Salzburg Celebration

1997 marks a milestone in the life of the Salzburg Seminar

In addition to the half-century anniversary of the Marshall Plan (see "Reconstructing Europe," May-June), 1997 marks a similar milestone in the life of a continuing institution, the Salzburg Seminar. Conceived by Harvard students, the seminar was hailed as "the first general experiment in international education in postwar Europe" in the April 12, 1947,Harvard Alumni Bulletin. Subsequent issues reported on the progress of this "important element in the cultural exchange" between the United States and "that part of Western Europe on our side of the Iron Curtain," and pleaded for funds and supplies. That the seminar's circumstances have improved was reported in this magazine's "Encounters at the Schloss" (November-December 1987, page 66). The seminar's 17,000 alumni will celebrate with a "homecoming" in October, along with regularly scheduled programs on world trade, nationalism, and international law. Its circle of friends has also broadened eastward: among the speakers this year is Mikhail Gorbachev. To another 50 years of civil discourse!

Most popular

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

He was Harvard’s quintessential people person.

The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead

 A Harvard botanist investigates mystic potions, voodoo rites, and the making of zombies.

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings surrounded by greenery and city skyline.

In a sea of red brick, the Science Center and Peabody Terrace make their mark.