Study of the U.S. Institutes: Request for Statements of Interest.

Dec 28, 2012

SUSI

The U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby is pleased to announce the Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) taking place in June 2013.  There are three separate institutes, for which the U.S. Embassy is currently seeking interested participants from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. 

The Institutes will consist of a balanced series of seminar discussions, readings, group presentations, and lectures.  The coursework and classroom activities will be complemented by educational travel, site visits, leadership activities, and volunteer opportunities. The Institutes will include an academic residency component of approximately four weeks and a domestic study tour of approximately one week.  During the academic residency, participants will also have the opportunity to engage in educational and cultural activities outside of the classroom.  Please see below for descriptions of each of the Institutes. 

The Study of the U.S. Institutes program covers all costs of an individual's participation including international airfare, transportation, lodging, and meals.

How to apply: Please send resumes or CVs, copy of passport bio data page, and an interest statement to pdportmoresby@state.gov by Monday, January 7, 2013.  Interest statements should discuss how your participation would enhance your personal and professional goals and any potential professional outcomes upon your return from the program. 

Institute for Student Leaders on Global Environmental Issues

The Institute for Student Leaders is an intensive academic program for undergraduate student leaders that will explore the role that environmental policy has played in the economic and political development of the United States.  The Institute will use experiential learning techniques to expose participants to current themes in the field, including natural resource management, sustainable development/sustainable agricultural practices, food security, ecotourism, energy generation (new and traditional forms), and water management and treatment.  The issues will be explored from numerous angles: local grassroots activism and civic initiatives, market-oriented approaches, and federal government policies and regulation.  Finally, the Institute will explore environmental issues in the context of a globalized society, and draw comparisons between the United States and the participants' home countries.  The academic residency will be complemented by an educational tour that will take participants to another area of the U.S. where they will meet with local, state, private, and nonprofit organizations working in the field.  The Institute will then conclude with a 3 day program in Washington, D.C.

To be eligible for this program, undergraduate candidates must be proficient in English; have a strong interest in the environment; be between 18 and 25 years of age; have at least one semester left of their undergraduate studies to continue following completion of the program; demonstrate strong leadership qualities and potential in their university and community activities; indicate a serious interest in learning about the United States; have a sustained high level of academic achievement, as indicated by grades, awards, and teacher recommendations; demonstrate commitment to community and extracurricular university activities; have little or no prior study or travel experience in the United States or elsewhere outside of their home country; be mature, responsible, independent, confident, open-minded, tolerant, thoughtful, and inquisitive; be willing and able to fully participate in an intensive academic program, community service, and educational travel; and, be comfortable with campus life, prepared to share living accommodations, and able to make adjustments to cultural and social practices different from those of their home country.

Institutes for Secondary Educators

Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators are intensive post-graduate level academic programs with integrated study tours to provide foreign secondary educators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. society, culture, and institutions.  Two Institutes for Secondary Educators will be offered:

The Institute for teachers will provide a multinational group experienced secondary school teachers with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture – past and present.  The focus of the Institute will be on providing materials for participants to develop high school level curricula about the United States.  Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will elucidate the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined.   The program will also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society.  The four week academic residency will be complemented by a two week study tour.

The Institute for administrators, textbook writers, and ministry of education officials will provide a multinational group with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture - past and present.  The program's theme, "Exploring Access and Equity in U.S. Education and Society" will focus on education, immigration, and civic engagement within U.S. society and culture.  The

Institute will include an intellectually rigorous academic residency component, meetings with regional educators and prominent community leaders, guided independent research, visits to topically relevant sites, a two-week study tour, and the completion of a research project.

To be eligible for this program, candidates should be mid-career, typically between the ages of 30-50, highly-motivated and experienced secondary school educators.  Ideal candidates are secondary school teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, secondary school administrators, or other related professionals with responsibility for secondary education.  This program is highly competitive.  Ideal candidates are individuals who have firm plans to enhance, update or develop courses and/or educational materials with a U.S. studies focus or component, who have no prior or limited experience in the United States, and who have special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties. 

