d D o c u m e n t sEveryth ing hi ng ed on education, `which al one seemed capable of spreadingan appreciation of the principles of solidarity and of overcoming the narrow

special interests which blocked attempts at reform. The Congr~s sought, in thewords of its organising committee, to determine scientifically "the conditionsfor the vo lunta ry establishment of associations between atl men ", and th en tofind ways to disseminate these n otio ns effectively. Onc e constit uted, socialeduca tion .was to teach "e ac h individua l to ,become a useful and self-consciousmember of society-.3The solidarist idiom became the vogue amon g republicans, even amo ng thoseopposed to measures of social reform; the gov ernme nt gave enthusiastic supportto the Congr~s.~ Numerous politicians, administrators and academics partici-pated, as did moderate la bo ur leaders. Bourgeois himself presented his ideaof the social contract; Arthur Fontaine, director of labour in the Ministry ofCommerce , discussed solidarity in the er sphere; the economist, CharlesGide, who was also active in the cooperative movement, assessed the differenttypes of associations in te rm s of their value in developing solidarity am ongmembers. A special section was devoted to the spread of sofidarist principlesthrough education. It was in this section that t~mile Durkheim presented hispaper on universities.5 He was at the time professor at the Universit.6 deBordeaux.

Durkheim had been only marginally active .in solidarist politics; he himselfdid not attend the confere nce. His thought however had been moving in asympathetic direction. In 1893, he had published D e l a d i v i s i o n d u t r a v a i ls o c i a l which was the most impressive formulation of the basic principles ofsolidarism. The Congr6s, which brought together so many eminent andinttuenti.al men, provi ded h im with a u niq ue ,platform from ,which to pu rsuehis campa ign, for the establishme nt of sociology throug hout the educa tionalsystem, and to .argue for its import ance in the mora l impro veme nt of Fren chsociety.The definitive Victory of rep ubli cani sm in the late 1870s had bee n followedby a major campaignto transform French higher education. Thenumbers ofstudents and of subjects taught multiplied dramatically, an d successive govern-ments made large appropriations for adv ance dres earc h and higher education..Research became o n e of the accepted responsibilities of the unive rsity teacher.Unive rsity centre s ,were established in 1896-97 to replace ~he system of separate.and unconn ecte d faculties. Each university centre made serious efforts to adaptits research an d teaching to the econ.omic impro veme nt of the c ountry and toprepare students for the new types of professions.6 Many professors who wishedto improve the status and emoluments of the academic profession, recognisedthe desira~bility .-of ma jo r changes, which migh t ex tend the fun ct ion s of h ighereducation and make it more central to social and economic life. Certainbusinessmen and politicians had be en -co nc ern ed with French economicexpansion and had been deeply impressed by the contributions of Germanuniversities to their country's development.

3 Congr~s in tern at ion al de l 'educ at ion sociale , 26-30 Sep tem ber , 1900 (Paris: FElix Alcan.1901), pp. ix-xi, xv.4 The Congr~s was under the official patronage of the Ministry of Public Instruction.According to the introductory report by the secretary-general of the organising committee,the Minister of the Interior " invited " the prefects to support the work of the committeeand the Minister Of Commerce soon followed his example (Congr ds . . . p. 3).~ Role des universit6es dans l'6ducation sociale du pays ", in Congr ds . . . . pp. 128-138.6 See Weisz, George, " The Academic Elite and the Movement to Reform French HigherEducation. 1850-1885 ", unpublished'Ph.D:, dissertation (Stony Brook, N.Y.: State Universityof New York. 1976).


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l ~ m i l e D u r k h e i m o n t h e F r e n c h U n i v e r s i t i e s 379Nonetheless, the persistent effort to reform higher education by: such leadingrepublicans as Jules Fer ry, Ren6 Goblet and L~on Bourgeois, derived essentially

from their faith in the intellectual and moral potentialities of the universities.They attributed the social and political conflicts which had afflicted France forover a century to the intellectual and religious divisions produced by the gradualgrowth of democracy and the seculari'sat,ion of French society. Much influencedby positivism, they looked to the universities to promulgate a system of politicaland moral principles through the application of scientific procedures to socialand political questions. The result would ,be a scientific morality, a se t ofscientifically valid propositions acceptable to all rational and well-intentionedmen. The upper classes of the country, bitterly divided by political .and religiousdifferences, would thereby regain their unity. The lower classes would learn toface social problems with patience and moderation. Primary and secondaryschools, which affected such a large part of the youth, were to be the mainfocus of .republican educational politics. It was for higher education to developthe ideas taught in the first two stages of education and it was also to play anincreasingly important .role in disseminating them.From 1880 to 1900, a great deal of attention was devoted to the intellectualand moral functions of higher education, but, except for the training ofsecondary school teachers, little was done in a systematic fashion. The reformand expansion of the universities was haphazard and occurred in response toa wide variety of contradictory demands. In principle, everyone admitted theimportance .of the intellectual and moral functions of the universities, but, inpractice, there were always far more immediate and pressing issues to be dearwith. The inadequacy of the achievements of the universities in this regardbecame especially manifest during the Dreyfus affair which made it clear thatsocial, religious and political conflicts had lost none of their intensity: Manyyounger scholars, who had no t participated directly in the reform movement,began to question its achievements and came to the conclusion that "socialand moral education " had been neglected in all 'branches of study. Paul Crouzet,a young l y c d e professor who ~vas soon to become an influential administrator,addressed the Congrbs de renseignement des sciences sociales, which also metin 1900, about the failure to at tain the original goals of republican education.Patriotism in the schools, he argued, had contributed .to the spread of narrow-minded r e v a n c h i s m e , Individualism had permitted the exploitation of the weakby the strong and had led to the most narrow occupational solidarity of theexploited. It was time to adapt education to the task of making individualsinto good citizens, r This was the task to which Durldaeim addressed himself.

GEORGE WEISZ

r In Le Pre mie r congrbs~ de 1;enseignement des scien ces sociales (Paris: F61ix Alcan,:1901), pp. 237-238.


