L’internationalisme universitaire mis en action

Organised by

• Department of History

This thesis explores the modalities of university internationalism at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through the case study of the Université Nouvelle de Bruxelles, which operated from 1894 to 1919. The first part examines the founding of this institution within the context of a political and scientific crisis in Brussels. The Université Nouvelle aimed to renew higher education in Belgium but quickly faced challenges due to its lack of recognition by the Belgian public authorities. To survive, the Université Nouvelle developed an international strategy by inviting numerous European intellectuals interested in social sciences or affiliated with progressive and socialist networks, as well as attracting students from Eastern Europe. These phenomena are analysed in the second and third parts of this thesis, respectively. The second part focuses on the evolution of the university's strategy for welcoming foreign professors. Initially, the Université Nouvelle served as a refuge for marginalised scientists. Over time, however, it began actively inviting established intellectuals, predominantly from France. This shift influenced the academic content, with positivist sociology gradually giving way to a more global approach to social science. The third part examines the role of foreign students, primarily Bulgarian, as key players in the internationalisation of the Université Nouvelle. Their motivations for migrating to Brussels are explored, ranging from compulsion and opportunism to genuine attraction to the institution. The thesis also analyses the institution's ambivalent policies towards these students, as well as the embryonic and complex processes of degree recognition at the end of the century. By considering these different perspectives—combining the local with the global and following a flexible chronology—this thesis offers an embodied history of a Brussels laboratory of academic internationalism during the Belle Époque.