The following appeared in Volume 98, Number 1 (Fall, 1998) of the APA Newsletters

• David A. Crocker, Chair (1995-98)
• David Burrell
• Deen Chatterjee
• Dan Dennett
• Nancy Fraser
• Dan Garber
• Lenn Goodman
• Roy Martinez
• Thomas McCarthy
• Hilary Putnam
• Georges Rey
• Olufemi Taiwo (Ex officio)

On July 1, 1998 I completed my three-year term as chair of the Committee on International Cooperation (CIC). I wish to thank four other CIC members, whose terms also ended on July 1: David Burrell (Notre Dame), Nancy Fraser (New School) Roy Martinez (Spelman), and Georges Rey (Maryland). David and Roy made valuable contributions to our planning meeting in 1996, and, like these two members, Georges organized one CIC session at a divisional meeting. Although he departed from the Committee in 1997, I also wish to give special recognition to Dan Garber for spearheading our efforts to further internationalize the APA.

The CIC’s new chair is Jaakko Hintikka, a philosopher well known for both his intellectual achievements and his vast experience in international philosophical cooperation. Other incoming members are Barry Smith (SUNY-Buffalo), Joseph Bien (Missouri), Sissela Bok (Harvard), and Mel Stewart (Bethel). Continuing members, whom I thank for their past and future contributions, are Dan Dennett (Tufts), Lenn Goodman (Vanderbilt), Tom McCarthy (Northwestern), and Hilary Putnam (Harvard).

During 1997-98, the CIC continued its practice of sponsoring events at all three APA meetings. In the 1997 Eastern Division meeting in Philadelphia, the CIC sponsored three sessions: (1) an International Open Forum, moderated by Hilary Putnam, on "Does Your Language Constrain Your Metaphysics?" (75 in attendance; papers from participants from three countries); (panel jointly sponsored with the APA Committee on the Status of Women on "Rights Language and Women" (200+ in attendance); (3) a panel entitled "Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights," addressing indigenous rights in Belize, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States" (25 in attendance). In the Pacific Division meeting (March 1998), the CIC organized two sessions. The first, co-sponsored by the Committee on Hispanics, evaluated the work of the noted Argentine philosopher, Gregorio Klimovsky. Four Argentine philosophers presented papers on his philosophy, and Klimovsky responded to the assessments (30 in attendance). The second was a "conversation," to which Pacific Division department chairs were invited, on "Internationalizing the Philosophy Curriculum" (25 in attendance). Finally, two smaller but vigorous CIC sessions on "Religion and Tolerance" took place in the Central Division meeting (April 1998). One addressed seventeenth century issues, and the other considered contemporary questions.

In 1998-99, the Committee will continue to offer sessions that address international topics and include overseas philosophers at divisional meetings.

A major focus of CIC in the last two years has been the effort further to internationalize APA divisional meetings, especially those sessions organized by divisional program committees. In its October 1997 meeting, the Board of Officers passed two CIC proposals:

First, the Board agreed to a three-year experimental "Foreign Travel Fund" by which the CIC will be allocated $1000/year for three years. These monies will be used to provide partial travel stipends (to be matched by funds from the recipient’s home institution or government) to one or more foreign participants in APA divisional meetings. Gregorio Klimovsky (see above was the first recipient of this CIC travel stipend. The CIC chair, in consultation with a Foreign Travel Fund subcommittee, will decide each year how the funds are to be dispensed. Deen Chatterjee and Lenn Goodman agreed to serve on this sub-committee.

Second, the Board endorsed the idea that each divisional Executive Committee (i) work out a plan to internationalize further its divisional meetings, and (ii) provide travel stipends of $1000/year for each of the next three years to one or more foreign participants whose paper either (i) had been invited by the appropriate divisional program committee or (ii) had been accepted by the normal divisional (blind) review procedures.

It is understood that each division (Executive or Program Committee) has their own procedures for inviting and accepting papers for their respective meetings and the CIC is committed to work with each division in their attempts at further internationalization. We are pleased to report that at the 1997 Eastern Division meeting the Eastern Division Executive Committee agreed to contribute $500 to any foreign participant who demonstrated financial need and whose paper was invited or accepted after blind review. The Pacific Division Program Committee, chaired for 1998-99 by Elizabeth Radcliffe, has no monies of its own for travel stipends but has a tradition of inviting international participants to its meetings.

In order to encourage divisional program committees to invite foreign participants, the CIC has constructed and will make available to the divisional program committees a short list of foreign philosophers who it believes would be particularly well suited for participation at divisional meetings.