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380 Reports and DocumentsTHE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE SOCIAL

EDUCATION OF THE COUNTRYI ~ M I L E D U R K H E I M

AN account of the universities' contribution to the social education of thecountry up to now would be very brief, for universities are o~y beginningto become concerned with this aspect of their task. The men of initiativewho set out to reorganise our higher education after the war of 1870,naturally focused on the most urgent needs. Therefore, they sought toprovide our reawakening faculties with what was and still is the first condi-tion of their existence: vigorous and productive instruction. They desiredto transform each of our universities into a centre of scientific life. To thisend, they trained teachers who loved and respected science and who wereincapable of any .compromises which would taint its dignity. And theseteachers were given students who were asked only to allow themselves tobecome imbued with this salutary discipline. Before anything else, it wasessential to put an end to the erroneous old habits which had too often madepublic lecture courses degenerate into lectures for high society, and whichforced teachers to look outside the student community for a public to whichthey could address themselves. 1 As a result, higher education increasinglytook on an esoteric character; and its influence was restricted to the narrowconfines of the university. University studies sealed themselves off fromexternal distractions. But, by the same token, they isolated themselvessomewhat from the surrounding society, and the teachers relinquished themeans for playing their rightful role in the larger life o~ the country. Notonly was the entire effort focused on students, but the very culture beingdisseminated was almost exclusively intellectual. Students were trained topractise proper scientific methods, but the notion gained ground thatuniversities should not occupy themselves with their moral education. Thismoral education was supposed to be complete once the student hadgraduated from the lyc~e. In any event, it was believed that the studentshould fend for himself in this respect and that the university professor wasresponsible for the intellect ralher than for mo,ral and social co,nvictions.

We believe that the time has come for universities to put an end to theirisolation. It is in the interests of the country that they expand their sphereof influence. They can only convey the true measure of their social utilityby ending their withdrawal and by involving themselves more in public life,Higher education is hardly an unnecessary luxury for democracies. It isprecisely democratic societies which, in reality, have the greatest need fora higher scientific culture. But this culture must still be placed in a positionto render all the services one can expect of it. There is much evidence thatthe universities are beginning to become conscious of their obligations inthis respect. Here and there, devoted persons are already trying their hands

x D u r k h e i m i s r e f e r r i n g t o t h e p u b l i c le c t u r e s (cours publiques) w h i c h , a lo n g w i t h m a r k i n gthe baccalaurdat e x a m i n a t i o n , w e r e t h e m a i n f u n c t i o n o f t h e f a c u lt ie s o f l e tt e rs a n d s c ie n c eu n t i l t h e l a te 1 87 0s w h e n t h e c r e a t i o n o f s c h o l a r sh i p s b r o u g h t t h e m f u ll -t im e s t u d e n t s s e e k i n gd e g r e e s . P u b l i c l e c t u r e s , h o w e v e r , c o n t i n u e d t o b e o f f e r e d .


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Ro le of U nivers it ies in Soc ial Educa t ion o f the C oun try 381at this new task. We have seen illustrious scholars come to understand thattheir tasks were not confined within the walls cff their laboratory and whohave placed their scientific au thority at the service of a veritable apostleship.But these individual attempts will necessarily be ineffective as long as theyremain fragmentary and isolated from each other. It is necessary that allthis goodwill of individuals gain a clearer understanding of .the commongoal towards which it aims, that it organise itself, that impersonal anddurable institutions be established to support and to regulate its efforts.It is thus essential to formulate and examine the question in all of itsramifications, and that is why we ask the Congress to put it on its agendaand to discuss it.The Univers i ty and i t s Students

First of all, to speak only of students, it is untrue to say that the universityhas neither the right nor the means to exercise a specifically moral influence.To be sure, it is not the university's role to form the moral character of thosewhom it admits, but there is something which it alone can contribute tothe task of moral education. Only the university can make the habits, whichprimary and secondary schools could hardly develop in other than a purelymechanical manner, as fully self-conscious and reflective as the present stateof science allows.The principle of all our deliberations is that the sense of solidarity is thefoundation of morality: moral life exists only to the extent that man isassociated with other men, with whom he forms groups on which he dependsand in whose life he participates. By the time a student enters university, hehas already formed most of those bonds which, by attaching 'him to some-thing besides himself, make him into a moral being. If he is normallyconstituted, he loves his family, his nation and humanity and recognises hisdebt to them. He is prepared to subordinate his personal interests tocollective interests. He is ready for the sacrifices, large and small, which arecontinually demanded of us by the different groups and societies to which

we belong. But these bonds are not visible physically and cannot bedelineated in physical terms. On the contrary, since individual organismsare physically discrete, the first inclination is to believe the same is true oftheir moral and social consciences. That is why each man readily considershimself an autonomous world, a sort of absolute which cannot becomedependent on anything but itself without being diminished. Thus, the daythe student, stimulated by the intellectual culture he acquires, begins toreflect upon moral questions, there is reason to fear that he will not perceivetheir raisons d'~.tre and will misunderstand reality. These ideas and senti-meats, which are inculcated automatically by custom, may appear as simpleproducts of artifice and conveation. Too many examples demonstrate howfrequently intellectual development, when it is intense, produces moralscepticism in its wake.The only way to avert this error is to enlighten our thinking with scientificknowledge. It is necessary to disclose the causes which gave birth to thesesentiments and which thus justify them. It is necessary to show youngpersons how man, far from being self-sufficient, is only part of a whole from


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382 Reports and Documentsw h i c h h e c a n n o t b e i s o la t e d e x c e p t b y a b s t r a c ti o n ; h o w s o c i e ty l iv e s a n d a c t sw i t h i n h i m , h o w i t is t h e b e s t , pa rt o f h i s n a t u r e ; a n d h o w , c o n s e q u e n t l y , h ec a n n o m o r e d e t a c h h i m s e l f f r o m i t t h a n i t f r o m h im s e lf . A n d t hi sd e m o n s t r a t io n s h o u l d n o t b e m a d e i n a g e n e ra l a n d s u m m a r y f a s h i o n b yw a y o f p h i l o s o p h i c a l a p h o r i s m s , b u t b y s h o w i n g i n h i s to r i c al r e a l i ty a l l t h ed e t a i ls o f th i s in t e rd e p e n d e m c e . F o r t h e p r o o f , t o p r o d u c e c o n v i c t io n ,m u s t s a t i s fy a l l t h e s t an d a rd s o f s c ien t if i c p ro ce d u re .9 T h e o n l y d i s c i p l i n e cap a b l e o f r en d e r i n g t h e s e t ru t h s e v i d en t is s o c io l o g y .Be l i e fs an d m o ra l ru l e s a r e , i n e f fec t, s o c i a l p h e n o m en a . T h e ro l e o fs o c i o l o g y i s t h u s t o i n q u i r e i n t o t h e cau s es w h i ch g a v e r i se t o t h em , t h en e e d s t o w h i c h t h e y re s p o n d a n d t h e f u n c t i o n s w h i c h t h e y f u lf il . F u r t h e r -mo re , i n a g en e ra l w ay , t h e re ex i s t s n o s o c i o l o g i ca l p ro p o s i t i o n w h i ch i s n o tan i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t h e l aw o f s o l i d a r i t y , b ecau s e t h e s o l i d a r i t y o f t h e v a r i o u se l e m e n t s f r o m w h i c h s o c i e ty i s f o r m e d i s t h e v e r y c o n d i t i o n o f i t s e x i s te n c e .E v e r y n e w t r u t h d i s c o v e r e d b y t h e s c h o l a r i n th i s a r e a o f k n o w l e d g e h a s t h ee f fe c t o f d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h e d e p e n d e n c e o f o n e c a t e g o r y o f h u m a n a c t i v i ty o nan o t h e r , o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l o n t h e g ro u p , o f g ro u p s o n ea ch o t h e r . So c i o l o g i ca ls t u d y s h o u l d t h u s h av e a p l ace , i n a l l o u r u n i v e r s i t i e s an d an i mp o r t an tp l a c e ; b u t i n f a c t , i t is h a r d l y r e p r e se n t e d . T h e r e is a t p r e s e n t o n l y o n e c h a i ro f s o c i o l o g y , c r ea t ed i n 1 89 6 a t t h e f ac u l t y o f l e t te r s a t B o rd ea u x . In L y o nt h e r e is a m u n i c i p a l c o u r s e , i n M o n t p e l l i e r a s u p p l e m e n t a r y c ou r s e. A t t h eCo l l ~g e d e F ran ce , i t i s t r u e , a ch a i r o f s o c i a l p h i l o s o p h y w as e s t ab l i s h edi n 1 8 97 w h i ch , u n d e r a d i f f e r en t n am e , co u l d s e rv e t h e s am e en d s . Bu t t h eCo l l 6 g e d e F ra n c e i s n e i t h e r a r e s ea rch n o r a t e ac h i n g e s t ab l i sh m en t . U n t i ln o w , m o r e o v e r , t h e i n st r u c ti o n g i v e n i n t h i s c h a i r h a s d e a l t w i t h t h e h i s t o r yO f d o c t r i n e s an d o f t h i n k e r s , n o t w i t h s o c i a l r ea l it y i ts e lf .~

