The Student Body

The Institute was comprised of 45 students from 18 countries, 30 cities, and 27 different institutions. There were 7 from the U.S.A., 3 Armenians, 1 Austrian, 1 Bulgarian, 2 Croatians (one from Split, and one from Karlovac, who attends the University of Ljubljana), 3 Czechs (1 from Brno and 2 from Prague), 1 Estonian, 3 Hungarians, 2 Macedonians (one of these attends University of Zagreb), 1 Mexican, 1 New Zealander, 3 Poles, 5 Romanians (one from Ias, one from Brasov, and 3 from Bucharest), 2 Russians (1 from Novosibirsk and 1 from Moscow), 2 Slovaks, 5 Ukrainians (2 from Lviv and 3 from Kiev), and 3 Yugoslavs (2 from Belgrade and 1 from Podgorice, Montenegro). Their fields of study ranged from sociology, political science, political philosophy, gender studies, and psychology to media studies, journalism, and public policy. Most of them, along with working toward their degrees, are also very active in various aspects of public life in their countries. One participant, for example, works for the Ukraine Cabinet of Ministers (Department of Education, Culture, and Health Care), We also had newspaper editors and radio journalists; a translator of the works of Hannah Arendt; and members of political organizations and public opinion research centers.

Faculty

The faculty came from the Graduate Faculty (GF) and, as last year, from one of what we call beacon institutions in the region, the Graduate School for Social Research in Warsaw. This year's institute curriculum was designed and taught by GF Professors David Plotke (Associate Professor of Political Science), Elzbieta Matynia (social historian, professor for the Committee on Liberal Studies, and Director of ECEP), and Ann Snitow (professor for the Committee on Gender Studies and Co-Chair of the Network for East-West Women), and Prof. Jerzy Szacki (distinguished sociologist and professor at the GSSR and Warsaw University). A policy workshop (see below) was led by Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Commission on Children for the State of Connecticut, who has extensive experience in the design and implementation of legislative initiatives.

Curriculum

Four principle seminars were conducted for twelve two-hour sessions each: Beginning Politics: Starting Regimes in Political Theory and Contemporary Politics; Democracy after Communism; Ethnos and Demos: the Dynamics of 19th and 20th Century Nationalisms; and Theories of Gender in Culture. Their descriptions are as follows:

Beginning Politics: Starting Regimes in Political Theory and Contemporary Politics
Professor David Plotke, Political Science Department, The Graduate Faculty

This course considers different understandings of how political regimes begin. We will start with Hannah Arendt's account of revolution, which considers the origins of both liberal and illiberal regimes. We will then look at two long traditions of understanding how political regimes are built -- the liberal tradition, focused on consent, and the radical-popular tradition, focused on creating a popular will in favor of a new polity. The later sessions of this course will consider twentieth century political experiences of regime formation in the light of these theoretical traditions: the construction of totalitarian regimes; recent and ongoing transitions to democracy; and forms of regime change and renewal within democratic politics.

Ethnos and Demos: The Dynamics of 19th-20th Century Nationalism
Professor Elzbieta Matynia, Committee on Liberal Studies, The Graduate Faculty
Professor Jerzy Szacki, Graduate School for Social Research, Warsaw

Whether defined as philosophical concept, ideology, attitude, or group's state of mind, nationalism continues to be a major idée force of the last two centuries, leading to successive reconfigurations of the world's map. This course will explore the polymorphic character of nationalism, and in particular the complexities of its cultural and political types.

Democracy after Communism
Professor David Plotke, Political Science Department, The Graduate Faculty

This course is about the effects of the end of Communism and the Cold War on democratic theory in the United States and Western Europe. We examine how Western theories of liberal democracy responded to Communism and the Cold War in the decades after World War II. We then consider what changes in theories of democracy are likely and desirable in the new situation. We focus on: political participation; national and cultural diversity; democratic control of state institutions; and democracy beyond the political system (e.g., in economic life).

Theories of Gender in Culture
Professor Ann Snitow, Committee on Liberal Studies, The Graduate Faculty

For a variety of reasons, among them the recent development of a women's movement in the U.S. and Western Europe, gender is becoming less of a social given and more of a social question. For the first time in this century, theorists are giving serious consideration to male and female as key variables in experience. The result has been an extraordinary proliferation of feminisms and reactions, many of which we will introduce and explore.