The APA and many APA members helped in various ways to make the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, held in Boston 10-16 August 1998, a success. Implementing an idea of former CIC chair Richard DeGeorge, the APA sponsored a session entitled "American Philosophy from Others’ Perspectives: Three Award-winning Essays Submitted to the APA by Younger Foreign Scholars." The APA awarded travel stipends to the three authors -- from Korea, Ireland, and Finland - of the award-winning papers. Commentators on the three papers were, respectively, William McBride, Willard V. Quine, and Sandra Rosenthal. Former CIC chairs William McBride, Richard DeGeorge, and David A. Crocker selected the three papers. APA Executive Director Eric Hoffman chaired the session and reports that the three prize winners were pleased to participate in the Congress and session, receive comments from such distinguished American philosophers, and reap many professional benefits from the event.

In 1997, the CIC initiated an International Partnership Program, to provide institutional and material support to selected overseas universities. In 1997-98, Mark Peterson (University of Wisconsin Centers) was a visiting professor at the University of Latvia in Riga, Latvia. He set up a pilot project whose purpose was to encourage U.S. departments to ship equipment, philosophy books, and other supplies to institutions in Latvia. Professor Peterson has just returned from Latvia and will submit a report on the project for the CIC’s consideration. Mel Stewart, a new CIC member, has identified further ways in which the CIC and individual U.S. philosophy departments could contribute to philosophy institution building in developing and transitional societies. An International Partnership Sub-Committee, consisting of Mel Stewart, Mark Peterson, and Hilary Putnam, was formed

In our April 1996 CIC long term planning, we approved of Olufemi Taiwo’s (Loyola University of Chicago) idea for an APA-Africa Teaching Seminar, modeled on some features of the NEH Summer Seminars. U.S. philosophers would join African philosophers for several weeks in an African setting in order to learn about Africa and African philosophy and address together issues of philosophical teaching, research, and collaboration. (Femi has served on the CIC for several years and is currently editor of the Newsletter on International Cooperation and an ex officio member of the committee). Subsequently, in the December 1996 CIC meeting at the Eastern Division Meeting, the CIC voted to delay action on this matter until a concrete proposal with funding possibilities was placed before the committee.

In its December 1997 meeting the CIC decided that it would welcome proposals from a variety of sources and agree that it might be possible to have two or more events sequenced over a period of several years. As of August 1998, two written proposals and two expressions of interest for hosting an APA-Africa Seminar have been received. In July 1997, the CIC received an invitation from the Vice Chancellor of Uganda Marytrs University, Professor Michael Lejeune, to hold the event in his institution. In the fall of 1997, Philipp Rosemann, a U.S. philosopher returned from an extended teaching assignment at Uganda Marytrs, submitted to the CIC a proposal for a weeklong seminar at Uganda Marytrs. (In July 1998 Professor Lejeune reiterated his interest in sponsoring the event and expressed his willingness to be involved in fund raising). In the spring of 1998, Femi Taiwo presented the CIC with a proposal for a multiyear series of APA-Africa seminars. In August 1998, Paulin Hountondji (National University of Benin and Director of Centre Africain des Hautes Études de Porto Novo) expressed interest in hosting an APA-Africa Seminar at the center that he directs. Len Harris, former chair of the APA Committee on Blacks in Philosophy, will be a Fulbright scholar in Ethiopia in 1998-99 and has expressed interest in exploring the possibilities of such an event being held in Ethiopia. In its long-range planning meeting, to be held in Boston September 12-13, 1998, the CIC will consider the two written proposals and two expressions of interests and decide if and how it will proceed with this potentially very significant project.

In its December 1997 meeting, CIC member Deen Chatterjee indicated his intention to develop and submit to the CIC a proposal to organize a study trip to India for a delegation of U.S. philosophers. The aim of the three-week trip would be to provide a select group of U.S. philosophers with the opportunity to meet in one-to-one and group discussions with Indian counterparts at (i) the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shamble (Himalayas) and (ii) two or three other Indian universities. Each U.S. philosopher would pay for his or her own airfare, and the Indian host institutions would provide room and board. The CIC endorsed the concept of the study trip and encouraged Deen to elaborate and submit a written proposal.

I believe that the CIC has made slow and steady progress in internationalizing the APA and promoting international cooperation. Much, however, remains to be done. The International Partnership pilot program needs to be assessed with respect to its possible replication or modification in other contexts. The promising proposals for an APA-Africa Teaching and Research Seminar and for a U.S. Study Trip to India call for consideration, decision, and (perhaps) implementation. Members of the CIC would need to be involved in planning and fund-raising, especially for the APA-African Seminar, will be crucial.

I would hope to see continued improvement and more regular appearance of the Newsletter on International Cooperation, which Femi Taiwo ably edits, as well as the development of a CIC component (with appropriate links to other associations) in the APA’s website.

More generally, the CIC needs to strengthen existing tools for APA’s international cooperation and explore additional avenues. In particular, more needs to be done to contribute to philosophical institution building in poor and transitional societies.