Embassy of the United States Moscow, Russia

Study of the U.S. Summer Institutes (SUSI) are sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. Summer Institutes are six-week academic programs for multinational groups of university faculty from outside the United States. Institutes are held at university campuses throughout the U.S. and focus on a particular theme or topic in American studies. 18-30 foreign educators participate in each Institute.

The purpose of these institutes is to strengthen curricula and improve the quality of teaching about the United States in academic institutions overseas. Each program includes two components: an intensive, four-week academic seminar and a study tour of up to two weeks designed to reinforce the academic content of the seminar.

The U.S. Summer Institutes is a highly competitive program and the U.S. Embassy will nominate only one candidate per institute. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department pays all costs.

Participants should be highly-motivated and experienced university faculty and professionals from institutions of higher learning, with little or no recent study experience in the United States. Additional, they should be affiliated with institutions seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into the curriculum, develop new courses in the subject field of the institute, or enhance and update existing courses on the United States. In this respect, while the nominee's scholarly and professional credentials are an important consideration in determining suitability for acceptance, how participation in the institute will enhance course offerings in the U.S. studies at the nominee's home institution is equally or even more important. First consideration will be given to younger and mid-career faculty, and to persons who are likely to be comfortable with campus life, including campus-style accommodations, and an active program schedule. All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English, with good English comprehension skills.

Participants are expected to attend all institute working sessions and non-optional organized activities and to complete assigned readings. Family members and/or friends may not accompany participants on any part of the program. The institute is very intensive and there will be little time for personal pursuits unrelated to the program. The institutes will take place at various colleges and universities throughout the United States over the course of six weeks beginning in June 2012.

The 2012 Summer Program includes eight (8) Institutes for university faculty in the following thematic areas:

1. Institute on American Politics and Political Thought;
2. Institute on Contemporary American Literature;
3. Institute on Journalism and Media;
4. Institute on Religious Pluralism in the United States;
5. Institute on U.S. Culture and Society;
6. Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy;
7. U.S. National Security; and
8. Secondary Education.

A. 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 civil rights, women's rights, immigration, etc.) 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.

B. 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.

C. The Institute on Journalism and Media will provide a multinational group of 18 journalism faculty and other related specialists with a deeper understanding of the role of journalism and the media in U.S. society. It will examine major topics in journalism, including the concept of a free press, First Amendment rights, and the media's relationship to the public interest. The legal and ethical questions inherent in journalistic endeavors will be incorporated into every aspect of the institute. 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, addressing the influence of the internet, the globalization of the news media, the growth of satellite television and radio networks, and other advances in media that are transforming the profession. Pending ECA grant approval, the institute will be hosted by Ohio University.

D. 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.

E. 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, economic, political, and religious contexts in which various cultures have manifested themselves in U.S. society, and the ways in which these cultures have influenced both social movements and historical epochs 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. Pending ECA grant approval, the institute will be hosted by New York University.

F. The Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy will provide a multinational group of 18 foreign university faculty and scholars with a deeper understanding of how U.S. foreign policy is formulated and implemented. The Institute will focus on United States Foreign Policy making through an exploration of domestic politics and players with emphasis on how each entity shapes U.S. perspectives and action on international issues. The four-week academic residency program will be complemented by two weeks of study tours of diverse loci of foreign policy-making: including Chicago and Washington, DC. The Institute program will also include day trips to Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, and historic St. Augustine. Pending ECA grant approval, the institute will be hosted by the University of Florida.

G. The Institute on U.S. National Security provides a group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university faculty and related professionals with a deeper understanding of the foundations and formulation of U.S. national security policy, with specific emphasis on American views about what constitutes basic U.S. national security and defense requirements and how those views have evolved in the post-Cold War era, especially within the context of the ongoing war against terrorism. Participants explore continuity and change in U.S. national security policy, examining how U.S. national security policy has dealt with specific areas of concern over time, for example nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, and combating international terror networks. Utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach, the program examines the various historical, geographic, economic, cultural, and political factors involved in setting U.S. national security policy. The institute is structured to give attention to U.S. national security policy from multiple perspectives, domestically, globally, and in particular geographic areas.

H. The Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary School Educators will provide two multinational groups of 30 secondary educators each (classroom teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, etc.) with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture, past and present. The programs 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 programs will elucidate the history and evolution of U.S. educational institutions and values. The programs also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society.

Recruitment for the year 2012 will last from October 15 to November 30, 2011.

Please submit your application forms to the Academic Exchanges Office of the Embassy no later than November 30. Applications need to be sent by e-mail to USGExchanges@gmail.com. For any questions, please call the Academic Exchanges Office at (495) 728-5000, ext. 4885, (495) 728-5242 or e-mail lazarevaja@state.gov.

2012 Study of the U.S. Winter Institute on U.S. National Security

The Institute on U.S. National Security provides a group of 18 experienced and highly-motivated foreign university faculty and related professionals with a deeper understanding of the foundations and formulation of U.S. national security policy, with specific emphasis on American views about what constitutes basic U.S. national security and defense requirements and how those views have evolved in the post-Cold War era, especially within the context of the ongoing war against terrorism. Participants explore continuity and change in U.S. national security policy, examining how U.S. national security policy has dealt with specific areas of concern over time, for example nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, and combating international terror networks. Utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach, the program examines the various historical, geographic, economic, cultural, and political factors involved in setting U.S. national security policy. The institute is structured to give attention to U.S. national security policy from multiple perspectives, domestically, globally, and in particular geographic areas.

The institute begins in mid-January 2012 with an intensive, four-week academic seminar at the University of Delaware and ends with a study tour of up to two weeks to complement the academic program.  The institute concludes with several days of meetings and related study in Washington, D.C. in March 2012.

Competition for this Institute has already been completed.

• Application Form (PDF 68 KB)