I'm surprised to find that that someone with as much knowledge as this author has trouble with defining 'civilisation’. I'm a nobody, and I know what it is, as I'm sure most OLO posters do. I get suspicious and mightily pissed off when people start playing about with straightforward language to muddy the waters and make things more 'complex’ (i.e we plebs just don't understand) than they are. The thing to concentrate on is the appalling error of judgement the Australian National University made in rejecting the the Ramsay Institute’s offer of funds. Even King Malcolm The Left is asking for an explanation.

The ANU accepts funding from the likes of terror-sponsor Saudi Arabia for 'Islamic studies, but it won't have a bar of our own Western civilisation because it might show the barbarians up - for what we all know they are. Fancy an Australian university taking money from a regime that conducts public executions and mutilations at the whim of the Saudi Royal family (when the same venal grubs are trying to get rid of our own benign royal family.

"What should be in a study of Western Civilisatisation?"

What an ignorant question.

The fact that anyone is asking such a question shows how serious the problem has come. It seems no one is being taught the history of what gave the world the best law, science, governments, engineering, health, environmental management, and the industrial revolution which is responsible for virtually everything humanity has today.

Clearly the most important are Greek, Roman, European, English/British, American, and for us, Australian.

as much as the marxist hate it the bible has resulted in the most civilised people that the world has ever seen. We have replaced it with murdereing the unborn with no shame and the barbaric Islam ideology. What fools our unis are filled with. No wonder they are producing marxist who often top themselves when they realise the absolute stupidity of the garbage they have sprouted.

The study of western civilisation? Probably has some academic merit, but of little use in the real or commercial world. Albeit, could identify the lessons of history and seek to understand why we fail to learn them?
Apart from that, any funding from a private source, for this purpose must come free of strings or conditions! Least it usurps the very reasons for the study.
As for civilisation? We as a species started to become civilised when we learnt to make carbon our save instead of other humans or animals.
As always with each discovery of a new energy source, from fire on upwards, mankind has achieved significant development/progress.
Except, it would seem, in certain ultra right-wing circles? Who seem unable to move forward or let go of the past?
Why?
Could it be that this particular cohort is the natural home of recalcitrant, power-addicted, control freaks?

You are both right, Peter Lang and runner. Western civilisation is in dire straits, and it is our fault. We have dangerously undermined free thought, free speech, equality before the law and the right to a fair trial: “western” values that would not long ago have been considered sacrosanct. We routinely denigrate “western” values. We have weakened solidarity and promoted indifference to political principles and institutions.

Western civilisation.........
An oxymoron, bit akin to "honest politician".