I t i s t h u s e x t r e m e l y d e s i r a b l e , f o r p r a c t i c a l a n d n o t m e r e l y t h e o r e t i c a lr ea s o n s , t h a t s o c i o l o g i ca l co u r s e s o f s t u d y an d ch a i r s b e c r ea t ed i n g rea t e rn u m b e r s i n t h e F r e n c h f a c u lt ie s . A f t e r 1 3 y e a r s o f t h is s o r t o f t e a c h in g , w ec a n , w i t h c o m p l e t e a s s u r a n c e , v o u c h f o r t h e f a v o u r a b l e i n f l u e n c e i t e x e rc is e sn o t m e r e l y o n t h e i n t el l ec t b u t o n t h e w i ll . I t i s a p o w e r f u l i n s t r u m e n t o fr r/ or a l ed u ca t i o n . J u s t b y ex p l a i n i n g th e d e t a i ls o f m o ra l f ac t s , i n t e rms b o t ho f t h e i r o r i g i n s an d o f t h e i r en d s , s o c i o l o g y en l i g h t en s an d g u i d es ac t i o n .C e r t a i n l y , th e r e c a n b e n o q u e s t i o n o f s u d d e n l y c r e a t in g a m u l t i t u d e o fch a i r s an d co u r s e s fo r w h i ch s u f f ic i en tl y t r a i n ed t each e r s a r e l a ck i n g .H e n c e f o r t h , th e h e r o i c a g e o f s o c i o l o g y i s o v e r a n d i t is n o l o n g e r p o s s ib l e,a t a m o m en t ' s n o t i ce , to t u r n o n es e l f o v e rn i g h t i n t o a s o c i o lo g i s t, a s i n t h ep e r i o d w h e n t h i s d i s c ip l in e w a s o n l y a b r a n c h o f g e n e r a l p h i l o s o p h y . T h ed e f ic i e n c y w e a r e p o i n t i n g o u t c a n n o t b e c o r r e c t e d a t o n e s t ro k e . T h ees s en ti a l t h i n g is t o r eco g n i s e i ts ex i s t en c e an d t o a t t em p t t o d i m i n i s h i ts t ead i ly . I p ro p o s e t h a t t h i s co n g re s s p a s s a r e s o l u t i o n t o t h i s e f f ec t .~2 Durkhei m lists only the cha irs associated with his conception of sociology. Despite hispointed me ntion of Izoulet's chair of social philosophy at the Coll~ge de France, he ignoresthe teaching of sociology by Alfred Espinas in his course in social econom3e at thefaculty ofletters in Paris; by Ferr~and Faure in his chair of statistics and Charles Gide in his chairofc omp ara tiv e social economy, both at the faculty of law in Paris; and by Ren6 Wor msm his courses at the faculty" of law a t Dij on alad in the course in social science at the facul tyof letters at Toulouse.The congr~s did in fact pass a resolution recommending that courses in sociology becreated in t he universities. Howeve r, because of fears that sociology was much too complex


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Role of Univers i t ies in Social Educat ion of the Country 383B u t m o r a l i t y m u s t , a b o v e a l l, i n f u s e o u r a c t io n s . I t is n o t e n o u g h to m a k ei t u n d e r s t o o d ; i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o m a k e i t a n a c q u i r e d h a b i t a n d e v e n a n e e d .

T h e r e f o r e , i t i s n o t e n o u g h t o e x p l a i n t o t h e s t u d e n t h o w s o l i d a r i t y i s an e c e s s a r y l a w o f h u m a n i t y . I t i s a l s o a n d a b o v e a l l n e c e s s a r y t o m a k e h i mp r a c t is e i t . I t i s e ss e n ti a l t o f u r n i s h h i m w i t h n u m e r o u s o p p o r t u n i ti e s t o a c tw i t h i n a g r o u p , s o t h a t e v e n i n hi s s t u d e n t l i f e h e a l w a y s f e el s h i m s e l fa s s o c i a t e d w i t h o t h e r b e i n g s w h o a r e h i s p e e r s a n d w i t h w h o m h e w o r k s .E v e r y o n e 'h as i n f a c t f e l t th a t t h i s sh o u l d b e t h e f u n c t i o n o f s t u d e n ta s s o c i a t i o n s ; b u t i n o rd e r t o ex e rc i s e a l l t h e u s e fu l i n f l u en ce ex p ec t ed o ft h em, t h e s e .mu s t b e o rg an i s ed i n a ce r t a i n w ay .A s t h e y c u r r e n t l y e x is t, i t w o u l d s e e m t h a t t h e y w e r e c o n c e i v e d o n t h em o d e l o f t h e l a r g e G e r m a n Burschenschaften w h i c h i n c l u d e w i t h o u t , d i s -

