Searching for a (New) Self-legitimation? How Three Belgian (State) Universities Celebrated Their Bicentenary in 2017

Abstract

: In 2017, three universities in Belgium that had been established in 1817 by King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Ghent, Liège and Leuven), commemorated their bicentennial. The still existing Ghent University and University of Liège did so in a grandiose way. In Leuven, however, the celebration was limited to a modest workshop and its accompanying publication. By analysing the festivities at Ghent University in 2017 in a detailed way this contribution shows how the traditional elements of a university jubilee celebration gradually received a different interpretation. This introductory case study illustrates the aim of this contribution as a whole, namely to examine and discuss how the staging of university jubilees has changed under the pressure of social changes, how this was reflected in the use of ‘ celebratory mediality ’ , and how these different acts of performing the jubilee interacted with a process of self-le-gitimation. By reviewing the diverse output realised as part of these different celebrations (in Ghent, Liège and to a lesser extent Leuven), the chapter proves how these anniversaries have been used as an opportunity to respond to current challenges that the university is facing as an institution. The two central messages of both celebrating universities – Ghent and Liège – are reflected in most, if not all, of the initiatives that were unfolded on the occasion of the festivities: defending and protecting the university by emphasising its possible social relevance, and creating a larger (university) community by investing into the natural partnership between city and university.