Origins of Scholarly Exchange: Before 1900

In antiquity, renowned centers of higher learning developed in a variety of locations. What they had in common was a population of foreign students, youth who traversed countless miles, often in difficult conditions, to learn at the feet of the masters. In ancient times, centers of advanced learning had developed in Greece, Plato’s Academy among the first, then in Rome, the Middle East, and Asia. Later, during the Middle Ages, Europe’s great universities began to develop, all of which hosted significant numbers of foreign students and scholars. Their very presence was an indicator that the center was in fact a great source of knowledge. In contrast, America’s first colonial colleges were established to assure the new country’s ability to educate its own citizens independently, eliminating the need for young scholars to travel to Europe for higher learning. While initially focused on academic independence, America’s new institutions soon rose in status, and began to attract internationally mobile students and scholars. The dye was cast for its coming dominance in the field of international education exchange.