t i n c ti o n e v e r y t y p e o f s t u d e n t . I n t h e o r y , e v e r y u n i v e r s it y s t u d e n t m u s tj o i n o n e . T h e y t h u s a t t a i n a n e x c e s si v e ly l a r g e s iz e a n d a r e t o o h e t e r o g e n e o u st o p e r m i t v e r y e f f ec ti v e s e n t im e n t s o f s o l i d a r i ty t o d e v e l o p a m o n g t h e i rm e m b e r s . A m a s s o f 50 0 o r 6 00 s t u d e n t s - - a n d o f t e n m o r e - - w h o a r e n o tu n i t e d b y a n y p a r t i c u l a r s e n s e o f a f f in i ty , c a n n o t h a v e v e r y m u c h c o h e s io n .A l s o , w i t h o u t w a n t i n g t o s p e a k d i s p a r a g in g l y o f e x i s t in g as s o c ia t io n s o r i nt h e l ea s t s u g g es t in g t h a t t h ey b e e l i m i n a t ed , I b e l iev e I am ex p re s s i n g a f a i r l yg e n e r a l o p i n i o n i n s a y i n g t h a t t h e y h a v e d i s a p p o i n t e d m a n y h o p e s . I t i s n ot :t h a t I c o n s i d e r c r i m i n a l c e r t a i n y o u t h f u l m i s ta k e s w h i c h a r e v e r y e x c u s a b l ea n d u n i m p o r t a n t ; b u t , in t h e e n d , o n e c a n n o t f a i l t o r e c o g n is e t h a t t h e i rm o r a l i n f l u e n c e h a s b e e n v e r y l a n g u i d a n d h a s n o t h a d a p p r e c i a b l e r e s u lt s.I t i s t h u s n ece s s a ry to . t r y g ro u p i n g s t u d en t s a l o n g o . th e r li n e s. 4O n t h i s p o i n t , G e r m a n y o f f e r s u s i n s t a n c e s w h i c h i t w o u l d b e u s e f u l t oco n s i d e r . B es i d es th e s e Burschenshaf ten a n d c o r p o r a t e g r o u p s w h i c h a t t ra c ta t t e n t i o n b u t w h i c h a p p e a r i n f a c t t o b e i n d e c l i n e, t h e r e i s i n e a c h u n i v e r s it ya m u l t i t u d e o f s m a l l a s s o c ia t io n s w h i c h a r e n o t w e ll k n o w n b u t w h i c hd es e rv e t o b e . E a ch o n e h as a d e f i n i t e g o a l a n d b r i n g s to g e t h e r a ce r t a i nn u m b e r o f y o u n g m e n s h a r i n g a c o m m u n i t y o f s c ie n ti fi c, l i te r a r y o r m o r a lp r e o c c u p a t i o n s . T h e r e i s a Verein f o r p h i l o s o p h e r s a n d a n o t h e r f o r p h i l o -

l o g i s t s ; t h e r e i s o n e f o r m a t h e m a t i c i a n s a n d o n e f o r c h e s s p l a y e r s . E a c ha n d t h e o r e t i c al , t h e r e s o l u t i o n a d d e d t h a t c o u r s e s in s o c i a l e c o n o m y ( d e a l i n g w i t h t r a d eu n i o n s , c o o p e r a t iv e s , e m p l o y e r s ' a s s o c i a t i o n s , e t c .) , r a t h e r t h a n s o c i o l o g y , b e c r e a t e d i n t h ep o p u l a r u n i v e r si ti e s (Congr ~s . . . p . 370) .

4 S t u d e n t a s s o c i a t i o n s w e r e f i r s t o r g a n i s e d i n t h e e a r l y 1 88 0s . T h e y r e c e i v e d t h e a c t i v es u p p o r t o f l e a d i n g p o l i ti c ia n s a n d grands urdversitaires w h o v i ew e d t h e m a s y e t a n o t h e r f o r mo f a s s o c i a ti o n w h i c h c o u l d b r in g t o g e t h e r t h e e n t i re s t u d e n t c o m m u n i t y a n d o v e r c o m ed i v i s io n s o f r e li g i o n , p o l i ti c s a n d r e g i o n . T h e p r i n c i p a l m e a n s o f a c h i e v i n g t h is g o a l w a st h e u n i f i c a t i o n o f f a c u l t ie s i n t o u n i v e r s i t y c e n t r e s . T h e s e a s s o c i a t i o n s a v o i d e d p o l it ic a l a n dr e l ig i o u s c o n t r o v e r s y a n d s p e n t t h e i r t i m e o r g a n i s i n g l e is u r e - ti m e a c ti v i ti e s a n d o b t a i n i n gd i s c o u n t s a n d o t h e r a d v a n t a g e s f o r t h e i r m e m b e r s . B y 1 90 0, t h e y w e r e g e n e r a ll y a c k n o w l e d g e dt o h a v e b e e n a f a i l u r e . T h e m a j o r i t y o f s t u d e n t s d i d n o t j o i n , v i e w i n g t h e m a s o f f ic i ala p p e n d a g e s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h p e r m i t t e d a s m a l l l a u m b e r o f s t u d e n t p o l i ti c ia n s t om a k e c o n n e c t i o n s w h i c h w o u l d b e u s e f u l f o r th e i r la t e r c a re e rs . S t u d e n t s o f p h a r m a c y a n dm e d i c i n e e v e n t u a l l y s ec e d e d a n d f o r m e d s e p a r a t e c o r p o r a t iv e a s s o c ia t io n s . D u r k h e i m ' sm e l ~ ti o n o f " y o u t h f u l m i s t a k e s " p r o b a b l y r e f e r s t o t h e P a r i s a s s o c i a t i o n ' s a n n u a l b a l lw h i c h , o ia s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s , i n s p i r e d a g o o d d e a l o f m o r a l i n d i g n a t i o n b y f e a t u r i n g s c a n t i l ya t ti r ed w o m e n o n f lo a t s. D u r k h e i m ' s p r o p o s a l f o r s m a l l g r o u p s b a s e d o n c o m m o n i n te r e st s ,r e f le c t in g h i s b e li e f i n t h e r o l e o f i n t e r m e d i a t e p r o f e s s i o n a l g r o u p s , w a s a l s o s u g g e s t e d b ys e v e r a l p r o f e s s o r s d u r i n g a s p e c i a l d i s c u s s io n h e l d d u r i n g t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s o fH i g h e r E d u c a t i o n ( P ic a v et , F r a n c o i s [ e d . ] , Tr o is idme congr bs in ter na t iona l de l ' ens e igne-me rit supdrieur, 1900 [ P a r i s : F ~ l ix A l c a n , 1 9 0 2 ] , p p . 1 4 6 - 1 7 3 .) -.


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384 R e p o r t s a n d D o c u m e n t sw eek , a t l e a s t , t h e Vere in m e e t s in a r o o m w h i c h i t r e n ts o r o w n s , a n dd i s cu s s e s, w i t h a m e t h o d a n d d i s c i p li n e i t w o u l d b e d i f fi cu lt t o i m p o r t i n t oF r a n c e , t h e q u e s t i o n s i n w h i c h i t is i nt e re s te d . T h e c o m m u n i t y o f t a s te s a n ds e n t i m e n t s , a n d t h e r e g u l a r i t y a n d f r e q u e n c y o f p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s , c r e a t ea m o n g t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e s e sm a l l c ir c le s b o n d s w h i c h e n d u r e b e y o n ds t u d e n t l if e. A n d s i nc e a s t u d e n t c a n b e l o n g t o a n u m b e r o f t h e s e a ss o c ia t io n ss i m u l t a n e o u s l y , h e a l w a y s f e e ls s u r r o u n d e d a n d f l a n k e d a s it w e r e , a n d d o e sn o t ex p e r i en ce t h a t d e s o l a t e l o n e l i n e s s w h i ch t o o o f t en ch i l l s t h e a rd o u r o ft h e F r e n c h s t u d e n t .