Each participant received all necessary reading materials, which included books and carefully selected articles relevant to the teaching of the course. Similar "curriculum packets" will be made available to faculty and scholars throughout the region to assist in the designing and implementation of new courses into the curriculum of the respective institutions.

Special Workshop on Public Policy

This year we introduced into the regular program of the institute a special segment on policy analysis and design. We have learned from previous sessions of the Institute that some participants were very interested in this aspect of applied social science. The Workshop on Families, Women, and Public Policy took place during the final week of the institute, and despite the fact that the students were already beginning their research papers (and tired at that!) the workshop was an overwhelming success. Approximately 25-30 students attended the meetings that took place on successive evenings. Because of the interest in and importance of the subject, we have asked the leader of the workshop, Elaine Zimmerman, to prepare a "manual," which will include an introduction to general concepts in policy making, an abstract of each session of the Workshop, and sample source materials on policies already enacted in the U.S. and discussed during the course of the workshop. An extensive bibliography will also be attached. We will make this manual available to the institute participants as well as other individuals, groups, and institutions in the region. Here is a brief description of the workshop:

Workshop on Families, Women, and Public Policy
Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director,
Commission on Children, State of Connecticut General Assembly.

In this workshop we will consider several major policy issues in contemporary North America and Europe, such as those in relations between family and work, childcare, education, and social welfare. And we will look at the practical side of policymaking: turning good ideas into legislation, helping legislative proposals become laws, and devising ways to implement new programs.

Requirements

During this year's institute, each student was required to take two courses, although in some cases we agreed to let them audit a third one. The classes were conducted in seminar style, with some lecturing. This approach demanded of the students a careful reading of the texts and constant preparedness, and facilitated an intense interaction with the professors and other members of the seminars. It also helped to develop --something we think has become a trademark of our Institute --a close working relationship with the professors, and encouraged discussions that went well beyond the time and place set up for the regular seminars: on the terrace cafe of Przegorzaly Castle, in walks through the forest, during trips to town, and even at the swimming hole. Often, one could overhear voices -- in a variety of accents -- coming up the hill to the castle in fervent debates over the day's topics.

All of the participants were also required to write a 4-5 page academic essay, as well as an "impression paper" of their thoughts on the Institute. One participant has included her reflections in a radio show she conducts in Skopje; a couple of others have had theirs published in local newspapers (e.g., in Vreme, Belgrade). We ourselves will be reporting on the Institute in the next issue of our quarterly Bulletin. Participants who completed the requirements of the Institute were issued an Institute Certificate.

Extra-Curricular Events

We were not only immersed in the seminars, but also had a rather extensive program of extracurricular roundtables, field trips, and lectures. Among these were:

Roundtables:

Roundtable on Research Projects, an evening devoted to the presenting and discussing of the participants' individual research projects and interests. This meeting was held at the beginning of the Institute in order to facilitate the future academic collaborations among the younger generation of scholars;

Roundtable on Feminism in America, led by Prof. Ann Snitow, on the history and relationship of the American women's movement to the democratization processes in various parts of the world. Among the topics brought up in the discussion was the growing role of gender studies in the curricula of American universities;

Lectures:

Jacek Wozniakowski, professor of art history, curator, and distinguished Cracowian (and the first democratically elected mayor of Cracow), gave a talk on the "Culture of Cracow;"

Czeslaw Milosz, Nobel Laureate, treated us to an extraordinary evening of poetry and discussion on "The Culture and Politics of East and Central Europe."

Meetings:

Richard Astro, Director of Academic Linkages, Provost of the University of Florida, and Honorary Consul of Moldova, gave an informal talk on the situation of the successor states to the former USSR;

Elizabeth Brewer, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, The Graduate Faculty, met with students to talk about the American university system.

Field Trips:

Tour of the Medieval City of Cracow;

Wieliczka Salt Mines--tour of the 800-year old economic mainstay of Polish history;

Auschwitz and Birkenau--guided tour through the grounds and museums of the largest concentration camp in Europe;

Jagiellonian University--a visit and tour of Collegium Maius, with a lecture by Professor Stanislaw Waltos, the curator of the Museum of Jagiellonian University.

FUTURE PLANS

We have been assured that the Democracy and Diversity institute is making an important contribution to the intellectual and professional development of the younger generation of East and Central European scholars and future policy makers. As we are planning to organize the institute again next summer, we look forward to collaborating with our established partners in the region and to welcoming more students from hitherto underrepresented countries (e.g., Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the eastern part of Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, etc.).