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Show I „ 1 f! UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BROADWAY AT 120 TH STREET « N E W Y O R K 27,N.Y PRESIDENT'S ROOM January 93 -1-956 Dr. Aziz S. Atiya Department of Wear Eastern Studies University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan K£p dear Dr. Atiya: Thank you most warmly for your letter of January h and its enclosures. Let me reciprocate in the warmest possible terms your expressions of pleasure in our meeting. We are grateful for the information concerning, your proposed courses. I had already circulated a number of my colleagues, who are especially concerned.with information regarding your plans as you outlined them to me orally. They, like myself, were much pleased. However, one of my colleagues in Church History comments as follows:- "Thank you for letting me see this correspondance regarding Dr. Atiya. I think the outline of courses is excellent. The one suggestion I would like to make, however, is that he would probably draw more students in a course on the Crusades than he would in one entitled "The Coptic Tradition in Christian History." Our offering in medieval history lias always been weak here, and I certainly think something on the Crusades would be a valuable addition to our curriculum. I should imagine that the number of people interested specifically in Coptic history is far more limited." I am inclined to concur with this comment. Indeed the only misgiving which I felt as you outlined your course plans was as to whether we could arouse sufficient interest in the earlier history of the Coptic Church tc assure you of a respectable enrollment in the course. 1m I right in the impression that you have from time to time offered courses in the Crusades? I recall that you intend to include some of this material in your course "The Relations between the West and the iMear East" at Columbia, but there would be little overlap in enrollment between this course and one offered here. Alternatively, perhaps you could broaden the scope of the first course as you have had it in mind to encompass "Eastern Christianity in its Historical Development", thus preparing the way for "Eastern Christianity in Modern Times" which we would then schedule in the second semester. If desired, you might add a parenthetical qualification to the first title "("with special reference to the Coptic r'/i/ft? |