Announcing The Ninth Annual Democracy &
Diversity Graduate Summer Institute
Cracow, Poland
July 11-29, 2000
This is to announce that the ninth annual Democracy & Diversity Graduate Summer Institute in Cracow, Poland, organized by the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (TCDS) of New School University, New York, will take place July 11-29, 2000. TCDS will again welcome fifty junior scholars from Eastern Europe, the US, and other parts of the world for this intensive three-week program of study in society, culture and politics. Offering the equivalent of a full semester's graduate study at an American university, the Institute brings an interdisciplinary, comparative, and highly interactive approach to bear on the study of social, political, and cultural challenges to democracy and democratization today. The Institute is widely known as an intimate international forum for lively but rigorous debate on the critical issues of democratic life.
Core faculty from New School University's Graduate Faculty will be joined by other distinguished American and international scholars and guest speakers. Upon completion of the Institute, U.S. graduate students receive full course credits and non-U.S. participants receive certificates.
Curriculum
Sustaining Democracy? Professor David Plotke, Department of Political Science, Graduate Faculty, New School University
In the last two decades, democratic institutions have been put in place in a larger number of countries than ever before. This success raises questions beyond the debates about where and when a transition to some form of democracy is possible. When does democracy develop in relatively open and vibrant forms? When does democracy become hollow, rotten, or end altogether? To address these questions we will analyze a range of contemporary experiences from different parts of the world. We will critically assess claims about how economic development, the design of political institutions, political commitments, and social and cultural values contribute to sustaining democracy. We will discuss two very difficult issues: When and in what ways do antidemocratic ideas threaten democratic practices? And what are the international conditions most favorable to sustaining democracy? We will address these questions by examining difficult issues in the life of contemporary democracies and by analyzing important theoretical texts.
Democratic Culture Professor Jeffrey Goldfarb, Department of Sociology, Graduate Faculty, New School University
This course will be organized around three axes of conflict and dilemmas affecting democratic life, democratic dreams, and democratic realities. The three axes are inclusion, deliberation, and difference. Democratic culture will be viewed in terms of enduring problems of democracy, as they are reconfigured by present day media and global political and economic realities. The tensions between democracy and culture will be examined, as will the challenge of establishing a free public space for addressing the tensions. The inquiry will conclude with a consideration of the project of constituting space for democratic deliberations in the context of the media transformations and globalization of contemporary cultures and politics.
Course readings will include selections from works by Tocqueville, Bellah, Dewey, Said, Waltzer, Gates, and others.
Ethnos and Demos: Nation, Nationalism, and the Politics of Ethnic Conflict Professor Ivo Banac, Department of History, Yale University
Professor Elzbieta Matynia, Committee on Liberal Studies, Graduate Faculty, New School University
Whether defined as a philosophical concept, an ideology, attitude, or a group's state of mind, nationalism continues to be a major idee force of the last two centuries, leading to successive reconfigurations of the world map. The course will explore the multifaceted character of this key phenomenon of modernity, especially the relationship between ethnos and demos, nationhood and identity, and the ethnification of politics. Special attention will be given to Central Europe and the recent conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
Theories of Gender in Culture Professor Ann Snitow, Committee on Gender Studies and Feminist Theory, Graduate Faculty, New School University
Now in its ninth year, this course surveys central debates about the role gender plays in the shaping of both public and private lives. The readings reflect the current process of redefinition going on in the field "gender studies" and include a wide range of material from scholars and emerging women's movements in East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. This summer we will also do some comparative analysis of the entry points that are available for introducing a gender perspective into swiftly changing regional configurations of thought and action.
Extracurricular Activities
Workshop: Public Policy as Democracy Elaine Zimmerman, Policy Director, State of Connecticut
Evening Guest Speakers: Adam Michnik (Editor, Gazeta Wyborcza), Czeslaw Milosz (Poet, Nobel Laureate), Stephen Gelb (Senior Advisor to the President of South Africa), Christopher Hitchens (writer, USA), Gesine Schwan (President, European University Viadrina).
Field Trips: Historic Cracow, Jagiellonian University, Auschwitz-Birkenau
Accommodations
Przegorzaly Castle, on the outskirts of Cracow, is situated on a wooded hilltop with a spectacular view of the Vistula River and the Tatra Mountains, is easily reached from the city by public transportation. An adjacent academic hotel offers comfortable double rooms with bath and telephone.
Facts about the Program
All participating students must have completed their undergraduate studies and should currently be either enrolled in a doctoral program or working as junior university teachers or researchers. Preference will be given to those applicants who can demonstrate active involvement in civil society and civic life. Classes at the Graduate Summer Institute are conducted as intensive seminars meeting four times a week, in morning and afternoon sessions. Each participant is required to enroll in two seminar courses of their choosing. All books and course materials are provided. One day per week is devoted to cultural programs, which include exploration of architectural and historical landmarks, visits to museums, meetings with artists and political figures, and various field trips. Upon completion of the course requirements, participants receive an Institute certificate.
Application:
Participants from the Graduate Faculty of the New School University:
The cost of the Graduate Summer Institute is based on the summer 2000 Graduate Faculty tuition rate and includes full room and board. Travel costs are not included. To receive an application form, contact Priscilla Holcomb, Office of Admissions, Graduate Faculty, 65 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003. Tel: (212) 229-5710, (800) 523-5411 (from outside NYC); fax: (212) 989-7102.
Participants from Universities in Central and Eastern Europe and other parts of the world:
Interested junior faculty members and doctoral students should send a letter including the following information: full name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, educational background, degrees received, institutional affiliation, and evidence of substantial English language skills. Also include one letter of recommendation and a one- or two-page statement of your educational goals and reasons for applying to the Institute. Mail, fax, or e-mail these to: Timo Lyyra, Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, New School University, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 413, New York, NY 10003; e-mail: lyyra@newschool.edu; fax: (212) 229-5894.