ABSTRACT
The familiar historical sociological notion of the ‘dual revolution’, which began around the late 18th and early 19th centuries, should be analysed as a ‘triple revolution’ and take into account the additional process herein called the ‘academization process’. This refers to the emergence and ascendance of the modern university system and the academic profession, which came to occupy a central position in the field of professions. The chapter explains why previous functionalist and critical accounts of this trend are insufficient before recommending an alternative processual theoretical framework drawn largely from the work of Andrew Abbott and Norbert Elias. The substance of the academization process is outlined, and I suggest that five factors were central to the rise of the university: (1) changes in the class structure; (2) the displacement of religion; (3) imperialism; (4) the changing roles of women and children; and (5) the rise of science and technology.