Institutes for Scholars

Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars are intensive post-graduate level academic programs with integrated study tours whose purpose is to provide scholars and professionals (from higher education or research focused organizations) the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. society, culture, and institutions.  Institutes for Scholars will take place at various colleges, universities, and institutions throughout the United States over the course of six weeks beginning in June 2013.  Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars will be held in the following themes in U.S. Studies:

The Institute on American Politics and Political Thought will provide a multinational group of 18 foreign university faculty with a deeper understanding of U.S. political institutions and major currents in American political thought.  The Institute will offer an overview of political thought during the founding period (constitutional foundations) and the development and current functioning of the American presidency, Congress, and the federal judiciary.  The examination of political institutions will include the electoral system, political parties and interest groups, the

civil service system, media and think tanks, and the welfare/regulatory state.  The Institute will address modern political and cultural issues in the United States (including but not limited to immigration and labor, women, environmental, and civil rights) and the significance of public discourse in the formulation of public policy.  Pending ECA grant approval, the Institute will be hosted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The Institute on Contemporary American Literature will provide a multinational group of up to 18 foreign university faculty and scholars with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present, through an examination of contemporary American literature.  Its purpose is twofold: to explore contemporary American writers and writing in a variety of genres; and 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.  At the same time, the program will expose participants to writers who represent a departure from that tradition, and who are establishing new directions for American literature.  Pending ECA grant approval, the Institute will be hosted by the University of Louisville.

The Institute on Journalism and Media will provide a multinational group of 18 journalism instructors and other related specialists with a deeper understanding of the roles that journalism and the media play in U.S. society.  The Institute will examine the rights and responsibilities of the media in a democratic society, including editorial independence, journalistic ethics, legal constraints, international journalism, and media business models.  The Institute will cover strategies for teaching students of journalism the basics of the tradecraft: researching, reporting, writing, and editing.  The program will also highlight technology's impact on journalism, such as the influence of the internet, the globalization of the news media, the growth of satellite television and radio networks, and other changes in media that are transforming the profession.  The Institute host will be determined at a later date.

The Institute on Religious Pluralism in the United States will provide a multinational group of up to 18 foreign university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present, through an examination 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, law, and others, the program will explore both the historical and contemporary relationship between church and state in the

United States.  Participants will examine the following aspects of religious pluralism in the United States: the ways in which religious thought and practice have influenced, and been influenced by, the development of American-style democracy; the intersections of religion and politics in the United States in such areas as elections, public policy, and foreign policy; and 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.  Pending ECA grant approval, the Institute will be hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara.

The Institute on U.S. Culture and Society will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university faculty and other specialists with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions.  The Institute will examine the ethnic, racial, social, economic, political, and religious contexts in which various cultures have manifested themselves in U.S. society while focusing on the ways in which these cultures have influenced social movements and American identity throughout U.S. history.  The program will draw from a diverse disciplinary base, and will itself provide a model of how a foreign university might approach the study of U.S. culture and society.  The Institute host will be determined at a later date.

The Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced foreign university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how contemporary U.S. foreign policy is formulated and implemented.  The Institute will include a historical review of significant events, individuals, and philosophies that have shaped U.S. foreign policy.  The Institute will explain the role of key players in U.S. foreign policy including the executive and legislative branches of government, the media, the U.S. public, think-tanks, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral institutions.  The Institute host will be determined at a later date.

Candidates for the Institutes for Scholars should be mid-career, typically between the ages of 30-50, highly-motivated and experienced scholars and professionals generally from institutions of higher education or research focused organizations (not-for-profits, think tanks, etc.).  Participants should have graduate degrees and have substantial knowledge of the thematic area of the Institute or a related field.  Ideal candidates are individuals whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into its curricula, to develop new courses in the subject of the

Institute, to enhance and update existing courses on the United States, or to offer specialized seminars/workshops for professionals in U.S. studies areas related to the program theme.  Priority will be given to candidates who have firm plans to enhance, update or develop courses and/or educational materials with a U.S. studies focus or component; who have no prior or limited experience in the United States; and who have special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties.

For more information please visit http://exchanges.state.gov/susi. You can also contact the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office on +675-321- 1455.