A conference held at Cluny (France), an ancient gathering place of scholars, brought together diplomats, linguists, information scientists, and academics from 17 countries to discuss the role of languages in the newly formed European Community and the paradox of unification amidst great cultural diversity. (MSE)

The paradox inherent in a situation in which the need for political unification requires submersion of authentic local or subregional differences is illustrated by the case of Occitania (southern France), where a community is culturally and linguistically removed from the center of a movement intending to represent it. (MSE)

Discusses French colonial rule of Cameroon between World War I and World War II and the establishment of schools specifically for the sons of Cameroon chieftains. Asserts that, like all French education, these schools were elitist. Contends that the French failure to understand African culture doomed these schools to failure. (CFR)