AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIES - VOLUME 1 - OCTOBER 1949 - NUMBER 2

Sep 21, 2026

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October 1949 issue of the American Council of Learned Societies newsletter, presenting organizational information and scholarly updates for developing Near Eastern studies. The centerpiece article, “A Report on a Brief Visit to the Near East,” recounts Mortimer Graves’ 1948–1949 travel across Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt to assess academic needs, institutions, cooperation, and the urgent problems affecting the region. The report emphasizes public apathy, the necessity of informed external assistance, and the need to expand modern Near Eastern research beyond established historical, philological, and archaeological traditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages24

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A Report on a Brief Visit to the Near East

By Mortimer Graves

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIESA MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ACADEMIES VOLUME 1OCTOBER 1949NUMBER 2 ?6 驰 ’ c,, 的 CONTENTS A REPORT ON A BRIEF VISIT TO THE NEAR EAST1A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE AC LS NEAR EAST ERNTRANSLATION PROGRAM5HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE HUMANITIES7PROBLEMS OF PUBLISHING II9NEW TRANSLATIONS FROM THE RUSSIAN12FIRST-YEAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM13ACLS COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS15ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT COMMITTEE ONSOUTHERN ASIA BY COUNCILS19 T00aree加 ADMINISTRATION O F FI C ER S Chairman,Cornelius Kruse,Wesleyan UniversityVice-Chairman,John A.Wilson,University of ChicagoSecretary,Lewis Hanke,Library of CongressTreasurer,S.Whittemore Boggs,U.S.Department of State B OA R D OF DI R E CT OR S C.W.de Kiewiet,Cornell UniversityCarl H.Kraeling,Yale University Sturgis E.Leavitt,University of North CarolinaFrederic A.Ogg,University of WisconsinStanley Pargellis,Newberry Library,ChicagoRichard H.Shryock,The Johns Hopkins UniversityJoseph R.Strayer,Princeton UniversityLynn T.White,Jr.,Mills College E X E CU TIVE S T A F F Charles E.Odegaard,Executive DirectorMortimer Graves,Administrative Secretary Donald Goodchild,Secretary for Fellowships and Grants D.H.Daugherty,Assistant to Director Henry M.Silver,Staff Adviser on Publications J.F.Wellemeyer,Staff Adviser on Personnel ProblemsThomas R.Johnson,Bursar William A.Parker,Assistant to Secretary for Fellowships andGrants Joe N.Bourne,Office Manager E X E CU T IV E OFFI C S 1219 Sixteenth Street,N.W.,Washington 6,D.C. Address all communications regarding the ACLS Newsletter toMrs.Sally Hawkins,Editor. A REPORT ON A BRIEF VISIT TO THE NEAR EAST # By MORTIMER GRAVES In the period between October 1948 and June 1949 I spentthree months in Turkey(Istanbul and Ankara),about sixweeks each in Syria and the Lebanon(Aleppo,Beirut,andDamascus),and about eight weeks in Egypt(Alexandria andCairo).The purpose of the sojourn was to lay the basis fora development of Near Eastern studies in the United Statesby reaching some conclusions as to the character of studydemanded by American needs and by becoming acquaintedwith the personnel,the institutions,and the instrumentali-ties with which cooperation will be necessary in the proc-ess. Accordingly I visited all the universities in the area:Istanbul University,Ankara University,American Univer-sity and the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut,Syrian Na-tional University in Damascus,Farouk University in Alex-andria,and Fuad I and American Universities in Cairo,aswell as Robert College and several other American schools,numerous national schools and institutes,learned and sci-entific societies,research institutions,libraries and mu-seums,and I talked with and listened to as many scholarsand educational administrators,newspaper-men and publi-cists,authors,government officials,and interested personsas I found willing to submit to this ordeal.I made abouttwenty addresses,hardly to be dignified as speeches thoughon some occasions they exceeded an hour in length,beforeaudiences up to three hundred people,usually on the organi-zation of science and scholarship in the United States.Acarbon copy of my daily diary was currently mailed to theExecutive Offices and is there on deposit for reference. A visit to the Near East at the present time is a depress-ing experience.Unless'the traveller from happier countrieshas his eyes so firmly fixed on the remains of past gran-deurs that he cannot see the present,he must be appalled bythe aggravated form in which almost every problem knownto man -political,social,economic,intellectual,and re-ligious -presents itself.Even more disheartening is thegeneral public apathy towards these problems,witnessed most recently by the almost complete lack of public con-cern over successive palace revolutions in Syria.Thisapathy is born of the realization that small power of solu-tion rests with the people themselves,that problems of thism

FAQs

What was the purpose of Mortimer Graves’ visit to the Near East?

He aimed to lay the basis for developing Near Eastern studies in the United States by drawing conclusions about study demand, and by understanding the personnel, institutions, and cooperation mechanisms required.

Which countries and cities did Graves visit during the trip?

He spent time in Turkey (Istanbul and Ankara), Syria and the Lebanon (Aleppo, Beirut, Damascus), and Egypt (Alexandria and Cairo).

What concerns did Graves highlight about developing Near Eastern studies?

He argued that modern Near Eastern studies require tools, methods, and informed assistance that currently do not exist at an adequate level, and that progress must build from established scholarship without setting modern work against ancient work competitively.

Sep 21, 2026

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