A Study On The Faculty Of Arts In Western European Universities From The 12^thto 15^thCentury

The Faculty of Liberal Arts in European Medieval Universities is a guild composed of teachers and students.It plays a central role in the institutional setting of European medieval universities,and has its unique function in the exploration and practice of internal governance mechanism of medieval universities.It is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the cultivation of teachers for Liberal Arts.And it shoulders the historical mission of continuing and developing Liberal Arts.Through combing and analyzing a large number of historical documents,the dissertation traces and examines the various names of European medieval universities,and explores the origin and connotation of the names of Liberal Arts.On the basis of a thorough study of the historical and social background,the dissertation analyzes the internal organizational structure and operating mechanism of the Faculty of Liberal Arts.It also clarifies and further reveals the historical evolution of its teaching system and degree system.The cause of this evolution has deepened the understanding of the nature of the Faculty of Liberal Arts in the Middle Ages.There are different titles of European medieval universities.By investigating historical data,the names of European medieval universities are analyzed,and the connotations of universitas,studium and studium generale are distinguished.On this basis,this article explores the evolution of Art and Faculty from the perspective of etymology,analyzes "the Faculty of Arts" from the perspective of genetics.And thus,it discusses the development clues of the Faculty of Arts with meticulous language.The emergence of the Faculty of Liberal Arts is inseparable from the social development of the European Middle Ages.With the renaissance of medieval cities and the continuous changes in the educational environment,the contradiction between urban development and educational demand has emerged,and scholars have increasing need for the educational environment.The intellectual class began to sell knowledge,taught liberal arts and laws,and changed the traditional way of education and knowledge dissemination.The guild of scholars composed of teachers and students became an organizational form for knowledge dissemination,and gradually evolved into the Faculty of Liberal Arts in European medieval universities.The organizational structure and operating mechanism in the Faculty of Liberal Arts were constantly improved.However,the internal organizational structure of different universities is completely different from each other.The Faculty of Liberal Arts in Paris University is composed of the teacher guild,the nations and the principal,while the Faculty of Liberal Arts in Oxford University is composed of the fellowship,the provost and the faculty assembly.In conclusion,the governance of the Faculty of Liberal Arts embodies the characteristics of autonomy,centralization,democratization and equality.Among them,autonomy and centralization are the two key characteristics.The teaching system and degree system in the Faculty of Liberal Arts were quite sound,based on a sound organization and operation mechanism.The courses were systematic and institutionalized,and the teaching methods were diversified.Drawing lessons from the knight education system and the guild promotion system,it clarified the classification of degrees,the degree-granting procedures and the main body of degree-granting.In short,the dissertation takes,as a starting point,the early development of the Faculty of Liberal Arts from the 12th to 15th centuries,focuses on the rise,internal organization,operating mechanism and teaching system,highlights innovative problem awareness,and integrates explanatory and speculative features.The whole research clearly reveals the historical status and connotation of the Faculty of Liberal Arts,presents the developing process of European universities in the 12-15 century,and bridges the interactive relationship between education,society,history and culture.It can be concluded that the Faculty of Liberal Arts provides the institutional guarantee for knowledge production,the personnel guarantee for the knowledge production,and the knowledge system guarantee for the knowledge production for the universities.Exploring its developing track and historical value can provide the inspiration and reference for the reform of higher education quality in our country.