I t is th i s o r g a n i s a t io n w h i c h w e m u s t i m p o r t i n t o F r a n c e . w h i l e a d a p t i n gi t to o u r n a t i o n a l t e m p e r a m e n t . C e r t a i n l y , i t c a n n o t b e i n s t i t u t e d b y d e c r e e .O n l y t h e p e r s o n a l a n d d i r e c t a c t io n o f t e a c he r s c a n s t im u l a t e s t u d e n t s t ob r e a k o u t o f t h e i r is o l a ti o n a n d f o r m t h e m s e lv e s i n t o n a t u r a l g r o u p s . T h e r ei s n o r ea s o n t o f ea r t h a t t h e s e s ma l l a s s o c i a t i o n s w i l l s p ec i a l i s e ex ces s i v e l ya n d s h u t t h e m s e l v e s u p i n a n a r r o w e x c lu s iv e n e ss . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , i t w o u l db e v e r y e a s y t o g e t t h e m t o i n t e r a c t w i t h o n e a n o t h e r . M o r e t h a n o n e s t u d e n ti n p s y c h o l o g y w o u l d b e v e r y g l a d f o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o h a v e r e g u la rd i sc u s s io n s w i t h h is c o m r a d e s i n t h e f a c u l t y o f m e d i c in e . I n t h e s a m e w a y ,i t w o u l d n o t b e d i ff ic u l t t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r la w s t u d e n t s a n d h i s to r i a n s , o rm a t h e m a t i c i a n s a n d p h i lo s o p h e r s . T h e s e g r o u p i n g s, m o r e o v e r , c a n b e v a r i e dan d i n f i n i te l y d i v e r s if i ed i n o r d e r t o ex p re s s a l l t h e v a r ie t i e s o f t a s t e an do u t l o o k .I f w e b e l ie v e t h a t t h e t e a c h e r h a s a r o l e t o p l a y i n t h e f o r m a t i o n a n dp e r h a p s e v e n f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e s e s o ci et ie s , t h is is n o t t o s a y t h a t w e w i s ht h e s e s o c ie t ie s t o t a k e o n a n o f fi ci al a n d a c a d e m i c c h a r a c t e r. O n t h ec o n t r a r y , w e w o u l d li k e t h e m t o e s ta b l is h t h e i r h e a d q u a r t e r s o u t s id e t h ep r e m i s e s o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y , i n s o m e r o o m s w h e r e s t u d e n t s w i l l f e e l a t e a s ea n d a t h o m e , w h e r e g a i e t y w i l l b e a c c e p t a b l e , w h e r e o n o c c a s i o n i t w i ll b ep o s s i b l e t o ce l eb ra t e j o y f u l l y s o m e h ap p y ev en t . I n s u m , i t i s a q u es t i o n o fa w a k e n i n g in F r e n c h y o u t h t h e t a s te f o r c o m m u n a l li fe , t h e h a b i t o f g r o u pa c t i v it y w h i c h h a s b e e n f o r g o t t e n f o r a c e n t u r y . T h e e n t e r p ri s e is c e r t a i n l yd i ff ic u l t b e c a u s e i t r u n s u p a g a i n s t t h e b a r r i e r o f a c o n t r a r y t e n d e n c y o f t h eF r e n c h c h a r a c t e r. B u t i t i s n o l es s u r g e n t f o r t h a t ; b e c a u s e t h i s a t o m i s a t i o no f i n d i v id u a l s , w h i c h h a s n o t h i n g i n c o m m o n w i t h h e a l t h y i n d iv i d u a l is m , i sa s e ri o us c a u s e o f t h e i m p o v e r i s h m e n t o f t h e m o r a l l i fe .T h e Un iversi ti e s a n d o th er Leve l s o f Ed u ca t io n

A t p r e s e n t , w i t h o n l y a f e w e x c e p ti o n s , h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n i s o n l y i nd i r e c t c o n t a c t w i t h s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n , t h e f u t u r e t e a c h e r s o f w h i c h a r et r a i n e d i n u n i v er s it ie s . A s f o r p r i m a r y s c h o o l t e a c h e r s , th e s e a r e o u t s i d e i tss p h e r e o f i n f lu e n c e . C o u r s e s o f s t u d y i n t e n d e d f o r s c h o o l t e a c h e r s a r e r a r e l yo f f e r e d , a n d i t i s e q u a l l y r a r e f o r s c h o o l t e a c h e r s t o c o m e s p o n t a n e o u s l y t ot h e u n i v e r s i t i e s , w h i ch , i n an y ev en t , a r e g en e ra l l y u n i n t e r e s t ed i n a t t r ac t i n gt h e m . B y r e n o u n c i n g th i s c l ie n te l e, h o w e v e r , t h e y a r e a t t h e s a m e t i m er e n o n n c i n g w h a t s h o u l d b e o n e o f t h e i r m o s t i m p o r t a n t f u n c t i o n s . ~

n BY 1900, mos t secondary school teachers were educated in the universities, and a smallelite at the ~cole normale sup6deure. Primary teachers did not generally receive a secondaryeducation and were trained in a selmrate network os dcoles normales.


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Role of Univers i t ies in Social Educat ion ol the Country 3 8 5T h e m o r a l conscience o f t h e c o u n t r y m u s t b e t h e s a m e i n a l l c l a s s e s a n di n a l l s p h e r e s o f s o c ie t y . M o r a l e d u c a t i o n , f o r i ts p a r t , m u s t b e t h e s a m e a t

a l l l ev e ls o f ed u c a t i o n . I t i s n o t ad m i s s i b l e t h a t i ts an i m a t i n g s p ir i t b ed i f f e r en t i n t h e lycde f r o m w h a t i t i s i n t h e p r i m a r y s c h o o l . T o a s s u r e t h i si d en t i t y , i t i s e ss en t i a l t h a t o n e an d t h e s a m e i n s t i t u t i o n b e r e s p o n s i b l e fo re l ab o ra t i n g i t s p r i n c i p l e s an d co n s e rv i n g i t s t r ad i t i o n s , w h i l e ad ap t i n g t h emc o n t i n u a l l y t o t h e n e w n e e d s w h i c h a r i s e . I t m u s t t h u s b e i n c o n t a c t w i t hp r i m a r y a s w e l l a s s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l te a c h e r s . I t m u s t g i ve b o t h t h e i r m o r a lo r i e n t a t i o n . I s t h e r e n o t , m o r e v e r , a p r e s s i n g n e e d f o r t h e s p i r i t a n i m a t i n gh i g h e r e d u c a t i o n t o m a k e i ts in f l u e n c e f e l t ev e n a m o n g t h e l o w e s t s t r a ta o fs o c i e t y ?T h i s p e d a g o g i c a l t a s k , w h i c h i s a l w a y s o f p r i m a r y i m p o r t a n c e , is

