Social science research in the middle east: The American University in Cairo,Egypt

An examination of the history of the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, reveals the kinds of changes which social research has undergone in responding to the social and political pressures of developing countries. Founded in 1952, the Center initially relied heavily on foreign researchers, made grants to individual investigators, and concentrated on subjects of academic interest. Through experience with land reclamation projects, an extensive ethnographic survey of Egyptian Nubia, and an analysis of the population problem in Egypt, the Center has come to focus on larger, interdisciplinary studies conducted by its personnel, to use local researchers to the virtual exclusion of foreigners, to select topics of immediate concern to Egypt, and to emphasize in-house reports or local seminars rather than scholarly publications. Support has come from U. S. government grants and the Ford Foundation, neither of which is entirely satisfactory. The experience of the Social Research Center may suggest a model which can be employed in other developing nations.