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It's always been women in STEM. (mander.xyz)

submitted 3 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] ricdeh@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago

The oldest continuously operating university is in Bologna. The one that the post is about was actually a mosque and did not become a university until less than a century ago.

[-] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 25 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Al-Qarawiyyin is recognized by UNESCO and Guinness as the world's oldest continually running institution of higher learning.

We can apply a purity test here (ie. what qualifies as a university) but.. why except for pedantry? No matter how you frame it, it doesn't take away from the scale or impact of the institution itself.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

We can apply a purity test here (ie. what qualifies as a university) but.. why except for pedantry?

Well, because it's only true for a veeeeeery narrow definition of "university". If you include other schools, there are British ones that predate it by three centuries. If you don't require current operation in the same building, or allow name changes, there are ancient Greek ones that predate it by more than a millenium.

[-] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I appreciate your examples but there must be more to the story since, as another example, it is a Buddhist monastery in India that is often regarded are the world's oldest residential university. Perhaps dormitory style living was not part of the ancient European model. I also wonder why Western founded institutions like UNESCO and Guinness would give this designation to al-Qarawiyyin when they would likely be more familiar with the examples (albeit nonspecific) you've listed.

[-] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It was common for religious institutions to also be places of higher learning during this era.

The Nalanda Mahavihara (Buddhist grand monastery) is regarded as world's oldest residential university. It is in present day India, though not operating today. Scholars such as Xuanzang (known as Mokṣadeva in Sanskrit) travelled from China (in his case Luoyang) to Nalanda for his studies and returned with thousands of sutras which were then translated. It was knowledge transfer through such universities during the Tang dynasty that brought the number system we use today (originally described in the Bakhshali manuscripts and further refined by Aryabhata and Bhramagupta) to China.