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Scholar Institutes are designed to strengthen curricula and improve the quality of teaching about the United States overseas.
These Institutes host multinational groups of university faculty or secondary school educators. Each Institute is thematically focused on a field or topic of U.S. studies. Participants interact with American scholars, meet with experts in their disciplines, visit civic institutions, and explore the diversity and culture of the United States.
Current Scholar Institutes include:
Scholar Institutes typically take place during the months of June, July, and August, with the exception of U.S. National Security which occurs in January and February.
The Institute on American Civilization provides a multinational group of
18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university faculty
and scholars with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and
culture, past and present. While the Institute examines some
of the critical historical epochs, movements, issues and conflicts
that have influenced the development of the nation and its
people, it also includes a strong contemporary component,
particularly current political, social, and economic issues
and debates. The complexity and heterogeneous nature of American
society are highlighted, as are the institutions and values
that enable the nation to accommodate that diversity. The
Institute is designed to assist faculty who are attempting
to develop or enhance courses focusing on the United States;
it draws from a diverse disciplinary base and provides a model
of how a foreign university might approach the study of the
United States.
The Institute on American Politics and
Political Thought provides a multinational
group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university
faculty and related professionals with a deeper understanding
of U.S. political institutions and major currents in American
political thought by focusing on the interplay between ideas
and institutions in shaping the contemporary American polity.
The Institute provides an overview of the origins, development,
and current functioning of the American presidency, Congress
and the federal judiciary. Examination of political institutions
is further expanded to include the two-party system, the civil
service system, interest groups, and the welfare/regulatory
state. Participants also examine competing strains in modern
American political thought/culture, such as liberalism, republicanism,
libertarianism, communitarianism, conservatism, neo-conservatism,
etc. The Institute reviews the provenance and trajectory of
these different intellectual strands or movements, and highlights
how they have intersected with American political institutions
to shape public discourse and public policy formulation in
the contemporary United States.
The Institute on Contemporary American Literature
provides a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated
foreign university faculty and scholars with a deeper understanding
of contemporary American literature. Its purpose is twofold:
1) to explore contemporary American writers and writing in
a variety of genres; and, 2) to suggest how the themes explored
in those works reflect larger currents within contemporary
American society and culture. The Institute explores the diversity
of the American literary landscape, examining how major contemporary
writers, schools, and movements reflect the traditions of
the American literary canon. At the same time, the Institute
exposes participants to writers who represent a departure
from that tradition, and who are establishing new directions
for American literature.
The Institute on Journalism and Media provides
a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated
foreign journalism instructors and other related professionals
with a deeper understanding of the roles of journalism and
the media in U.S. society. The Institute examines major topics
in journalism, including the concept of a "free press,"
First Amendment rights, and the media's relationship to the
public interest. The legal and ethical questions posed by
journalism are also incorporated into every aspect of the
institute. The Institute covers strategies for teaching students
of journalism the basics of the tradecraft: researching, reporting,
writing, and editing. Technology's impact on journalism, the
influence of the Internet, the globalization of the news media,
the growth of satellite television and radio networks, and
other advances in media that are transforming the profession
are also explored in depth.
The Institute on Religious Pluralism in
the United States provides a multinational
group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university
faculty and related practitioners with a deeper understanding
of religious pluralism in the United States and its intersection
with American democracy. Employing a multi-disciplinary approach,
and drawing on fields such as history, political science,
sociology, anthropology, and law, the Institute explores both
the historical and contemporary relationship between church
and state in the United States. Additionally, the Institute
examines the ways in which religious thought and practice
have influenced, and been influenced by the development of
American-style democracy; examines the intersections of religion
and politics in the United States in such areas as elections,
public policy, and foreign policy; and explores the sociology
and demography of religion in the United States today, including
a survey of the diversity of contemporary religious beliefs
and its impact on American politics.
The Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy
provides a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated
foreign university faculty and related professionals with
a deeper understanding of how U.S. foreign policy is conceptualized
and enacted with emphasis on the post cold war era. The Institute
examines the intersection of ideas and structures in the development
of U.S. foreign policy, but focuses primarily on the main
philosophical traditions on which U.S. foreign policy has
been based; the grand strategies and frameworks that have
been developed out of these philosophical trends; and, what
actors--both governmental and non-governmental--shape U.S.
foreign policy from its conceptualization to its enactment.
An overarching goal of the Institute is to illuminate the
relationship between U.S. policies and the political, social,
and economic forces in the United States that constitute the
domestic context in which such policies are debated, formulated,
and executed. Lastly, the Institute is structured to give
attention to U.S. policy both globally and in particular geographic
areas, by examining the role of U.S. foreign policy within
the context of international relations and international institutions.
The Institute on U.S. National Security
provides a group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign
university faculty and related professionals with a deeper
understanding of the foundations and formulation of U.S. national
security policy, with specific reference to American views
on what constitutes basic U.S. national security and defense
requirements and how those views have evolved in the post-Cold
War era, especially within the context of the ongoing war
against terrorism. Continuities and changes in U.S. national
security policy are illuminated by examining how U.S. national
security policy has dealt with specific areas of concern over
time, for example nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction,
and combating international terror networks. The Institute
is multi-disciplinary in its approach and examines the various
historical, geographic, economic, cultural, and political
factors involved in the making of U.S. national security policy.
Lastly, the Institute is structured to give attention to U.S.
national security policy from multiple perspectives, domestically,
globally and in particular geographic areas.
The Institute for Secondary Educators
provides two multinational groups of 30 experienced and highly-motivated
secondary school educators (teachers, teacher trainers, textbook
writers, curriculum developers, and education ministry officials)
with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past
and present. The Institute is organized around a central theme
or themes in U.S. civilization and has a strong contemporary
component. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary
and interdisciplinary approaches, Institute content is imaginatively
integrated in order to elucidate the history and evolution
of U.S. institutions and values, including illuminating contemporary
political, social, and economic debates in American society.
While the primary focus of the Institute is on American studies,
sessions on pedagogy are included to explore new teaching
methodologies and ways to incorporate American studies content
into foreign secondary courses.
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"I gained precise insight into the critical thinking of both the American academic community and the general public on the issues of the U.S foreing policy. The Institute has allowed me to stop back and look at the area of international relations from a completely different perspective, through the eyes of the policy-makers and citizens of a different country."
- Quote by Lenka from the Czech Republic. |
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