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2004 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:
• "Contemporary American Literature"
• "American Civilization"
• "U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation"
• "U.S. Political Economy and the Global Economic System"
• "Religion in the United States: Pluralism and Public Presence"
• "Fulbright American Studies Institute for Secondary Educators"

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 mid June and early August 2004. 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:

Following is brief description of each Fulbright American Studies Institute:

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. The primary institute theme is "Redefining American Spaces: the City, the Land and the Body." 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.

American Civilization
Host institution: to be determined.
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 develop or enhance courses on the United States at their home institutions and who have little or no expertise in this field. The program aims to provide program participants a deeper understanding of U.S. society, culture, values and institutions. While the program will examine some of the critical historical epochs, movements, issues and conflicts that have experienced the development of the nation and its people, it will also include a strong contemporary component, particularly current political, social and economic issues and debates. The complexity and heterogeneous nature of American society will be highlighted, as will the institutions and values that enable the nation to accommodate that diversity.

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: The goal of the program is to provide a survey of the historical and global context, the government and policymaking process, and the role of society and domestic politics in the contemporary practice and formulation of U.S. foreign policy. The program will also provide an introduction to other political institutions, such as interest groups, commercial actors, media, and individuals that contribute to U.S. foreign policy. The program will be structured to give attention to the role of public influences on foreign policy, and foreign policy influences on domestic politics.

U.S. Political Economy and the Global Economic System
Host institution: to be determined.
Suggested participant specialization: economics, political science, international relations and international business/management.
Program description: The program will provide participants with a deeper understanding of the domestic political context of and influences on U.S. economic policymakers, as well as the substance of the U.S. domestic and foreign economic policy. Prospective topics to be treated include: philosophical assumptions and social norms underpinning the U.S. "democratic market system"; the evolution of post-war American economic thought on the role of the market and the state in society; roles of congress and executive branch departments and agencies; role of interest groups, trade associations, lobby organizations, think tanks, research institutes and other actors in economic policymaking; regulation of the economy and economic consequences of governmental interventions in pursuit of environmental, health and safety, and other policy concerns; impact of cross-border flows of direct investment, technology and labor on the American economy and politics, etc.

Religion in the United States: Pluralism and Public Presence
Host institution: The University of California - Santa Barbara
Suggested participant specialization: religion, history, and American studies
Program description: The program is aimed at examining religious pluralism in the U.S., its dynamics and evolving patterns. A second goal is to make clear what religious studies as conducted in the modern university is, and is not. A third goal will be to highlight debates within the study of religion in the U.S. Many debates will be reviewed, such as competing models of religious pluralism and ideologies of multiculturalism; whether emphasis is upon formal religious doctrines, texts and moral teaching as opposed to the "lived religion" of people; the "culture war" debate; ideologies of inclusiveness and separatism with regard to lifestyle; arguments over how some faith traditions grow and others do not.

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 from countries worldwide with opportunities to broaden the cultural and historical base of the courses they design and teach by enriching their knowledge of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions, past and present. The program will offer a broad overview of the United States in the context of American studies and its constituent disciplines through an integrated series of lectures, readings, interactive discussions, site visits, independent study opportunities, and faculty-assisted curricular research. The ultimate purpose of the programs is to improve the quality of teaching and enhance the development of curricula about the U.S. in educational institutions and school systems abroad.

Download and fill Application Form (MS Word format, 44KB).