'LET US BE POLYCULTURAL' - A HISTORICAL SUMMARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP57-00012A000100090041-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 19, 2009
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: March 20, 1952
• Content Type: SPEECH

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ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR ANATOL JAMES SHNEIDEROV,
PRESIDENT OF TEE,POLYCUL URAL INSTITUTION OF AMERICA,
AT THE INFORMATIONAL DINNER TO;THE MEMBERS OF THE DIPLgv o CORPS
AND TO MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
AT THE SHOREHAM HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 20, 1952
"LET US BE POLY. CULTURAL" A Historical. Summary
Ladies and Gentlemen-
It is my pleasure and honor to greet you at the first inter-
national, meeting of a Polycultural Institution. To me, at least, the
word "Polycultural'T is significant of a modest present and a very im-
portant future vision for the polycultural idea of learning
The purpose of this meeting is to relate to you :a story of the
Polycultural. Institution of America-. Its immediate objectives, the final
goal, and the aspirations which.lead this young institution of higher
learning toward the goal, and .move it forward from its one-room birth-
place in 191+5, and through the persistent struggle for existence through
the following years of the Institution?s childhoods
The concept for a Polycuitural Institution happened to come to
ins The idea gradually took form as follows.
In the year of 1.944 1 was teaching Slavic philology and the
Russian language to a class of professors at Johns Hopkins University.
Among those professors were three noted language scholars - Professor
Leo Spitzer, Professor Henry Carrington Lancaster, and Professor Kamp
Malone - whomade the suggestion that there was.a place for a school of
Slavic languages in Washington as the hub city of so many international
activities e
This suggestion did not lie dormant. The next year.- 1945 -
I.opened a private school of Slavic languages.
My capital was $70 - only $70? It was not 70 thousand dollars,
nor even 7 thousand dollars, but just the seven time 10 dollars which I
was able to scrape together as working capital to open the school and to
operate it for the first two.months of its life o Now, I ask you Ladies
and Gentlemen, kindly to bear this figure in your minds since I will
refer to it later in .;may remarks
Russian Language was. first offering.
The Russian language was the sole offering during the summer
session of 1945. There was .a staff of one - myself e I taught Russian
phonetics and morphology to 6 students. The fall Offerings of 191+5 were
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Russian, Polish and Czech, with 11, 3, ,and 2 students in each class re-
spectively. Our faculty were 4 and we began to feel crowded in our
one-room school. This space handicap persisted through 191+6o Our
faculty grew to seven instructors teaching, Russian, Polish, Serbian, Czech
and Bulgarian
Then, 1946 like 1.944 was .a year of decision. For, in 1946 the
concept of the school changed so;as to include not only languages but
also the cultural, bases of those languages - the civilizations-of the
peoples concerned. Our research for this expansion. led us to :examine the
established curricula of a large number of universities throughout the
world - American, Australian, and the older institutions of Europe and
the British Isles. Among those from whom we received greatest inspiration
were the University of Melbourne in Australia; Leopold-Franzens Univer-
sitat, Innsbruck and the Universitat Wien in Austria; Karl University in
Prague, Czechoslovakia; the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
of the University of London; LWUniversite de Neuchatel, in Switzerland.
The program, .of Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia Universities
.contributed to our thinking.
By way of personal note, I take the liberty of telling you that
in 1946 and 1947 I had to be two.peopleo The student and the teacher. I
decided that my three degrees in engineering and .my language and scien-
tific training woad be helped by a degree dedicated to the art of teach-
ing. . So, Thursdays through Saturdays of 1946 .and . 147 were spent in
studies,at Columbia University in New York and Mondays-through Wednesdays
were the days of my teaching here in Washington. This resulted in my
attaining my Master's Degree.in Education at Teachers College, Columbia
University in i948o And, as you know,, this job of learning.is never
really complete, so I have one more semester of residence work to do at
the University to qualify me to enter myself as,a candidate for the
doctorate in anthropology and linguistics.
The School ;ands
While I was "expanding" personally, during this period, so was
the school. The exapnsi,on was not my idea.alonel but rather grew out of
the expressions of interest and belief of many of our students, includ-
ing a Senator of the United States. This resulted in the addition of non-
Slavic languages and cultures, such as Finnish,. Latvian,, Magyar, and
Turkish, which also resulted in a change in the name of the School to
"'The Institute of Slavic and East-European Studies". 1947 was also.a
milestone in that the School was.approved by the Board of Education of the
District of Columbia, under Public Law 346. During all of this time we
were bursting at the seams for space and .the landlord finally cooperated
in reverse - or otherwise, as you choose to interpret it - by selling the
house we were partially occupying - and. we had to move.
