A Political Geography of University Foundation: The Case of the Danish Monarchy

Abstract

Through a study of universities within the territorial claims of the Danish monarchy, this chapter explores the political geography of university-founding and nation-building. Since the early Middle Ages, when the Danish monarchy was a composite state like other European states, the duchies Schleswig and Holstein have been surrendered to Prussia. Norway and Iceland have become independent nation-states, and the Faeroe Islands and Greenland have gained home-rule within the Kingdom of Denmark. The authors show how the founding of universities has been used in these processes toward independence. They first analyze the geopolitics of university founding in three selected and contested regions from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. The second part of the analysis is a study of the relationship between university-founding and nation-building. Taking a geohistorical perspective, the authors show how geography can contribute to the understanding of university history.