p a r t i c u l a r l y u r g e n t u n d e r p r e s e n t c o n d i ti o n s . F o r t h e p a s t 3 0 y e a rs , w e h a v eu n d e r t a k e n a t a s k , t h e g r a n d e u r o f w h i c h c a n n o t b e j u s t l y d e n i e d a n dw h o s e d i f fi c ul ti e s m u s t a l s o b e r e c o g ni s ed . W e h a v e s o u g h t t o g i v e th e c o u n -t ry a s t r i c t l y r a t i o n a l mo ra l ed u ca t i o ,n . W e h av e d ec i d ed t o , r en o u n ce t h er e li g io u s s y m b o l s u s e d b y o u r p r e d e c e s s o rs a n d t o t e a c h t h e b a r e m o r a lt r u t h . I h a v e t o o m u c h f a i t h i n t h e p o w e r a n d r i g h t s o f r e a s o n t o d o u b t f o re v e n a m o m e n t t h a t t h e a t t e m p t i s n o t m e r e l y l e g it im a t e , b u t p o s s ib l e a n dn e c e s s ar y . B u t i n o r d e r f o r i t to s u c c e e d , w e m u s t b e f u l l y a w a r e o f a l l it sr a m i f i c a ti o n s a n d s c op e . A m o r a l e d u c a t i o n c a n n o t p u r e l y a n d s i m p l y b et h e o l d ed u ca t i o n o f t h e p a s t s t r i p p ed o f ce r t a i n s y m b o l i c f ea tu re~;. I t i s am i s t a k e , i n m y o p i n i o n , t o s a y t h a t t h e r o l e o f t h e l a y t e a c h e r s h o u l d b er e s t r i c t e d t o t e a c h i n g t h e o l d m o r a l i t y o f o u r f a t h e r s . T h e c h a n g e s w h i c hh a v e o c c u r r e d a n d w h i c h c o n t i n u e t o o c c u r in o u r s o c i e ty d e m a n d a n e wm o r a l i t y w h i c h i s in a p r o c e s s o f f o r m a t i o n . I t i s c o n s e q u e n t l y n e c e s s a r y toe s t a bl is h a n e w s y s t e m o f e d u c a t i o n w h i c h i s i n h a r m o n y w i t h t h is m o r a l i ty .W e h a v e a n e e d f o r j u s t i c e i n t h e t e m p o r a l o r d e r , w h i c h d i d n o t e x i s t t ot h e s a m e e ~,te nt i n e a N e r t im e s , a n d i t is t h is n e e d w e w i s h ~o a r o u s e i n o u rc h i l d re n . O u r c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e n a t i o n a n d o f , p a tr io t is m is d i f fe r e n t f r o mt h a t o f p r e v i o u s r e g i m e s a n d , c o n s e q u e n t l y , o u r e d u c a t o r s c a n n o l o n g e rc l in g to n o t i o n s w h i c h a r e n o w a r c h a ic . T h i s i s n o t t h e p l a c e t o d e s c r ib e t h ed e t a i l s o f t h i s s y s t em o f ed u ca t i o n . A l l t h a t I w i sh - t o d em o n s t r a t e i s t h a t am a j o r w o r k o f r e c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e o r g a n i s a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d , a n d t h a t i t i sa b s o l u t e l y n e c e s s a r y t h a t t h e m o s t i n t e ll ig e n t p e r s o n s i n t h e c o u n t r yco l l ab o ra t e i n t h i s t a s k .

F o r t h e s e r e a s o n s , w e b e l i e v e t h a t e v e r y u n i v e r s i t y s h o u l d i n c l u d e a tl e a s t o n e c o u r s e o f s t u d y i n e d u c a t i o n s p e c ia l ly a d d r e s s e d to p r i m a r ys ch o o l t each e r s .T h e g o a l o f t h e s e s t u d i e s s h o u l d n o t b e t o t r a n s m i t i m p e r s o n a l f o r m u l a ew h i c h a r e a p p l i c a b l e m e c h a n i c a l l y t o a l l t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f s c h o o l l if e ,

b u t t o c o m m u n i c a t e a g e n e r a l d i r e c t i o n , t o h e l p m i n d s f i n d t h e i r b e a r i n g si n t h e c o n f u s i n g d i s o r d e r o f i d e a s , t o m a k e t h e m u n d e r s t a n d m o r e f u l l yw h a t t h e s p i ri t o f t h e c o u n t r y is a n d w h a t i t is b e c o m i n g . I n s h o r t , w e m u s td e l i n e a t e t h e p r i n c i p a l t r a it s o f t h e i d e a l t o w a r d s w h i c h w e a s p ir e , b u t w h i c hw e d o n o t a l w a y s p e r c e i v e d i s t i n c t l y . I t i s v e r y r e a s o n a b l e t o q u e s t i o n t h ee f f ect iv en es s o f s u ch a co u r s e i f i t r em a i n s i s o l a t ed . Bu t t h e r e i s n o r ea s o nw h y s c h o o l t e a c h e r s s h o u l d n o t p a r t i c i p a t e m o r e e x t e n si v e ly i n t h e e d u c a t i o n


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386 Reports and Documentsof fered by the un ivers i ties . Cer ta in ly , no t a l l ou r school teachers can passth rough the facu l t ies o f the un ivers i t ies . School teachers do no t need torece ive a h igher educa t ion in o rder to fu l f i l the i r da i ly tasks . But th is i s no tt rue o f those ca l led upon to t ra in them, tha t i s the teachers in the dcolesnormales. I t i s n ecessa r y th a t t h e se h av e m o r e ex ten siv e cu l tu r a l k n o w led g e ;th ey co n s ti t u te m o r eo v e r an e li te o n wh o m a u n iv e r s ity t r ain in g co u ld h av ean in f lu en ce . A t p r e sen t , t h ey a r e p r ep a r ed f o r t h e ex am in a t io n s l ead in g tothe teach ing cer t i f ica te in two spec ia l i sed ins t i tu t ions : the &oles normaleso f Sa in t C lo u d an d o f Fo n ten a y . B u t b y o rg an is in g th e se s tu d ie s in t h e m o s timpor tan t un ivers i ty cen t res , one 'would s t imula te a compet i t iveness in thesetwo e s t ab l i sh m en t s wh ich wo u ld ce r t a in ly b e p r o d u c t iv e . I n s im i l a r f a sh io n ,th e r iv a l ry b e twe en th e s n o r m a le su p 6 r ieu r e an d th e f acu l ti e s o f t h eun ivers i ty has been very p rof i tab le fo r sc ien ti f ic and scho lar ly researc han d t each in g . Fu r th e r m o r e , I d o n o t see wh y sch o la r sh ip s , j u d ic io u s lyd i s t r ib u ted , sh o u ld n o t m ak e i t e a s i e r f o r t h e b es t o f t h e s tu d en t s ( i n t h e~coles normales) t o a t t en d u n iv e r s i t i e s . On ce th ey in th e i r t u r n b eco m eteach er s , t h e in f lu en ce o f h ig h e r ed u ca t io n w o u ld sp r ead th r o u g h th em toa l l p r im ar y ed u ca t io n .The '" Popular Universit ies"

