Western European Studies in the United States. Final Report.

The task of this survey was to measure the relative scale of interest in Western European Studies in the United States. Doctoral dissertations and mainstream academic journals in political science, economics, anthropology, geography, sociology, and history were examined for topics dealing with Western Europe. In addition, programs and organizations on both campus and national levels which deal with Western Europe and Western European language training for nonlanguage specialists were analyzed. The assumption that the number of scholars in the United States whose interests and research deal primarily with Western Europe is considerably greater than those whose work focuses on other areas of the world proved to be wrong. Only in history did Western Europe continue to occupy a place of primary importance. This relative lack of interest represents efforts on the part of the educational system to heighten the international character of higher education. Suggestions and recommendations for increasing programs and research on Western Europe are provided. (Author/DE)