Experiments in American Higher Education: Study Abroad in the 1920s

• In Event: Roundtable Session 80
  In Roundtable Session: Contesting Boundaries: Tensions on the College Campus in the 20th Century

Abstract

The first undergraduate study abroad programs at American universities began in the 1920s. Although American graduate students had studied abroad prior to this period, the 1920s marked the first time for structured, American faculty-led, programs for undergraduates. This paper examines the motivations of the American institutions and individuals who introduced and financed these programs. I explore how conceptions of internationalism and education were shaped by the geo-political environment of the Interwar years. I argue that institutions of higher education in the United States launched these programs in the spirit of internationalism and in the interest of broadening the American corporate interests in Europe. I contend that these interests overshadowed the potential educational benefits of immersive language instruction, and cross-cultural exchange.

Author

• Eduardo Contreras, Harvard University