A building of nine rooms -.modest but well located - two blocks
away was rented,, at 1329 18th Street, N.W. and the new year of 1948 was
celebrated by the faculty of the Institute of Slavic and East European
Studies in its new premises where we have been located since,. Our Faculty
grew to 34 instructors - five of whom were from the staffs of the Embas-
sies here in our national capital. Twenty-four languages and cultures
were included in the offerings of the School in 19489
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In 1949 the number of offerings grew to 48 with 66members on
the faculty 15 of whom were from staffs of embassies and legations here
As-in most schools here in Washington, the enrollment became largely late
afternoon and evening students which necessitated severe limitations in
the number we were able to accept because of the ever-limiting space factor.
Our day work .could.have been expanded except for the Washington habit of
attending school at night. Consequently, our current problem cannot be im-
proved until we have the opportunity of going into a bigger plant which I
hope is a very.immediate possibility.
In 1949 our visitors.came more and more to include professors
from other American colleges and universities who came to see and talk
with u.s about our method of teaching languages and cultures which had
spread its gospel as good methods,always dos A few of these scholars
stayed with the school as participants for ?a period. of several .months. All
of this has resulted in having our credits accepted. by other institutions
.on a parity basis for their own degrees,
lion added to Praram?
,In 1949 requests for languages.and:..cultures reached beyond the
geographical boundaries of Eastern Europe. In addition, the Institute of
Adult Studies was.organizedand incorporated in the general offerings,
based upon the .adult education development in the United, States that
"everything learnable and teachable within the facilities of the Institum,
tiol.and within the desire for learning is desirables' o
The Word "Polycultural" Created.
Out of all this past was conceived the idea which we now.desig-
nate by. the word "Polycultural."a Like all good ideas, this one germinated
slowly but naturally. The pressing need to find a proper name for the
Institution was rooted in the fact that the School now taught many cultures,
languages and many other subjects which were not East-Europea.0 We hunted.
for a word. None commonly used seemed quite right. We finally created the
word.. It was "Polycultu.ral"o This new word fitted because it embodied
within it the concepts; and the meanings which,are part and parcel of teach-
i.ng peoples to know,and understand one another better.
So, today our name is "The Polycultural Institution.of America"
which we affectionately abbreviate as PIA.
Institution Incorporated
On the fourth day of August of 1950 the Polycultural Institution
of America became a corporate entity. It was on that date that the Insti-
tution was incorporated under that name as.a non-profit institution of
higher learning, having "the rank and standing of a university", confering
professional certificates, diplomas, and degrees, subject to the enact-
ment by the Congress.of the United States of America or to the license of
the Board of Education of the District of Columbia.
The charter of incorporation was signed by,
Honorable Watkins Ma Abbitt
Honorable Usher L. Burdick
Honorable H. Rq Gross
Honorable Harold. C Hagen
Honorable Charles R. Howell
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The Following Slides Were Shown;
NO. .1 The Polycultural Building. administration
N. 2 Poly a. ltural Theater for dre nxa, opera, light opera? and
Music generally.
No. 3 & - PTA Hotels for Men,and Women students o
No, 6 All Christian Cathedral for the Catholic, Presbyterian, and
Episcppaiian, Greek and Russian Orthodox,. and for other
Protestant .denominations, located -separately in..each.of the
four wings of the Cathedral.
No. 6a Ginagogue and 6b a Mosque.
No. 9 The Institute of Adult Studies for :""Life Long. Learning".
No. 10 The Institute of Anthropology and Linguistics
Noe il, 12, 13, 1 4., and 15. The five (5) .Area.Institutes which.were
described earlier..
Noe 17 The Polycultur&l Palace, an outstanding structure for cultural
recreation and social gatherings.
It will haves
(a) PIA Club
b) Restaurant for 1,040 seats
c) Banquet Halls and Roams
d) Dance Halls
e) Swimming pool
f) Roman Therms a replica of the hot baths ,of, the
Rom i and Greek empires.
No, 18 The Biology and Medicine Research Center which will also house
the newly Created, Institute of Philosophical Inquiry.
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