An approach to the first essays of construction of a European student movement: The Student Congress of Liège (1865)

Abstract

The objective of the article is to analyze the debates that took place at the international student congress held in the Belgian city of Liège in 1865. The article is divided into three parts dedicated to the study of the discussions on European politics, on primary education and about university teaching. It attempts to show how the political differences, especially between members of the Belgian and French delegations, prevented the objective of the Congress, which was to discuss only aspects related to education. These political differences also prevented the formation of a federation of European students, which was another of the central objectives of the meeting. The discussions between the students on positivism and spiritualism, on freedom of education, on the heritage of the French revolution and nationalism and on primary education are analyzed in the text. Discussions about the relationship between primary education and universal suffrage are also studied. Opinions on the German model of university education and on university education in Belgium are analysed. The role of the French delegation in the congress is also analyzed. The main source on which the article is based is the congressional record published in January 1866.