The United States Embassy in Tokyo is seeking qualified candidates for the 2006 Study of the United States Institutes (formerly known as the Fulbright American Studies Institutes, or Fulbright Summer Institutes).

These Institutes provide a unique opportunity for junior faculty who are building academic careers in American Studies to participate in an intense study program with colleagues from around the world. Candidates must be able to undertake graduate-level academic work in English. These institutes are fully funded, including international travel, per diem and a book allowance.

This program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (ECA/A/E/USS). Participants will be selected through a competitive process from nominations submitted by American Embassies throughout the world.

Interested scholars should contact Mr. Scott E Smith or Ms. Mikiko Matsumoto of the American Embassy’s Public Affairs Section via email. The deadline for applications is Monday, February 6, 2006.

Mr. Scott E Smith SmithSE@state.gov
Mikiko Matsumoto MatsumotoMX@state.gov

2006 STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES INSTITUTE THEMES
1. U.S. Foreign Policy: Foundations and Formulation
Host Institutions: University of South Carolina (Colombia)
Dates: late June - early August (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: International Relations, Foreign Policy, History, Political Science
Program Description: While the program will review the domestic institutional foundations for U.S. foreign policy, the primary focus of this program will be to provide participants with a deeper understanding of how U.S. foreign policy is conceptualized and enacted with emphasis on the post Cold War era. This institute will examine the intersection of ideas and structures in the development of U.S. foreign policy. Its focus will be on the main philosophical traditions that have girded U.S. foreign policy; 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 at various stages from its conceptualization to its enactment. An overarching goal of the program 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. Ideally, the program will be structured in such a way as to give attention to U.S. policy both globally and in particular geographic areas and to examine the role of U.S. foreign policy within the context of international relations and international institutions.
2. Contemporary American Literature
Host Institution: University of Louisville (Kentucky)
Dates: late June - early August (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: American Literature, American Studies
Program Description: This program will focus on recent American literature and criticism. It will explore contemporary American writers and writing in a variety of genres and will 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.
ECA/A/E/USS wishes to emphasize that the subject institute will offer a multi-dimensional and academically rigorous examination of contemporary American literature, including a significant amount of literary theory and criticism. The program content (including texts, readings and seminar sessions) will be very demanding, and will only be appropriate for participants who have significant prior knowledge of American literature and of literary theory, criticism and practice. Participants will also need very strong English language ability.
3. Religious Pluralism in the United States
Host Institution: University of California (Santa Barbara)
Dates: late June - early August (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: Political Science, Sociology, Religion, History, American Studies
Program Description: This program will focus on the American religious experience and its intersection with democracy. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on fields such as history, political science, sociology, anthropology, law and others where appropriate, the program will explore both the historical and contemporary relationship between church and state in the United States; examine the ways in which religious thought and practice have 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 and their impact on American politics.
4. The Civilization of the United States — An Introduction
Host Institution: New York University [New York, NY]
Dates: late June - early August (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: History, American Studies, American Literature, English Language
Program Description: This program will be conducted by the Multinational Institute of American Studies (MIAS) at New York University (NYU). This Institute is intended to familiarize foreign university faculty with the major themes, disciplines and approaches which, individually or in combination, could constitute the basis of a U.S. studies course or program at a foreign university. The program will provide the participants with a highly selective yet integrated introduction to the major themes — historical, political, literary, and cultural — that scholars from abroad might want to present to their students in a comprehensive course on U.S. Civilization
During a four-week residency segment at New York University and a two-week study tour to New England, the southwest, and Washington, D.C., participants will be presented with an intensive survey course which will integrate content and method from the following major fields of study: U.S. history; U.S. government, politics, and law; U.S. literature; and U.S. Society and culture. The central theme of the program, "The Reconciliation of Cultural and Social Diversity with National Unity in the United States" is explored through the following four sub-themes: 1) local autonomy and pluralism in America; 2) individual liberty and the American creed; 3) cultural and social heterogeneity; and 4) national unity: social and cultural integration. Each of the four sub-themes is examined in terms of contemporary manifestations as well as the historical factors that account for them.
This examination will be carried out as follows: an initial orientation to the overall focus of the program and a survey of recent scholarly and pedagogical trends in American studies that are relevant to the program's central theme; lecture/discussions with noted scholars representing different disciplines (history, politics, English, education, communications, economics, art, and music); site visits to local communities, educational and cultural institutions; panel discussions with leading representatives of different political views drawn from education, labor, business, religion, politics, journalism and the arts; periodic discussion sessions with program faculty and staff on the relationship of individual topics to the overall theme of the program.
For further reference, please visit www.nyu.edu/projects/mias/. , which shows the program in 2004 (e.g. to review the syllabus, daily calendar, etc.)
5. U.S. Political Economy and the Global Economic System
Host Institution: Dickinson College [Carlisle, PA]
Dates: June 26 – August 6 (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: Economics, Political Science/International Relations, International Business/Management
Program Description: The objective of the institute on "U.S. Political Economy and the Global Economic System" is to enrich the participants' understanding of the American political-economic model and its place within the larger context of the global economic system. Through a combination of carefully selected readings, lectures by academic experts, interaction with business and government leaders, group and panel discussions, local site visits, and study tours to Washington, D.C., New York City, and another region the goal is to provide a multi-faceted but well-integrated analysis of U.S. political economy.
Specifically, the goals of the institute include the following: to familiarize participants with the evolution of the U.S. economic model and of U.S. economic policy, both domestic and international; to help participants appreciate the philosophical, cultural, and historical roots of contemporary U.S. Economic processes and policies; to familiarize participants with processes of economic policy-making in the U.S. And with the relationship of the economy and economic policy to the character and operation of the U.S. democracy; to expose participants to the diversity of views on economic policy which exists in the U.S.; and to encourage participants to think comparatively about the U.S. economic experience such that their understanding of both the U.S. economy and their own home economy is enhanced.
These goals are reflected in the academic design of the institute, which is divided into modules addressing in turn "Foundations of the U.S. Economic Model," "Economic Policy and Policy-Making," "The U.S. and the World Economy: Trade and Competitiveness," and "The U.S. And the World Economy: Aid, Finance and Development."
For further information in the past (e.g. to review the syllabus, daily calendar, etc.), please visit cfserv.dickinson.edu/global/Fulbright/.
6. American Politics and Political Thought
Host Institution: University of Massachusetts (Amherst)
Dates: late June - early August (approximate dates)
Suggested Participant Specialization: Political Science, Political Theory, Sociology, Philosophy
Program Description: This program will provide participants 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 contemporary American polity. The institute should provide an overview of the origins (constitutional foundations), development and current functioning of the American presidency, Congress, and the Federal Judiciary, however, examination of political institutions might be expanded to include, for example, the two-party system, the civil service system, interest groups, or the welfare/regulatory state. The institute should also and simultaneously survey important currents in the history of American political thought, including but not limited to the political thought of the founding period. In this context, the Branch for the Study of the U.S. is particularly interested in providing the foreign participants insight into competing strains in modern American political thought/culture, such as liberalism, republicanism (with a small "r"), libertarianism, communitarianism, conservatism, neo-conservatism, etc. The institute should review the provenance and trajectory of these different intellectual strands or movements, and highlight how they have intersected with American political institutions to shape public discourse and public policy formulations in the contemporary United States.