Higher education exchange between America and the Middle East is a comparatively recent development, but the colorful history of circumstances and events that preceded the relationship is ancient and deep. Here, Bevis explores the multifarious and intriguing story from antiquity to the end of the twentieth century.

Following a brief review of the historical background, Higher Education Exchange between America and the Middle East in the Twenty-First Century continues the higher education story with the events of 9/11. It describes the changes in US immigration policy and the implementation of student tracking systems, and their subsequent impact on Middle Eastern enrollments in US colleges and universities. Bevis also provides an overview of American study abroad in the Middle East, a chapter on Middle Eastern leaders who were schooled in America, an update on current enrollments, and a discussion of issues and trends from respected professionals in the field as we approach mid-century.

This book examines the origins of higher learning, and then traces education exchange to the aftermath of World War II, when the United States was internationally recognized as the epicenter of critical thinking and scientific discovery. As centers of learning arose in the ancient world, the gathering of students they drew invariably included “foreigners”—those not native to the immediate local area. Then as now, inquisitive minds compelled humans to explore, crossing borders to seek enlightenment in faraway places before returning to their homelands. Few societies have been so remote that they could not be affected by the acquisition of imported information. The number of international students and scholars in the United States now exceeds one million. This book narrates the complex and colorful history of intrepid individuals, inspired programs, and world events that have given direction to the path of education exchange, as well as the global dissemination of American scholarship.

This book tells the story of America’s legendary rise in the field of international education exchange, its recent stumble during the pandemic era, and its current resurrection. America brings to its shores more foreign students than any other country, and their presence is the most critical indicator of its exceptional quality of scholarship. Achieving this level of distinction has required public, private, and civic organizations, in league with generations of inspired individuals. Recently there were indications of a fall, mostly attributed to the pandemic, but also to a host of volatile social and geopolitical issues. Unchanged, however, have been the overarching goals of intercultural understanding and world peace. As the field resurrects, some worry that deeper degeneration may still be looming. Others foresee a bright future and predict an aggressive new rise in the field of international education exchange.

Known as "the Pearl of the Mediterranean," Izmir invokes a city and countryside blessed with good fortune; it is known to many as the homeland of Ephesus, Bergama, and Sardis. Yet, Turkey's third largest city has an especially vexed past. The Greek pursuit of the Megali Idea leveraged Classical history for 19th century political gains, and in so doing also foreshadowed the "Asia Minor Catastrophe." Princeton University's work at Sardis played into the duplicitous agendas of western archaeologists, learned societies, and diplomats seeking to structure heritage policy and international regulations in their favor, from the 1919 Paris Peace Conference to the League of Nations. A Pearl in Peril reveals the voices of those on the ground. It also explores how Howard Crosby Butler, William Hepburn Buckler, and William Berry penetrated the inner circle of world leaders, including Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George, and Eleftherios Venizelos. On the smoldering ashes of Anatolia's scorched earth, foreign intervention continued apace with plans for large-scale development. A Pearl in Peril tackles the untold story of Julian Huxley's admiration of the US Tennessee Valley Authority's "principals of persuasion" in the context of the industrial landscapes and pursuit of modernity in the Aegean. The promise of UNESCO, too, brought diplomacy dollars deployed to foster "mutual understanding" through preservation programs at Sardis. Yet, from this same pot of money came support for "open intelligence" at the international fairs held in Izmir's Kültürpark, a turnkey battleground of the Cold War. Ironically, it was UNESCO's colossal Abu Simbel project in Egypt that led the US to abandon their preservation initiatives in Turkey. Five decades on, groves of organic olives, marble quarries and gold mines not only threaten the erasure of sacred landscapes, but also ensure the livelihood of local communities. Ultimately, A Pearl in Peril offers a bold assessment of diplomatic practice, perspectives of contemporary heritage, and the challenges of unprecedented expansion of city and countryside.

This text offers an examination of the economic history of the principal Arab countries, Turkey and Israel since 1918. Using the state as its major economic analysis, it charts the growth of national income and issues of welfare and distribution over two periods, 1918-1945 and 1945-1990. Important trends are explored, including the patterns of colonial economic management, import substitution, the impact of the 1970s oil boom, and the current process of liberalization and structural adjustment