Adaptation And Resistance:A Study On The Professional Life Of Private Lecturers In German Universities During The German Empire

During the German Empire,the industrial revolution advanced,German universities expanded massively,the state invested large sums in building research institutes and a new academic form emerged.At the same time,university enrolment rates increased year on year,a large number of doctoral graduates entered the academic world and the number of university teachers grew rapidly,especially the group of private lecturers.Against this background,this study focuses on the academic life,economic income and career development of private lecturers,with the professional life of private lecturers as the main clue.Firstly,the study focuses on the academic activities and financial income of private lecturers during the German Empire and finds that the academic activities and income of private lecturers were not fixed,but rather diverse.Their academic activities and income can be specifically categorised into research assistant work,teaching work and other part-time work,such as working as consultants.To understand the income level of private lecturers,the study also compares the income status of private lecturers with that of professors and other social work,and finds that private lecturers had lower income levels to afford academic life.The study then goes on to analyse the career paths and career development of private lecturers during the German Empire,finding that there was a serious imbalance between the number of full professorships and private lecturers,that the waiting period for the promotion of private lecturers was extended,and that private lecturers were in a poor career development situation.Following on from this,the study attempts to examine the possible factors that influenced the career development of private lecturers and finds that economic conditions,religion and ethnicity,and politics all had an impact on the career development of private lecturers.In addition,the study uses the interaction between private lecturers and the German university system as a substratum to analyse how changes in the university system during this period affected the fate of private lecturers,how private lecturers dealt with themselves and how they tried to change the system.The study finds that the relationship between private lecturers and the university system was one of both adaptation and resistance.In the process,private lecturers struggled to adapt to the professionalisation of science and the large-scale shape of academic operations,but the deteriorating professional environment in turn constrained the academic development of private lecturers.In an attempt to change this situation,the private lecturer community launched a movement to reform the university system.