Oxbridge Men: British Masculinity and the Undergraduate Experience, 1850-1920

by Paul R. Deslandes

Overview

The mythic status of the Oxbridge man at the height of the British Empire
continues to persist in depictions of this small, elite world as an ideal of
athleticism, intellectualism, tradition, and ritual. In his investigation of the
origins of this myth, Paul R. Deslandes explores the everyday life of undergraduates
at Oxford and Cambridge to examine how they experienced manhood. He considers
phenomena such as the dynamics of the junior common room, the competition of exams,
and the social and athletic obligations of intercollegiate boat races to show how
rituals, activities, relationships, and discourses all contributed to gender
formation. Casting light on the lived experience of undergraduates, Oxbridge Men
shows how an influential brand of British manliness was embraced, altered, and
occasionally rejected as these students grew from boys into men.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253111258
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	05/04/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Paul R. Deslandes is Assistant Professor of History at the University of
Vermont.

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Constructing Superiority: The
University and the Undergraduate2. The Transition from Boyhood to Manhood3. "Your
Name and College, Sir?" Discipline and Authority4. Those "Horrid," "Holy" Schools:
Examinations, Competition, and Masculine Struggle5. "Impervious to the Gentler Sex?"
Boat Races, Heterosocial Relations, and Masculinity6. Girl Graduates and Colonial
StudentsConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"'Oxbridge Men' is a substantial study of two very important British institutions that is augmented by its reading . . . against broader domestic and imperial concerns to show the resonances that existed between empire and nation . . . and Oxford and Cambridge . . . Most important, it is a significant achievement because it opens our eyes to the lived experience of Oxbridge undergraduates . . . making their way through the halls of these two important institutions . . . .Jan. 2006"—Journal of British Studies

"Paul Deslandes has written a highly readable and informative book about the creation of an elite masculine culture at Oxford and Cambridge during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . Deslandes is fascinated by the way acceptance at one of the 'Oxbridge' colleges becomes a passport to elite status and cultural clout.2007"—Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

"Deslandes's principal sources—student magazines and periodicals—capture well the varsity ethos with its mingling of pompous self-importance and youthful high-jinks. . . This book captures well the rhythms and rituals of undergraduate life.December 2006"—American Historical Review

"This is a very useful social history of an important elite group that has previously been comparatively neglected, except in the much more limited college histories. These were the men who, to a considerable extent, were in charge of much of the world during the period covered.Sept. 2007"—Journal of Modern History

"'Oxbridge Men' is an impressive achievement which combines the very latest in gender theory with some very serious scholarly research. It will be of interest to all those working on Oxbridge, on English education, and on modern masculinity more generally.April 2006"—English Historical Review

"A very welcome book that certainly reaffirms—with new material and approaches—that the entrance of women into the world of the historical university was arguably the most revolutionary event in the long social history of a special kind of institution.Autumn 2006"—Victorian Studies

From the Publisher

This is a very useful social history of an important elite group that has previously been comparatively neglected, except in the much more limited college histories. These were the men who, to a considerable extent, were in charge of much of the world during the period covered.Sept. 2007

Journal of Modern History

Deslandes's principal sources—student magazines and periodicals—capture well the varsity ethos with its mingling of pompous self-importance and youthful high-jinks. . . This book captures well the rhythms and rituals of undergraduate life.December 2006

American Historical Review

'Oxbridge Men' is an impressive achievement which combines the very latest in gender theory with some very serious scholarly research. It will be of interest to all those working on Oxbridge, on English education, and on modern masculinity more generally.April 2006

English Historical Review

'Oxbridge Men' is a substantial study of two very important British institutions that is augmented by its reading . . . against broader domestic and imperial concerns to show the resonances that existed between empire and nation . . . and Oxford and Cambridge . . . Most important, it is a significant achievement because it opens our eyes to the lived experience of Oxbridge undergraduates . . . making their way through the halls of these two important institutions . . . .Jan. 2006

Journal of British Studies

A very welcome book that certainly reaffirms—with new material and approaches—that the entrance of women into the world of the historical university was arguably the most revolutionary event in the long social history of a special kind of institution.Autumn 2006

Victorian Studies

Paul Deslandes has written a highly readable and informative book about the creation of an elite masculine culture at Oxford and Cambridge during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . Deslandes is fascinated by the way acceptance at one of the 'Oxbridge' colleges becomes a passport to elite status and cultural clout.2007

Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History