Education and the cultural Cold War in the Middle East : the Franklin Book Programs in Iran

WINNER OF THE 2023 MIDDLE EAST LIBRARIANS ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARD. The Franklin Book Programs (FBP) was a private not-for-profit U.S. organization founded in 1952 during the Cold War and was subsidized by the United States' government agencies as well as private corporations. The FBP was initially intended to promote U.S. liberal values, combat Soviet influence and to create appropriate markets for U.S. books in 'Third World' of which the Middle East was an important part, but evolved into an international educational program publishing university textbooks, schoolbooks, and supplementary readings. In Iran, working closely with the Pahlavi regime, its activities included the development of printing, publishing, book distribution, and bookselling institutions. This book uses archival sources from the FBP, US intelligence agencies and in Iran, to piece together this relationship. Put in the context of wider cultural diplomacy projects operated by the US, it reveals the extent to which the programme shaped Iran's educational system. Together the history of the FBP, its complex network of state and private sector, the role of U.S. librarians, publishers, and academics, and the joint projects the FBP organized in several countries with the help of national ministries of education, financed by U.S. Department of State and U.S. foundations, sheds new light on the long history of education in imperialist social orders, in the context here of the ongoing struggle for influence in the Cold War. Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 A Note on Transliteration 10 List of Abbreviations 11 Chapter 1 A Cold War History of Books and Education 14 Chapter 2 Cultural Imperialism: Why Franklin Book Programs Matters 26 Chapter 3 Franklin Book Programs: Translation, Publications, and Book Distribution during the Cold War 32 Origins, Policies, and Structure 34 Categories of Title Listing and Process of Title Selection 41 Chapter 4 History and International Evolution of the Franklin Book Programs (1952–77) 46 Early Years and Early Success (1952–6) 47 Moving away from Translation Programs toward Educational Projects (1956–68) 56 Reintroduction as an International Educational Development Program (1968–75) 65 Years of Decline (1975–7) 75 Chapter 5 Franklin Book Programs in Iran: Context, Establishment, and Regular Translation Programs 78 Soviet–US Rivalry in Iran during the Cold War and the Role of the Iranian State 78 Soviet–Iran Cultural and Educational Relations 81 US–Iran Cultural and Educational Relations 85 Tehran Branch: Establishment and National Development 89 Publishing Industry in Iran 94 Regular Translation Program 99 Chapter 6 Franklin Book Programs in Iran: Special Educational Projects, Reactions to the Tehran Branch, and Demise 106 Production and Publication of the Persian Encyclopedia 107 Development of the Printing Plant (Offset Printing House) 109 Mass Distribution of Books in Iran (kitābhā-yi jībī Project) 110 Workshops for Publishers 112 Development of the Paper Production Company (Pars Paper Company) 112 Afghanistan Textbook Project 113 Technical Aid to the Printing Plant of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education 116 Iran Textbook Project 117 Publication of Children’s Literature and Payk Magazines 124 Relations with Other Organizations in the Field of Education 136 Reaction to the Tehran Branch: The Case of Jalal Al Ahmad 138 Demise of the Tehran Branch 144 Chapter 7 The Cold War, Knowledge Production, and the Middle East 148 Appendix I: The Presidents of the FBP and a List of FBP Local Branches 159 Appendix II: Local Participation by Civic and Intellectual Leaders 162 Notes 167 References 189 Index 199 "The Franklin Book Program (FBP) was a private not-for-profit U.S. organization founded in 1952 during the Cold War and was subsidized by the United States' government agencies as well as private corporations. The FBP was initially intended to promote U.S. liberal values, combat Soviet influence and to create appropriate markets for U.S. books in 'Third World' of which the Middle East was an important part, but evolved into an international educational program publishing university textbooks, schoolbooks, and supplementary readings. In Iran, working closely with the Pahlavi regime, its activities included the development of printing, publishing, book distribution, and bookselling institutions. This book uses archival sources from the FBP, US intelligence agencies and in Iran, to piece together this relationship. Put in the context of wider cultural diplomacy projects operated by the US, it reveals the extent to which the programme shaped Iran's educational system. Together the history of the FBP, its complex network of state and private sector, the role of U.S. librarians, publishers, and academics, and the joint projects the FBP organized in several countries with the help of national ministries of education, financed by U.S. Department of State and U.S. foundations, sheds new light on the long history of education in imperialist social orders, in the context here of the ongoing struggle for influence in the Cold War"-- Provided by publisher