From Student to Scholar: Peer Evaluation in the Berlin Philological Seminar

Abstract Scholars have rarely considered academic educational contexts when writing the history of peer evaluation. This article highlights the significance of these contexts by examining the philological seminar at the University of Berlin, established in 1812 by classical philologist August Boeckh. The seminar was highly effective in training qualified scholars, thereby supporting the university’s claim as a modern research institution. Drawing on archival sources, this study reconstructs the evaluative culture practiced in the seminar. Emphasis is placed on the papers the students wrote and their subsequent evaluation by fellow members and the director, in an exercise specifically designed for that purpose. I argue that this practice can be considered an early form of peer evaluation, closely tied to an educational setting. In this context, evaluating papers represents both means and outcome of academic philological training. Seminar members were trained not only to produce research but also to critically assess academic essays, the application of methods, and the results achieved. This leads to a modified objective of peer evaluation, with its dual function of aiming both at teaching and training purposes in class as well as advancing scholarly knowledge. The educational dimension of scholar-to-scholar evaluation broadens our perspective on the origins and history of peer evaluation as an academic practice and invites reflection on its current role in higher education.