For some readers, academic terms used in this book might be unfamiliar. Early Australian universities had little formal organisation but as student numbers gradually increased, disciplines or areas of study were organised into departments with a head. Departments in subject areas like classics, history, languages, literature and philosophy were usually part of the faculty of arts, presided over by a dean. The leader of an Australian university is called the vice-chancellor. There are five levels of appointment for academics: in order of increasing seniority they are tutor, lecturer, senior lecturer, associate professor (sometimes ‘reader’) and professor, but most early appointments were either at professorial or lecturer level.
While Australian colleges might offer some tutorials, especially to newer students, their main function has been as halls of residence rather than as teaching institutions. Because the university is mentioned frequently in this book, it is necessary to note that Oxford is slightly different: its academics are often called dons, and many have positions as fellows of colleges. Oxford is also unusual in being a federation of colleges as much as it is a single institution; other universities tend to be more centralised. In many universities, it is the custom for a new professor to deliver an inaugural lecture, often one in which they outline their views on the discipline; on retirement, the title professor is relinquished unless the retiree is made professor emeritus, a mark of special distinction. During the nineteenth century it was common for applicants for a chair to have their references, then called testimonials, published as a small pamphlet. These, and debates of the university’s governing body, often called council or senate (although some universities have both bodies), are especially important sources in this study, as is private correspondence preceding and following appointments. In the period under discussion – roughly 1850 to 1970 – humanities students in Australia normally completed a three-year course to obtain their Bachelor of Arts, also called a pass degree. 12A further year of study obtained ‘honours’, awarded as a first, second (now divided into ‘A’ and ‘B’, hence 2A or 2B), or third class. ‘First-class honours’ represents an outstanding result in the fourth year of study, but in some universities (like Oxford) it is the final result of three or four years of study. Following the completion of honours a student can enrol in a postgraduate degree, usually a Master of Arts (at Oxford, this was more typically the BLitt) or, after the 1950s, a Doctor of Philosophy, usually abbreviated to PhD (DPhil for Oxford).