Academic culture

thumb|Example of a stereotypical 'nerd' appearance - note the round glasses, braces, trousers pulled too high, and off-putting enthusiasm A nerd is a person seen as over-intellectual, obsessive, introverted, lacking social skills and socio-cultural intuition. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little-known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to niche topics such as science fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy, q

thumb|Arms of the University of Cambridge (left) and the [[University of Oxford (right)]] Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities of the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to describe characteristics reminiscent of them, often with implications of superior social or intellectual status or elitism.

form of culture, opposite of popular culture, that is accepted and valued by opinion-elites

metaphor

interest in a gloomy and sophisticated aesthetic

A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work: "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that's not your routine job".

set of works that are claimed to hold literary merit, contrasted with popular, commercial, or genre fiction

thumb|A 1902 illustration of a Columbia University student, containing many of the attributes stereotypically associated with the preppy subculture

quarter-hour at the start of a lecture

upright|thumb|1815 engraving (from Rudolf Ackermann's History of the [[University of Cambridge) of an Esquire Bedell (left) and a Yeoman Bedell (right)]]

thumb|Ribbon, cap and of an Austrian thumb|Couleur bands of the Zionism|Zionist Nehardea from [[Basel, in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection.]] Couleur (from French, meaning 'colour' in English) is the expression used in Central European for the various headgear and distinctive ribbons worn by members of these student societies.

thumb|200px|The at Göttingen University A '''' was a designated lock-up or detention room to incarcerate students as a punishment, within the jurisdiction of some institutions of learning in Germany and German-language universities abroad. The American writer Mark Twain wrote about the karzer in Heidelberg in his book, A Tramp Abroad'' (1880).

form of workplace bullying that takes place in institutions of higher education