Register of the Edgar Jacob Fisher papers
Finding aid prepared by Samira Bozorgi
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2011
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Edgar Jacob Fisher papers
Date (inclusive): 1888-1933
Collection Number: 79037
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3 manuscript boxes
(1.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The collection relates to Robert College and other American schools in Turkey and elsewhere in the Near East, social and political
conditions in Turkey, and ethnic minorities in Turkey. It consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, student
essays, and printed matter.
Creator:
Fisher, Edgar J. (Edgar Jacob), 1885-1968
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1979.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Edgar Jacob Fisher papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
Edgar Jacob Fisher was born in 1885. He earned his PhD from Columbia University in 1911, where he authored
New Jersey as a Royal Province, 1738 to 1766 (New York: Columbia University). As a proponent of international education, Fisher worked as a professor of social studies
and dean of Robert College in Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1917 to 1933. In 1924, Fisher was briefly dismissed by the Turkish
Minister of Education for allegedly speaking unfavorably about the government to a group of tourists, only to be rehired in
1925. In his time in Turkey, Fisher wrote a number of short articles that appeared in professional journals and
The New York Times about the state of affairs during the first World War and international education. He also worked as the assistant director
of the Institute of International Education. He died in 1968.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection relates to Robert College and other American schools in Turkey and elsewhere in the Near East, social and political
conditions in Turkey, and ethnic minorities in Turkey. It consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, student
essays, and printed matter.
Although mainly focused on events surrounding American schools in the Near East, the collection includes a number of clippings,
professional journal articles, writings, and correspondence about Turkey's history, culture, and ethnic minorities, as well
as the burgeoning Nationalist Movement, Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne, formation of the Republic, and Kemalist reforms;
all of which appear in the
Turkey subject file. Some of the folder titles used in this part of the collection are from the records' creator, hence archaic forms of place
names.
In an effort to standardize curricula, secure funding, and encourage cooperation among the heads of American schools in the
Near East, Fisher worked on the Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education in the
Near East, the correspondence and reports of which appear in the
Robert College file. Also included in this file is correspondence regarding Fisher's expulsion from Robert College by the Minister of Education,
and student research papers on Turkey's ethnic minorities, including Bulgarians, Persians, Gypsies, Greeks, and Armenians.
Arrangement Statement
The collection is organized into 2 series: Turkey subject file and Robert College file
Related Collections
Edgar J. Fisher collection, Ohio State University Libraries
Edgar J. Fisher archive, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University
Mary Mills Patrick papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Ernest W. Riggs papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Education -- Turkey
Minorities -- Turkey
Education -- Middle East
Robert College (Istanbul, Turkey)
Turkey subject file
1888-1933
Scope and Contents note
Clippings, correspondence, printed matter, and published and unpublished writings by others, arranged alphabetically by subject.
box 1, folder 3
Angora (Ankara)
1921-1923
box 1, folder 5
Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal
1921-1923
box 1, folder 6
Constantinople (Istanbul)
1920-1922
box 1, folder 8
Education, public and private
1923-1924
box 1, folder 9
Ethnic minorities
1919-1924
box 1, folder 10
Evictions and deportations, Harput
1921-1922
box 1, folder 11
Gallipoli Campaign
circa 1916
box 1, folder 12
Goldstein, Adolph
1921-1922
box 1, folder 17
Music and dance
1917, 1925
box 1, folder 22
Treaties, general
1921-1922
box 1, folder 23
Treaty of Lausanne
1923-1924
box 2, folder 1
World War I (contd.)
undated
box 2, folder 2
Young Men's Christian Association of Constantinople
1921-1933
Robert College file
1917-1932
General Physical Description note: Boxes 2-3
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence, reports, charts, and other writings relating to Fisher's activities as dean of Robert College, professor
of social studies, and participant in the Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education
in the Near East. Also includes a group of essays written by students on Turkey's ethnic minorities. Maintained in original
order, with correspondence arranged chronologically
Circulating correspondence
1923-1932
Correspondence regarding expulsion
1924
box 2, folder 11
"A Brief Survey of the Development of Robert College Since the War,"
1930 October
Advisory Committee on Education of the Committee of Cooperation on American Education in the Near East
1917-1921
box 2, folder 18
Report and research on American colleges in the Near East
1921 and undated
box 2, folder 19
Research on enrollment and budget at selected American universities
1920 June
box 2, folder 20
Chart of admission requirements for New York state colleges and universities
1917
box 2, folder 21
Charts prepared by Fisher
1920 June
Scope and Content note
Includes comparative analysis of American schools in the Near East, admission requirements and enrollment figures for different
disciplines
box 2, folder 22
Expense account statements
1920 July
Near East education questionnaire
1920-1921
box 3, folder 3-9
Essays by students
1928-1931
Scope and Content note
Includes essays written on the topic of Turkey's ethnic minorities for an assignment titled "A Descriptive Sample of Human
Society"