Beyond the 'Tissue of Cliches'?: The Purposes of the Fulbright Programme and New Pathways of Analysis

This article critically explores some of the evaluative perspectives and models developed by social science scholars in order to further critical thinking on the function of exchange programmes, and particularly Fulbright, within international relations. It takes the concept of 'educational exchange' to mean the movement of individuals or groups between nations for the purpose of training of some kind, ranging from high school visits to professional skills. The Fulbright programme covers both student and scholar exchange and has the added element that academics are moving also to teach, taking their expertise with them. While there are many studies of bilateral exchange programmes, there is more to explore in terms of the function of educational exchange as a vector of transfer (be it of knowledge, material, people, or all three) in transnational or international history. The article first surveys the literature on the Fulbright programme to assess how its purposes in international relations have been presented. It then explores potentially innovative ways to conceptualise exchanges in international and transnational interactions: 'geographies of exchange,' 'brain circulation,' 'centres of calculation,' 'enlightened nationalism,' and 'parapublics'. Keywords: Educational exchange, knowledge transfer, brain circulation, evaluation Fulbright program Bu makale, degisim programlarinin, ozellikle de Fulbright Programinin uluslararasi iliskilerdeki islevi hakkinda elestirel dusunmeyi gelistirmek icin sosyal bilimler arastirmacilari tarafindan gelistirilen bazi degerlendirici bakis acilarini ve modellerini elestirel olarak incelemektedir. 'Egitim degisimi' kavrami, lise ziyaretlerinden mesleki becerilerin gelistirilmesine uzanan bir tur egitim amaciyla bireylerin veya gruplarin milletler arasi hareketi anlamina gelmektedir. Fulbright programi, ogrenci ve akademisyen degisimini kapsamakta olup, buna ilave olarak, akademisyenlerin beraberlerinde goturdukleri uzmanliklari ile ogretim imkanlari sunmaktadir. Ikili degisim programlarina iliskin bircok calisma olmasina ragmen, ulusotesi veya uluslararasi tarihte bir aktarim vektoru olarak (bilgi, malzeme, insan veya ucunun tumu) egitimsel degisimin islevi acisindan kesfedilecek daha cok sey oldugu vurgulanmaktadir. Makale, oncelikle Fulbright programinin uluslararasi iliskilerdeki amaclarinin nasil sunuldugunu degerlendirmek amaciyla literaturu incelemektedir. Makale, daha sonra, uluslararasi ve ulusotesi etkilesimlerdeki mubadeleleri 'mubadele cografyalari', 'beyin dolasimi', 'hesap merkezleri', 'aydinlanmis milliyetcilik' ve 'cumhuriyet-otelilik' gibi yenilikci kavramlarla ele almaktadir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Egitimsel degisim, bilgi transferi, beyin dolasimi, degerlendirme, Fulbright programi
1. Introduction It is a widespread assumption that cross-border exchanges contribute to a more peaceful international environment by undermining stereotypes and establishing social ties. As Julie Mathews-Aydinli summed up in [...]