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Abstract
This thesis is an investigation of the Australian university as place. It is an historical analysis of three generations of Australian undergraduate students and their attachment and sense of belonging to the university (Baby Boomers born 1946-1961, Generation X born 1962-1977 and Generation Y born 1978-1993). This thesis specifically looks at place as being experienced through the university campus (built form) and place as experienced through connections with people (teachers, students, professionals and as alumni). This thesis presents literature reviewed and respective theoretical frameworks regarding the history of universities, place theory and its related constructs and generational social theory.
In addition to my own heuristic contribution in which I connect my university experiences to the university as place, the thesis documents the experiences of three living generations of Australian undergraduate students through 36 qualitative in-depth interviews and analyses their perspectives on how they experienced the university as place while they were students. It examines the trajectory of the university experience from 1964 when the Baby Boomers first entered the university system to the current university experience with students from Generation Y. The thesis is also a comprehensive blend of progressive commentary from in-depth expert interviews selected from demography, higher education, youth, campus planning, and society.
The thesis demonstrates that the university as place can be manifested in attachment to the built form, significant and meaningful connections with members of the university community. However, how each generation felt connected, why they were attached to certain places, who they formed significant relationships with, when they most felt like they belonged, and what they considered meaningful in their undergraduate years at university differed. The thesis contends that generational perspectives on the university as place are inextricably linked to the attitude and beliefs of the generational cohort to which one belongs.