The Gift of Laughter

Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at nine this fall, Jean-Baptiste Duroselle has been holding forth in Emerson Hall, and his Gallic-flavored commentary on modern European history has charmed squealing 'Cliffies and sophisticated Harvard men alike.

Serving as a visiting professor is no new chore to Duroselle: besides the U.S., he has taught in Germany and Italy as well as his native France. In the summer of 1958 he was a visiting professor at Brandeis, and it was then that he was asked to come to Cambridge as a Fall Term replacement for William L. Langer, Coolidge Professor of History.

Lecturing before such varied audiences, Duroselle has had an opportunity to note the differences between undergraduates of contrasting nationalities, yet he finds them all rather similar. "There is a bit more individualism in French students," he comments. "That is to say, they don't like so much to be members of clubs and organizations. Here there is much more a sense of community.

"I am very impressed by the effort made here to help the students to develop their culture outside of the classroom," Duroselle commented. "Another difference is fostered by the competitive examinations which French students must pass at various stages in their education. Only a small percentage pass these exams and are allowed to continue in school. Therefore, the serious French student has to reject dancing, going to the moving pictures, and so on. There is more of a struggle to pass than in this country. Here the struggle takes place after the university years."

When he is not helping to ease that struggle, through classroom lectures and speeches to undergraduate organizations, Professor Duroselle retreats to his Widener study, where he is currently doing research on American foreign policy from Wilson to Roosevelt. His book, to be published next Spring, will serve as the introduction to a ten-year study of Franco-American relations. As director of the center for study of international relations, a branch of the Foundation Nationale des Sciences Politiques of the University of Paris, Duroselle is directing the research for this project.

His comments on the present state of Franco-American relations are at once perceptive and optimistic. "The idea of France's withdrawing from NATO is absurd. France is intelligent enough to realize that her security is to a large degree dependent on the American alliance. But De Gaulle thinks NATO's structure could be more efficient. For example, he thinks that there is too much integration in the army command, necessitating a discreet balance between generals and staff officers of the various countries. He won't change the structure by himself, but he would like to start negotiations to change it."

Will such a change weaken the European community? Duroselle thinks not. "De Gaulle favors the common market," he says, "and within seven years--the length of his term--the market will be revitalized. Then the necessity of a common currency will appear, and it is plain that you can't have a common currency without having a common policy in many areas. The trend towards integration now seems to be irresistible."

Duroselle will leave Cambridge and his Widener study on December 21 and return to his family and studies in Lenchesnay, a suburb of Versailles. His perceptive comments on the French scene as well as his lecture room charm and wit will be missed.