Introduction: American Fantasies and Dreams

In many ways, the 36th International ASAT Conference held on 14-16 May, 2014 at Atatürk University in Erzurum was a dream come true. It was the first time we hosted an ASAT conference in eastern Turkey, where the association had never had the opportunity to hold such a large event in its history. Erzurum and Atatürk University not only turned out to be an historically and culturally interesting venue, but it also attracted a whole range of new participants, some of whom came from other eastern Turkish universities and even some from neighboring Iran.