The Idea of a University: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Idea of a University, credited to John Henry Newman, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman. Read in English by Andrew Nash and KevinS John Henry Newman (1801-90) was an Anglican clergyman and Oxford academic whose study of early Christianity led him to convert to the Catholic Church in 1845. At that time Catholics were banned from attending the ancient British universities. The issue was particularly acute in Ireland with its majority Catholic population, so the British government decided to found some non-denominational colleges there which would admit all but which also were not allowed to have Catholic theology faculties in them. The pope of that time, Pius IX, urged the Irish bishops instead to found a Catholic university. Newman, as the leading intellectual Catholic convert, was appointed its founding Rector. He gave a series of public lectures, arguing the case for a Catholic university (such as existed elsewhere in Europe) and also that a university should include theology among its subjects. He also argued for academic education in its own right, against the 'utilitarians' who said that all education should just be practical and immediately 'useful'. Newman later added some other articles on educational topics, such as the relation between science and religion. The resulting book, 'The Idea of a University', became a classic of educational philosophy which is still referenced in debates about the nature and purpose of education today. - Summary by Andrew Nash

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Idea of a University
• Author credits: John Henry Newman
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 24
• Listed recording duration: 16:57:47

Catalogue topics

• Christianity
• education
• Catholic Church

Track guide

1. 00 - University Teaching - Preface — 28:32
2. 01 - Discourse 1 - Introductory — 32:30
3. 02 - Discourse 2 - Theology a Branch of Knowledge — 46:34
4. 03 - Discourse 3 - Bearing of Theology on Other Branches of Knowledge — 56:09
5. 04 - Discourse 4 - Bearing of Other Branches of Knowledge on Theology — 54:50
6. 05 - Discourse 5 - Knowledge its Own End — 48:39
7. 06 - Discourse 6 - Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Learning — 53:54
8. 07 - Discourse 7 - Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Professional Skill — 56:09
9. 08 - Discourse 8 - Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Religion — 1:06:45
10. 09 - Discourse 9 - Duties of the Church Towards Knowledge — 55:10
11. 10 - University Subjects - Introductory Letter & Advertisement — 2:40
12. 11 - Lecture 1 - Christianity and Letters — 37:09
13. 12 - Lecture 2 - Literature — 51:08
14. 13 - Lecture 3 - English Catholic Literature — 1:06:35
15. 14 - Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies Part 1: Grammar — 33:25
16. 15 - Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies Part 2: Composition — 25:27
17. 16 - Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies Part 3: Latin Writing — 20:17
18. 17 - Lecture 4 - Elementary Studies Part 4: General Religious Knowledge — 18:01
19. 18 - Lecture 5 - A Form of Infidelity of the Day — 45:17
20. 19 - Lecture 6 - University Preaching — 45:22
21. 20 - Lecture 7 - Christianity and Physical Science — 53:36
22. 21 - Lecture 8 - Christianity and Scientific Investigation — 45:52
23. 22 - Lecture 9 - Discipline of Mind — 44:52
24. 23 - Lecture 10 - Christianity and Medical Science — 29:53

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.