[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF IRANIAN STUDIES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 8, 1998

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues a short statement by the Council of American Overseas 
Research Centers about efforts of the American Institute of Iranian 
Studies efforts to reestablish contacts with Iran as one in a series of 
good initiatives to expand exchanges with Iran.
  This past summer two professors from the University of Pennsylvania 
took nine American students to Iran for close to three months. USIA 
covered travel expenses, but the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Higher 
Education covered local costs in Tehran. The American Institute of 
Iranian Studies which was founded more than 30 years ago anticipates 
further such exchanges in an effort to help reestablish a more 
permanent presence in Iran.
  The statement of the American Council follows:

      American Institute of Iranian Studies: Activities in Tehran

       Following signals from Iran earlier this year indicating a 
     willingness to conduct a dialogue at non-governmental levels, 
     the American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) has taken 
     steps to reestablish its presence in Iran and to launch 
     programs which support Iranian studies in the United States 
     and contribute to easing tension and facilitating 
     communication between the United States and Iran. A summer 
     language and research program for American graduate students 
     was successfully completed last month and discussions 
     culminated in agreement on a framework for continuing direct 
     dialogue in both Iran and United States, and collaboration in 
     the promotion of research on Iranian civilization.
       The American Institute of Iranian Studies was founded in 
     1967 as a consortium of American universities and museums 
     having an interest in Iranian Studies. It functioned as an 
     American overseas research organization, representing Iranian 
     studies at the institutional level and maintaining a center 
     in Tehran with a resident American scholar as director. The 
     Tehran center was closed in 1979 for political reasons but 
     the organization has remained active since then. For the past 
     nineteen years, AIIrS has worked to support and strengthen 
     the field of Iranian studies in the U.S. by awarding 
     fellowships to help graduate students complete their 
     dissertations. Its current membership consists of fifteen 
     American universities and museums.
       In the spring of 1998, officers of the AIIrS, Profs. 
     William L. Hanaway and Brian Spooner of the University of 
     Pennsylvania, worked with the Permanent Mission of the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations to develop an 
     intensive summer program in Iran for advanced American 
     graduate students. Nine students from the Universities of 
     Texas, Washington, Michigan and California at Los Angeles, 
     the University of Chicago, Tufts University, Harvard 
     University, and Washington University St. Louis, were chosen 
     from over thirty applicants to attend a two-month summer 
     language and research program administered by the 
     International Center for Persian Studies in Tehran.
       The nine students--five women and four men--were briefed in 
     New York by the UN Mission and AIIrS and subsequently spent 
     nine weeks in Tehran attending language classes and carrying 
     out first-hand research relevant to their doctoral 
     dissertation topics which range from historical subjects to 
     studies of Iranian law and society, nationalism and ethnic 
     conflict, and business issues. Most of the students returned 
     to their home universities in early September, although one 
     woman remains in Tehran with the concurrence of the 
     University to pursue further language study. The students 
     were warmly treated by their hosts and the Iranian general 
     public and traveled freely throughout the country with no 
     restrictions or untoward incidents.
       The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Higher Education 
     covered all local costs in Tehran. A grant of $30,000 from 
     the United States Information Agency (USIA) enabled AIIrS to 
     cover the cost of international travel for the students, 
     Hanaway, and Spooner, and to arrange a briefing in New York 
     for the students before their departure. This financial 
     support from the U.S. government was an important factor in 
     the program's success. Hanaway and Spooner kept officials at 
     USIA and the U.S. Department of State aware of all aspects of 
     the program and received support and constructive advice at 
     all stages.
       Hanaway and Spooner were also able to begin negotiations 
     with Iranian scholars and officials which should lead to 
     greater cooperation between scholars in both countries. 
     Within the framework for dialogue, exchange, and 
     collaboration just established, AIIrS expects very soon to 
     send the first of a series of American research fellows, 
     continue advanced language training, launch scholarly 
     exchanges between American and Iranian scholars, serve as a 
     resource in the U.S. for Iranian scholars, and continue 
     dialogue with the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education in 
     Tehran. Through academic non-political programs, AIIrS will 
     work to improve relations between American and Iranian 
     scholars and thereby contribute to improved relations between 
     the two countries.
       Submitted by Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Executive Director, 
     Council of American Overseas Research Centers, Smithsonian 
     Institution, Washington, DC.

     

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