At Start of Third Year Salzburg Seminar Boasts Imposing Record

On July 17, the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies will begin its third summer session in Austria with a faculty of 12 American professors and a Student body of about 100 men and women from almost every country in Europe. A staff of six undergraduates and several faculty wives will take care of the administration of the school.

The seminar developed from a food relief drive in the spring of 1947. Under the leadership of Clemens Heller, an Austrian born graduate student, Richard D. Campbell, Jr. '48, and Scott B. Elledge, and English instructor, a group of undergraduates developed the idea of school where student's of all nationalities could come together and establish international friendship and understanding. With the sponsorship of the Students Council, they rented an eighteenth century castle, Leopoldskron, outside the Austrian city of Salzburg from the widow of producer Max Rinehardt. They convinced several well-known American teachers of the soundness of their idea, among whom were Professors Wassily Leontief, F. O. Matthiesen, and Benjamin F. Wright of Harvard and Margaret Mead of the American Museum of Natural History.

The plan was immediately successful. Not only was the Seminar over-subscribed by applications, but it proved to be the most complete school of American studies in Europe, with courses on history, government, economies, sociology, literature, and art. An improved library--the best on American subjects in Central Europe--and another excellent faculty helped to make the record of the second year just as impressive. Harvard was again represented by Professor Leontief, and Talcott Parsons, professor of sociology, made his first trip to the Seminar. In gener- al, however, the teaching staff was more broadly representative of the United States than in the first year. Professor Henry Nash Smith of the University of Minnesota was chosen as Executive Director and lectured at Salzburg on the for tan lectured at Salzburg on the impact of thew West in American Though."

The choice of American Studies as the topic of the Seminar turned out to be a good one. Not only did it insure the presence of students who know English, but also it gave the Europeans problems to consider other than their own, a chance to talk about subjects which were not restricted by their national borders. And with the United States holding such an important position in European affairs, the six-week sessions at the Seminar have been able to correct many misconceptions about America.

Members of the State Department have called the Seminar "the best method yet devised of presenting America to Europeans." But since its start, the school has avoided any official connection with the Government lest Europeans consider it a propaganda tool. Even so, many of the students, particularly in 1947, came to the Seminar on the lookout for indoctrination in the "American way." Often they were surprised to discover that the Americans on the faculty and staff were willing to examine criticism of the United States. The democratic atmosphere, at the Casile made propaganda unnecessary. Most of the Europeans were impressed by the personal nature of the instruction and by the encouragement they received to question teachers and challenge their statements.

A French student at Salzburg last summer wrote. "One of the most admirable things about the Seminar was the absence of official propaganda. Most of the American students and professors proved entirely unbiased and broadminded, willing to learn about Europe as much as we were to learn about America. . . "

Student Selection

Without regard to nationality or political belief, preference in student selection is given to those who plan to teach or enter public life, in order to spread the influence of the Seminar as widely as possible. Application are screened by European student organizations and teachers, and final choice is made after an interview with the Executive Director, Professor John Finch of Dartmouth. All students attend the Seminar without cast to themselves, and where necessary they have their travelling expenses paid.

Salzburg was found to be a suitable location both academically and geographically. The Semiar coincides with the annual Music Festival, and regular concerts are given at the Castle by members of the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg. More important, Austria as an occupied country is one of the few places in Europe where East and West can meet.

Not long ago, a German student wrote of his six weeks at Salzburg, "The Seminar was the greatest intellectual and personal experience of may academic life. The words 'France' or 'Norway' or 'Czechoslovakia' will no more produce as the first association in our minds a piece of the map and some vague prejudices, but very concrete pictures of some friendly faces, acts of courtesy and help, witty remarks or the memory of outstanding personal destines."

During the winter and spring, the Seminar cooperates with World Student Relief to support the Leopoldskron Rest Center at the Castle. Groups of 50 European students who are suffering from the effects of illness or physical hardship are admitted for a month of informal study, and relaxation.

The program for this year looks promising. Another group of capable professors have consented to serve without pay, and the curriculum ranges from diplomatic history in the twentieth century to American music. Harvard will be represented by professors Benjamin F. Wright and Clyde K. M. Kluckhohn, and Florence Kluckhohn. The administrative stuff is busy now raising the $60,000 budget. A grant of $15,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation helped the drive considerably, but about half of the total is still to be collected.

From an adventurous idea, the Seminar has after two years established itself on a permanent basis. Its success and the welcome it has had in Europe have persuaded other colleges to make plans for similar institutions elsewhere. It has proved that national boundaries and even the "Iron Curtain" can be transcended. Last month President Conant wrote of the Seminar. "At a time when there is a great deal of talk about international good will and altogether too little evidence that such good will is on the increase, it is heartening to know that the experiment at Schloss Leopoldskron is becoming less of an experiment and more of an established institution."Carl J. Friedrich, professor of Government at Harvard, lectures to a course in the social structure of the United Stated. Professor Talcott Parsons of the Social Relations Department is seated at right. Parsons was a member of the ten-man American faculty who taught at the Seminar last summer. One of the many distinguished visitors who lectures at Leopoldskron, Friedrich was governmental affairs adviser to General Clay in Germany.