Th e in f lu en ce o f t h e u n iv e r s i t i e s sh o u ld n o t en d h e r e . Th e r e a r e n op o l it ic a l , m o r a l o r p h i lo so p h ic t ren d s in t h e co u n t r y w h ich sh o u ld b e b ey o n dthe regu la t ive in f luence o f the un ivers i t ies . For th is reason , i t i s impera t iveto m u l t ip ly p o in t s o f co n tac t w i th th e m ass o f t h e p o p u la t io n , e sp ec ia l lywi th th o se sec to r s o f t h e p o p u la t io n w h e r e so m e th in g n ew i s o ccu r r in g , an dwh er e th e r e i s co n seq u en t ly em er g in g a t u m u l tu o u s l i fe wh ich r eq u i re sdirect ion. This is the raison d'etre o f t h e s e " p o p u l a r u n i v e r s i t i e s " w h i c h ,a l th o u g h sca r ce ly a y e a r o ld , h av e b een d ev e lo p in g wi th su ch ex t r ao r d in a r yr ap id k y . 6No open-minded ,person can deny tha t these popular un ivers i t ies a reusefu l . Everyone recognises tha t i t i s u rgen t to shape the ou t look of thewo r k in g c la s se s i n o r d e r t o en ab le th em to ca r r y o u t t h e i r de s tin ie s . Bu t w h a tshould th is educa t ion be in o rder to a t ta in i t s goa ls?At p r e sen t , t h e m a jo r i ty o f p o p u la r u n iv e r s i t i e s , e sp ec ia l ly t h o se wh icha t t r ac t m o s t a t t en t io n , h av e th e se r io u s weak n ess o f n o t m ee t in g th ef u n d am e n ta l r eq u i r em en t o f a l l ed u ca t io n , n am e ly , co n t in u i ty an d co h e r en ce .I so l a t ed l ec tu r e s , w i th n o co n n ec t io n b e tween th em , a r e p r e sen ted f r o m o n ed ay to th e n ex t b y th e m o s t i l l- a s so r ted l ec tu r e rs . O n o n e ev en in g - - I am n o tin v en t in g m y ex am p les - - o n e d ea l s w i t h th e r ea li ty o f t h e ex te r n a l wo r ld ,an d o n th e n ex t even in g , w i th Eg y p t i an a r t . O n e d i scu sse s Ch in a o n e d ay ,

6 ,, P o p u l a r u n i v e rs i ti e s " ( U . P .s ) s p r a n g u p i n u r b a n c e n t r e s t h r o u g h o u t F r a n c e i n t h ew a k e o f t h e D r e y f u s a ff ai r. S o m e w e r e f o u n d e d b y p r o f e s s o r s o r w e ll -t o -d o b u s i n e s s m e n ,w h i l e o t h e r s w e r e t h e c r e a t io n o f m o d e r a t e w o r k i n g -c l a ss g ro u p s . T h e y w e r e m e a n t t o b ep r a c t i c a l s c h o o l s o f s o c i a l s o l id a r i ty i n w h i c h i n t e ll e c tu a l s a n d w o r k e r s c o o p e r a t e d t o b r i n ga b o u t t h e in t e ll e ct u a l i m p r o v e m e n t w h i c h h a d t o p r e c e d e t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f t h e s o c i a lp o s i t i o n o f t h e l a b o u r i n g c la s se s . T h e m o v e m e n t w e n t t h r o u g h a b r ie f p e r i o d o f r a p ide x p a n s i o n w h i c h r e a c h e d i ts p e a k i n 1 90 4. I n d i v i d u a l i n s t i t u t i o n s v a r i e d c o n s i d e r a b l y i ns i z e , a c t i v i t y a n d s t y l e , b u t t h e y s e e m t o l ~ a v e g e n e r a l l y a t t r a c t e d a r t i s a n s , c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s a n dm i n o r c i v i l s e r v a n t s . S e e D i n t z e r , L u c i e n , " Le M o u v e m e n t d e s u n i v e r s i t r s p o p u l a i r e s " , LeMouvement social , X X X V ( A p r i l - J u n e , 1 9 6t ), p p . 3 - ! 7 .


