A Global Campus:

Universities, cultural transfers, and experiences in the 20th century

This project aims to analyze the social, cultural, political and diplomatic dimension of university life, taking the space and the notion of campus (real, symbolic, imagined or transferred) as the concrete setting for these developments.

We understand the university campus from a double dimension: as a continent and as a space full of content and meanings. Our approach to this dual object of study, the campuses and the experiences developed in them, combines points of view from different domains. As an interdisciplinary group, we will analyze architectural and urban issues; aesthetic and design-related dimensions; the presence and representation of academic spaces in films; the collaboration and expectations of philanthropists and investors in the development of university cities; the use of university spaces for interprofessional visits, scientific exchanges and the celebration of cultural events and academic diplomacy.

The main objective of this project is to offer a global portrait of the university campuses in all their dimensions and interrelation capacities in order to know about them those aspects that go far beyond the basic functions expected of the university: teaching and research.

Our research lines includes: the international and diplomatic relationships stablished using the campus as stage; cultural activities, programs and scientific exchanges; philanthropy and patronage in the campuses; students organizations, students riots and the campuses like stage for political protests; experiences and memories of the campuses studied through letters, images and interviews...