Study of the U.S. Institutes for Faculty Members (SUSI For Scholars) 2013

Study of the United States Institutes are intensive six-week post-graduate level academic programs with integrated study tours whose purpose is to provide foreign university faculty and other scholars the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American society, culture, and institutions.   The goal of these programs is to strengthen curricula and to improve the quality of teaching about the United States in academic institutions abroad.  Each one of these programs has four weeks of academic seminars and two weeks of study-visits specially designed to strengthen the academic seminars contents

FIELDS OF STUDY

• SUSI on U.S. Culture and Society
• SUSI on American Politics and Political Thought
• SUSI on Contemporary American Literature
• SUSI on U.S. Foreign Policy
• SUSI on Journalism and Media
• SUSI on Religious Pluralism  

INSTITUTE THEMES

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 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 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.

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.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTION

• Nicaraguan citizens living in Nicaragua
• Highly motivated faculty member with at least 3-year of teaching experience in a Nicaraguan university and to be engaged to continue teaching in the future  
• Excellent English command

Deadline for Submitting Applications: January 2, 2013

The submissions must be addressed to the Public Affairs Office of the Embassy of the United States of America.  The applications can be sent electronically to: Fulbrightmng@state.gov;  Likewise, the applications can be sent by mail and/or submitted in person at the back entrance of the American Embassy Compound: Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América, Km. 5.5 Carretera Sur, Managua

This program is under the auspices of the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.