Harvard/International Seminar
The Harvard International Seminar was a deep state recruitment network established William Yandell Elliott, dean of the Harvard Summer School. It was directed for two decades by his student and protégé Henry Kissinger.
Overview
Only 40 of the over 500 applicants were accepted, approximately half are from the field of the humanities and half in politics and economics.[1]
Dr. Benjamin Brown, acting director in 1969, described the seminar's purpose as follows:
Our main goal is give a group of leading young people an opportunity to gain insight into the American way of life. The seminar also affords them an opportunity to compare the problems and conditions of their own countries with those in the United States and the countries of their colleagues. A third objective is to establish better understanding among a select group of people who will be in top leadership roles in their countries in the years ahead....The entire six week period is a very intense experience. By the end of the summer the members have formed a very cohesive body...And although the seminar is short, we have found over the years that the participants generally tend to stay in touch with each other". [2]
Activities
The actual seminars are held only three days a week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Under the guidance of a faculty member (Stanley Cavell in the humanities and George Cabot Lodge and Jon Stoessinger in politics and economics), the participants discuss their readings or presentations as a manifestation of American life and compare them wit their own experiences. The other days are taken up by group field trips to industry, trade union headquarters, settlement neighborhoods, prisons or other characteristic American institutions.
The academic days also often include informal talks with guest speakers. Some of this year's speakers have been statesman Averill Harriman, sociologist David Riesman '31, Far Eastern expert Edwin Reischauer and M.I.T. Linguistics professor Noam Chomsky. [3]
A similar grooming effort, the Georgetown Leadership Seminar, was founded in 1982.
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote |
|---|---|
| Document:1968 Bissell Meeting | “There is no doubt that some covertly funded programs could be undertaken overtly, Mr. Bissell thought. Often activities have been initiated through CIA channels because they could be started more quickly and informally but do not inherently need to be secret. An example might be certain exchange of persons programs designed to identify potential political leaders and give them some exposure to the United States. It should be noted, however, that many such innocent programs are more effective if carried out by private auspices than if supported officially by the United States government. They do not need to be covert but if legitimate private entities such as the foundations do not initiate them, there may be no way to get them done except by covert support to "front" organizations.” |
Sponsor
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Fairfield Foundation | A now defunct CIA front that acted as a philanthropic foundation |
References
- ↑ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/8/12/international-seminar-introduces-foreign-dignitaries-to/
- ↑ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/8/12/international-seminar-introduces-foreign-dignitaries-to/
- ↑ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/8/12/international-seminar-introduces-foreign-dignitaries-to/