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Role of Universities in Social Education of the Country 3 8 7~ in d, t h e n ex t ; t h e h i s to r y o f m u s ic . O n e d o es n o t en l ig h ten m in d s b yp a r a d in g r a p i d ly b e f o r e t h e m e v e r y p r o b l e m a n d e v e r y s y s te m o f t h o u g h t .On e s im p ly in c r ea se s t h e d ep lo r ab le co n f u s io n o f i d eas f r o m wh ich we a r esu ff e rin g an d w h ich i s ex ac t ly wh a t n eed s to b e r em ed ied .T o b e eq u a l t o t h e ir t a sk , t h e p o p u la r u n iv e rs i ti e s m u s t sa t is f y th ef o l lo win g co n d i t io n s : (1 ) Th e sy s t em o f le c tu re s m u s t b e r ep laced b y c l a s se swh ich a r e co n secu t iv e an d sy s t em a t i ca l ly co n n ec ted wi th each o th e r . Th ep r o g r a m m e o f e a c h u n i v e r s i t y s h o u l d b e m a d e u p o f a s m a l l n u m b e r o fcourses o f s tudy , each o f which shou ld have a wel l -def ined sub jec t . (2 ) TheSu b jec t s o f t h e se co u r se s sh o u ld b e ap p r o p r i a t e t o t h e sp ec ia l p u b l i c b e in gaddresse d . T he po in t i s no t to g ive the w ork ing c lasses every sor t o t~know ledge; th is 'hal f- learn ing can on ly p ro du ce d i le t tan tes . I t i s neces saryto p r o v id e wo r k e r s w i th p r ec i se n o t io n s wh ich can g u id e th e ir p o l it i ca lac t io n , an d wi th t ech n ica l k n o wled g e wh ich can se r v e th em in th e i ro ccu p a t io n s an d im p r o v e th e i r m o r a l a s we l l a s m a te r i a l co n d i t i o n . Wh a tth ey n eed to k n o w i s t h e p as t an d p r e sen t h i s to r y o f i n du s t ri a l o r g an i sat io n ,the s ta te o f indust r ia l law and i t s evo lu t ion , the m ain ideas o f po l i tica leco n o m y . Ce r ta in ly , l i t e ra r y a n d a r ti s ti c cu l tu r e a r e h a r d ly u se le s s , b ecau sethey e leva te and re f ine the sp ir it . B u t i t is less essen t ia l and mu st , in anycase , i t se l f be g iven sequen t ia l ly and sys temat ica l ly . (3 ) There must be asu ff ic i en t ly co m m o n in t el lec tu a l an d m o r a l cu l tu r e am o n g th e t eache r s .A consensus in ou t look and ac t ion i s a cond i t ion o f e f f icacy .Th e b es t way f o r t h i s k in d o f ed u ca t io n to m ee t t h e se co n d i t io n s wo u ldb e f o r t h e u n iv e r s i t i e s t h em se lv es to t ak e o v e r an d o r g an i se th em . rEv e r y th in g p o in t s t o t h e ir a ccep tan c e o f th is t a sk . Bes id es th e f ac t t h a t t h eyare essen t ia lly teach ing c orpora t ions , they a re su f fic ien t ly abo ve c lassco n f l i c t s t o en ab le th em to g a in th e co n f id en ce o f t h e wo r k in g p o p u la t io n ;they a re recru i ted f ro m a l l c lasses . F ur the rm ore , a recen t law has g iventh em th e r ig ht t o t ak e th e in it i at i ve an d h as p l aced r e so u r ces a t t h e ir d i sp o sa lwh ich can b e par t ia l ly u t i l i sed fo r th is task ; fu r ther [ financial ] he lp wo uld bef o r th co m in g i f an ap p ea l f o r i t we r e m ~d e . 8 I n s t ead o f a l l o win g th e i rm em b er s t o p e r f o r m th e i r d u t i e s i n an u n co o r d in a t ed f a sh io n , t h e u n iv e r s i -t ie s sh o u ld t ak e o v e r t h e d i r ec t io n o f t h e p o p u la r u n ive r s it ie s an d t r an s f o r mthem in to ad junc ts o f the un ivers i t ies . I ce r ta in ly hope tha t popularun ivers i t ies wi l l a l so spr ing up ou ts ide the la rge un ivers i ty towns; never the-less, in the la t te r , po pul ar un ivers it ies , w hich can serve as models fo r theo th e r s , sh o u ld b e d ev e lo p ed .

r T h i s p r o p o s a l c a u s e d s o m e c o n t ro v e r s y w h e n i t c a m e b e f o r e t h e C o n g r ~ s . W h i l e a f e wd e l e g at e s r e p r e s e n t in g t h e U . P . s a n d t h e l a b o u r e x c h a n g e s ( b o u r s e s d e t r a v a C l ) s u p p o r t e dD u r k h e i m ' s s u g g e s t i o n , m o s t s p e a k e r s c a t e g o ri c al ly r e fu s e d t o a c c e p t t h e l e a d e rs h i p o fp r o f e s s o rs . T h e p r o p o s a l w a s r e p l a ce d b y a r e s o l u t io n r e c o m m e n d i n g t h a t t e a c h e r s in t h es t a t e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e w o r k o f t h e p o p u l a r u n i v e r s it i es . ( C o n g r d s . . . p p .3 6 5 - 3 7 3 . )s H e r e , D u r k h e i m r e f e rs t o t w o m e a s u r e s w h i c h e n a b l e d u n i v e r s it i es t o a c q u i r e s o m ef i n an c i a l a u t o n o m y a f t e r n e a r ly a c e n t u r y o f d i re c t g o v e r n m e n t a l co n t r o l. T h e G o b l e t d e c re e so f 1 8 8 5 , w h i c h c r e a t e d g e n e r a l c o u n c i l s t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r a l l t h e s e p a r a t e f a c u l t i e s i n e a c ht o w n , c o n t a i n e d a p ro visio ~n a l l o w i n g t h e f a c u l t i e s to c o l le c t p r i v a t e d o n a t i o n s a n d s p e n dt h e m f r e e l y . T h e l a w c r e a t i n g u n i v e rs i t ie s i n 1 8 9 7 , e n a b l e d t h e n e w i n s t i t u t i o n s t o a p p r o p r i a t ed i r e c tl y a ll s t u d e n t f e es ( e x a m i n a t i o n f e e s c o n t i n u e d t o b e c o l l e c t ed b y t h e s t a t e ) a n d t oi n c l u d e t h e m i n t h e i r a u t o n o m o u s b u d g e t s . A s a r e su l t, i n 1 9 00 , t h e f a cu l ti e s a n d t h ou n i v e rs i ti e s r e c ei v ed 1 1 .7 m i l l i o n f r a n c s i n s t a te a p p r o p r i a t io n s a n d a d m i n i s t e r e d a u t o n o m o u sb u d g e t s t o t a l l i n g 4 . 5 m i l l i o n f r a n c s .


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388 Repor t s and DocumentsTo su m m ar i se , h o wev e r e ssen t i a l t h e sc i en t i f i c an d sch o la r ly wo rk o fun ivers i t ies , they must never lose s igh t o f the fac t tha t they a re a lso , and

above a l l , educa t iona l ins t i tu t ions . They have therefore to p lay a ro le in them o ra l l if e o f t h e co u n t ry an d th ey m u s t n o t t r y to av o id i t. Ju s t a s th eu n iv e r s i t i e s o f Ge rm an y co n t r ib u ted to th e fo rm a t io n o f Ge rm an u n i ty , t h eu n iv er s it ie s o f F r an ce m u s t s t riv e to fo rm Fre n ch m o ra l b e l i e f s (conscience).Th u s , t h ey m u s t n o t r em a in e s t r an g ed f ro m an y cu r r en t o f p u b l i c o p in io n .Under these condi t ions , they wi l l rea l ly be un ivers i t ies , because they wi l li n c lu d e n o t o n ly th e w h o le r an g e o ,f t h e a r t s an d sc ien ces (Universitasscientiarum et artium) b u t a l l t h e m o s t im p o r t an t cu r r en t s o f se r io u s p u b l i cop in io ,n . Th is i s a l so the bes t way to demonst ra te dear ly the i r u t i l i ty to them ass o f t h e p o p u la t io n . Fo r i f t h e o rd in a ry p eo p le h av e co n s tan t d ea l in g swi th u n iv e r s i t i e s , t h ey wi l l n o t ev en d r eam o f a sk in g th em se lv es wh a tp u rp o se th ey se rv e an d wh e th e r th ey a r e n o t a so r t o f l u x u ry wi th wh ich ,i f necessary , i t is poss ib le to d ispense .

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