2003 Fulbright American Studies Institutes
In order to promote a better understanding of American life and institutions, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (BECA) of the U.S. Department of State is offering six-week academic programs aimed at improving U.S. studies curricula abroad. Each Fulbright American Studies Institute focuses on a particular discipline of American studies or on a special topic within a discipline. This year's Institutes are offered in eight subject areas:
• "American Studies for Secondary School Educators"
• "U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation"
• "Managing Diversity: The American Experience"
• "Contemporary American Literature"
• "Religion in the United States: Pluralism and Public Presence"
• "American Political Development: Ideas and Institutions"
• "The U.S. Constitution: Origins, Evolution and Contemporary Issues"
• "The Civilization of the United States: an Introduction"
Fulbright American Studies Institutes are open to Russian educators, including university faculty (primarily from departments of history, political science, or international relations), teacher trainers, curriculum developers, and text book writers who are willing to incorporate information about U.S. culture, society, history, and institutions in their teaching and professional work. Priority will be given to candidates who have special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties.
These programs will be held at American university campuses from early June and early August 2003. Fulbright American Studies Institutes are designed for educators in early stages of their careers, so while there is no formal age limit, preference will be given to those under age 45. In addition, those who have had limited (or no) recent firsthand academic experience in the U.S. will receive top consideration. All candidates must demonstrate a high level of proficiency in written and spoken English.
All costs, including travel and lodging will be paid by BECA.
The programs are not designed to accommodate accompanying dependents.
Applications may be sent to:
Educational Exchanges Office,
American Embassy,
Bolshoy Devyatinskiy per., 8, Moscow 121099
Applications may be faxed to: (095) 728-52-62
Applications may be e-mailed to: mitoussovan@state.gov or artamonovai@state.gov
Please phone 728-53-65 if you have any questions.
Application deadline: February 7, 2003.
Following is brief description of each Fulbright American Studies Institute:
American Studies for Secondary School Educators
Host institution: University of Illinois - Chicago
Suggested participant specialization: American studies, American literature, American history, English language
Program description: This program will provide participants with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present. It will be organized around a central theme or themes in U.S. civilization and will have a strong contemporary component. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, the program will examine the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. The program will also serve to illuminate the contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The programs ultimate goal is to promote the development and improvement of courses and teaching about the u.s. at secondary schools and teacher training institutions abroad.
U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation
Host institution: Walker Institute of International Studies - University of South Carolina
Suggested participant specialization: international relations, foreign policy, history, and political science
Program description: This program will examine the domestic institutional foundations -- political, social, economic and cultural -- of U.S. foreign policy with particular attention to the post-cold war era. Principal themes, critical policy debates, and contemporary issues in U.S. foreign policy will be examined in light of the history of U.S. international relations since World War II and within the larger framework of U.S. diplomatic history as a whole. An overarching goal of the program is to illuminate the relationships between U.S. policies and the political, social and economic forces in the United States that constitute the domestic institutional context, in which such policies are debated, formulated and executed. The program will be structured to give attention to U.S. policy both globally and in particular geographic areas.
Managing Diversity: The American Experience
Host institution: to be determined
Suggested participant specialization: history, sociology, and American studies
Program description: This program aims to provide a deeper understanding of the American experience immigration and race and ethnic relations. ethnicity have played in defining the nature of the American experience. While the program may focus on the experience of selected immigrant /ethnic groups, it will likely include attention to the development of laws and policies governing immigration and citizenship and the impact of immigration on American society, politics and culture broadly. Other topics/issues that may be addressed include: identity formation in immigrant /ethnic communities; the politics of bilingualism (Spanish-English); social, economic, and cultural adaptation and political incorporation of immigrants; coalitions and conflicts among ethnic/racial groups; the role of ethnic lobbies in foreign and domestic policies; and contemporary debates surrounding issues of citizenship and membership in the U.S.
Contemporary American Literature
Host institution: Northern Illinois University
Suggested participant specialization: American literature, American studies
Program description: This program will focus on recent American literature and criticism. Its purpose is twofold: first, to explore contemporary American writers and writing in a variety of genres; second, to suggest how the themes explored in those works reflect larger currents within contemporary American society and culture. The program will explore the diversity of the American literary landscape, examining how major contemporary writers, schools and movements reflect the traditions of the American literary canon and, at the same time, represent a departure from that tradition, establishing new directions for American literature.
Religion in the United States
Host institution: The University of California - Santa Barbara
Suggested participant specialization: religion, history, and American studies
Program description: This institute is intended to provide foreign university faculty with an opportunity to increase their understanding of American civilization through an examination of the American religious experience. Employing a multi-disciplinary approach, the program should explore both the historical and contemporary relationship between church and state in the United States; examine the ways in which religious thought and practice has influenced and been influenced by the development of American democracy; examine the intersections of religion and politics in the United States in such areas as elections, public policy, and foreign policy; and explore the sociology and demography of religion in the United States today, including a survey of the varieties of contemporary religious belief.
American Political Development: Ideas and Institutions
Host Institution: to be determined
Suggested participant specialization: political science, public administration
Program description: This program will provide an overview of American political development and focus on how the interplay between ideas and developments in the spheres of polity, society and economy together have shaped the evolution of American political institutions. Political institutions whose evolution may be examined include (but are not necessarily limited to) the Presidency, Congress, the two-party system, the civil service system, and the welfare-regulatory state. The program thus aims to provide a seminar on the evolution of a particular idea, value or principle (e.g., representation, equality, democracy) and its interpretation by institutional and other actors over time. Regardless of the particular perspective adopted or approach taken, the program will aim to provide participants with a clearer understanding of how policy is formulated and of the character of public policy debates in the contemporary United States.
The U.S. Constitution: Origins, Evolution and Contemporary Issues
Host institution: Lafayette College - Easton, Pennsylvania
Suggested participant specialization: political science, law, and comparative politics
Program description: This program will examine the U.S. Constitution in terms of its philosophical and political origins, its historical evolution, and its place in the debates that mark contemporary American political life. The program will explore the Constitution's historical foundations, examine its fundamental political principles (e.g. federalism, republicanism, checks and balances, separation of powers), trace its political evolution over time, and explore current constitutional issues in the United States in both their present and historical context. Throughout the program, consideration will be given to how the Constitution has served as a defining text through which the central values and institutions of American society have been defined and redefined throughout American history.
The Civilization of the United States: An Introduction
Host institution: New York University's Multinational Institute of American Studies
Suggested participant specialization: American studies, history, political science, and sociology
Program description: This program will be a survey course in American civilization designed for scholars seeking to establish an American studies course and/or program at institutions with little or no expertise in this field. The central program theme will be "the reconciliation of cultural diversity and national unity in the U.S.," which will be explored through the following four sub-themes that will provide the basis for a broad examination of how the U.S. has managed to balance national integration with pluralism: local autonomy and pluralism in America; individual liberty and the American Creed; cultural and social heterogeneity; and, national unity: social and cultural integration.
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