A page from the archives

This is a letter from Datus Smith (December 8, 1965) to all Franklin offices on the occasion of Hassan Aroussy's death. It shows aspects of Franklin/Cairo's reception:

Franklin Book Programs on Screen and in Retrospect

The discussion of Franklin Book Programs and screening of “Dimensions” (1974), a rarely seen film about Franklin/Tehran. Wed. Aug. 31, 2022, Salamanca, Spain Happy to run the above special session on Franklin as part of the 13th AIS Biennial Conference, which will take place in Salamanca, Spain, from August 30 to September 2, 2022. This … Continue reading Franklin Book Programs on Screen and in Retrospect →

Book diplomacy conference

Thanks to all of our participants of the Book Diplomacy conference. It was a great pleasure to host such a diverse group of scholars from around the world. Here is a selection of the photos I made during the conference. Dr. Greg Barnhisel has also made some photos during the conference and he has kindly … Continue reading Book diplomacy conference →

Book Diplomacy conference: Panels and Program

Very pleased to announce that the panels and the conference program is finally available. To access this, kindly click the "Book Diplomacy Conference" page above.

Franklin Research Group

The idea of forming a research group on Franklin Book Programs has been a major concern since I started the Coldbihot research project. I first mentioned this in 2016 (here) because, having worked with Franklin archives, it became immediately clear to me that a collective effort was needed to process not only the Franklin's massive … Continue reading Franklin Research Group →

A brunch talk on Franklin

Pleased to present today my ongoing research as part of the History Brunches of the International History and Politics Department of the Graduate Institute Geneva. Prof. Cyrus Schayegh will be acting as the commentator. The Link.

“Book Diplomacy” conference

Pleased to announce that the Institute for History (Leiden University) is hosting a new conference entitled, "Book diplomacy" in the cultural Cold War: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (28-29 April 2022). The opening lecture is given by Professor Greg Barnhisel (Duquesne University), the author of Cold War Modernists: Art, Literature, and American Cultural Diplomacy (2015). More information about … Continue reading “Book Diplomacy” conference →

Bengali Titles

The Library of Congress has recently started to systematically work on the Franklin Book Programs collection. In this video, two junior fellows talk about their work on the Bengali titles of Franklin Book Programs.

Books and Agents

Online Panel Discussion 9/09/21 6pm. Discover how America used publishing for political agitation in the Cold War through the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) and Franklin Book Programs, and how anti colonial cultural networks including the Afro-Asian Writers Association were formed. This was a great opportunity to talk with the people behind the Fehras Publishing … Continue reading Books and Agents →