Oxbridge: Difference between revisions

 

 

A portmanteau term for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (two distinct institutions). They are the UK's equivalent to the [[Ivy League]] and thus they are popular in UK fiction. They have also inspired fictional universities such as the [[Wizarding School|Unseen University]] for wizards in the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels.

The University of Oxford, like all of the first European Universities, was never officially founded, rather it grew up organically as scholars settled in the city and began establishing their own informal institutional ties. Teaching activity is recorded in the city from at least the late 11th century. In 1209-10 the university was closed down temporarily and many scholars fled Oxford after two students were hanged for killing a woman. Many of them settled in Cambridge and established their own University in the following decades. The University of Cambridge received its official royal charter in 1231.

 

 

 

Both universities are actually composed of semi-independent colleges, which accept applicants individually.

There is a rather fierce rivalry between the two universities, members of each referring to the other as 'The Other Place'. This rivalry is most apparent in Varsity matches, which are any type of competition between the two, most often sporting (e.g. the boat race) but also covering various events such as the annual Tolkien quiz.

 

 

See also [[Strawman U]]. Compare [[Ivy League for Everyone]] in US works and [[Tokyo University]] in Japanese ones.

* The Boat Race - in which Oxford and Cambridge rowers race down the River Thames for a bit. Shown on TV. Chucking the winning cox in the river seems to be obligatory.

 

* ''[[Inspector Morse]]'' and ''[[Lewis]]''- Several episodes involving Oxford colleges, with sarcastic and eccentric dons and establishing shots of the dreaming spires.

* Amateur detective Gervaise Fen, in the series by Edmund Crispin, is an Oxford don.

* ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' (Novel and film) - The two main characters meet while studying at Oxford.

* ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' - Alternative Oxford, but still quite recognisable.

* Connie Willis' ''[[Doomsday Book]]'', ''Fire Watch'' and ''[[To Say Nothing of the Dog]]'': Oxford in the future runs a [[Time Travel]] project.

* The love interest in "The Serial Murders", one of [[Kim Newman]]'s Diogenes Club stories, is another Shrewsbury alumna; on its first American publication, the story included a footnote that helpfully explained that Shrewsbury was an Oxford college whose other famous alumni included Harriet Vane, but mischievously neglected to mention that both were fictional.

* [[Mary Russell]] spends a great deal of time at Oxford.

* [[The Great Gatsby|Jay Gatsby]] went to Oxford. {{spoiler|Well, sort of. He was there briefly after WWI as part of a "mixup" of some kind, but left after a couple months to search for Daisy.}}

* Christminster University in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s ''[[Jude the Obscure]]'' is a [[No Communities Were Harmed|thinly disguised]] Oxford. The title character is at Bibliol College, which is a barely-disguised-at-all Balliol.

* ''[[Oxford Murders]]'' (both the book and the film). It also features Cambridge, albeit very briefly.

* [[Inspector Lynley]] is an Oxford alum.

* [[Sanctuary|Helen Magnus]] was the first woman to attend Oxford, where she met [[Jack the Ripper|John Druitt]], [[Nikola Tesla]], [[The Invisible Man|Nigel Griffin]], and [[Sherlock Holmes|James Watson]] (and was canonically lusted after by three out of those last four). "The Five" form a critical aspect of ''[[Sanctuary]]'''s backstory.

* [[Harry Potter|Hogwarts]] is heavily based on Oxford, with much of the movies' locations filmed in colleges and university buildings (e.g. Bodleian Library), in the surrounding area, or using sets based on the architecture.

 

** Makes sense, since they're basically the same thing.

** Ian and Barbara are revealed to have become Cambridge professors.

* ''The Liar'' by [[Stephen Fry]], his monologues on [[The BBC]] Radio 4 programme ''Loose Ends'', and his more recent podcast monologues ''The Dongle of Donald Trefusis'' all feature Cambridge [[Meaningful Name|don]] Professor Trefusis, of the fictional St Matthew's College.

 

** What it means is the writers wanted to give her an Oxbridge background without potentially causing offence to either institution. There are many parallel examples, although [[Sherlock Holmes|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] preferred "Camford" for his fictional Professor Presbury.

* In one episode of ''[[The Young Ones]]'' ("Bambi"), Neil, Rick, Mike and Vyvian goes on the Quiz Show ''University Challenge'' against Lord Snot, Lord Monty, Miss Money-Sterling and Kendall Mintcake from "Footlights College, Oxbridge" (Played by old Footlighters [[Stephen Fry]], [[Hugh Laurie]] and [[Emma Thompson]], no less).

* Olly Reader of ''[[The Thick of It]]'' went to either Oxford or Cambridge. It is not known which as the other characters only ever refer to his ''alma mater'' as "Poxbridge".

* Jeremy Clarkson on ''[[Top Gear]]'' uses the term "Oxbridge" to refer to any highbrow, high class, big money Ivy League-style university, even ones that aren't in the UK. (Specifically, he once referred to Harvard as "an Oxbridge school".

 

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[[Category:Useful Notes/Britain]]

[[Category:Hollywood Atlas]]

[[Category:Oxbridge]]