The Peculiarities of Geography: Europe

Abstract

Frequent examination has been made of the problems confronting the student arriving from Europe; the major problems of adaptation arise from differences in peda gogical methods, the rules of university social life, and the habits governing people's daily lives, from rules of courtesy to methods of cookery. But these are secondary problems governed by an historical situation which is the perpetually renewed dialogue between the United States and Europe. Moreover, the problem is a completely individual one and must remain so; there are no prefabricated solutions. In this perspective, cultural exchanges are part of an immense histori cal movement, the significance of which still partially escapes us. Thus, a solution should not be sought merely to the prob lems which are posed today by diverse national pasts, but a cultural policy should be formulated in preparation for a fu ture. On a practical level and in order to facilitate the arrival of this future, the major problem to be examined today, insofar as the European student is concerned, is that of scholastic equivalences. This problem is the result of an increasingly closer international and cultural co-operation. Furthermore, its solution would result immediately in the disappearance of numerous secondary problems which now beset the exchange student.