Umberto Eco wrote this essay when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Letters by Laurentian University (Sudbury, Canada). The essay appears here in three languages: English, French, and Italian.
It is impossible to think about the present or the future of universities without taking into account that universities live in a world dominated by mass media. If so, one must ask if and to what extent these old institutions called Universities are influenced by the various channels of mass communication. It is certainly possible to assume the opposite, and to wonder if and how the university can influence mass media.