Seite - 35 - in Universities in Imperial Austria, 1848–1918 - A Social History of a Multilingual Space

Chapter 1 ♦  35 positions at certain universities.70 In Cracow from 1833 onward, the lan- guage of instruction was Latin, with the exception of practical subjects and lectures at the philosophical faculty, in which instructors had a free choice of language, except in the subjects of religion, philosophy, and the classical languages (taught in Latin) and Polish literature and popular mechanics (taught in Polish). Linguistic uniformity at the faculties enabled lecturers to be mobile and reinforced the standardization of the Habsburg intellectual space. To level the chances of scholars from all provinces, standardized open con- tests (Conkursverfahren) were introduced, consisting of an exam with three questions and an open lecture. Teachers who already held an appointment at another university were exempt from the exam. The Studiendirektoren compiled the results into a standardized list (the Kompetenztabelle), less often naming only the three best candidates in hierarchical order (the terna), and forwarded it to the Studienhofkommission together with the opinions of the provincial government. The final appointment by the emperor was provisory for three years (the Probetriennium or Provisorium) and at the end of that term had to be verified to become a permanent position.71 In this way, the open contests allowed scrutiny of the political and ideological appropriateness of the candidates. The process of appointing professors was indeed somewhat similar to that for officers in the army: applicants had to not only comply with the political ideology of the monarchy but also be able to resist, or even appease, any nationalistic feelings at the universities. As for military personnel, this meant moving teaching staff across provinces.72 In the case of universities, however, the circulation was hegemonic: only a few scholars who had not been educated at the main universities could get a position there, while staff from the universities in Vienna or Prague were widely represented at universities in other provinces. The rules for appointments and the actual practices both supported the centrality of Vienna. Early nineteenth-century lawmakers foresaw that se- nior professors should be appointed to the University of Vienna as a reward for their long service and as a guarantee of high scholarly standards at the central university of the empire.73 In fact, most scholars teaching in the cap- ital were nominated in this way.74 This led to criticism of the low research standards in Vienna, because older professors usually concentrated more on teaching than on scientific production. Critical intellectuals spoke of Vienna as an “honorable house of invalids,”75 and Ernst von Feuchtersleben, responsible for the universities for a short time during the chaos of 1848, made the rejuvenation of the Viennese medical faculty one of his priorities.76