Democracy &
Diversity
Annual Summer Graduate Institute
Cracow, Poland
This is to announce the tenth annual Democracy & Diversity Graduate Summer Institute in Cracow, Poland, organized by the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (TCDS) of New School University, New York. TCDS will again welcome fifty junior scholars from East and Central Europe (including the NIS), the United States, 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 today.
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 requirements, U.S. graduate students receive full course credits and non-U.S. participants receive certificates.
Sustaining Democracy? Development and Stagnation in Democratic Politics in the 21st Century
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 evaluate contemporary experiences from different parts of the world and analyze major relevant theoretical texts. We will consider whether and how economic development, the design of political institutions, political commitments, and social and cultural values can contribute to sustaining democracy. Within the field of Political Science or Politics, this course is at the junction of comparative politics and political theory. Major cases in different parts of the world are considered not only for explanatory purposes but in terms of the pertinent normative issues. Normative issues about contemporary democracy are addressed with respect to important practical experiences. Within this framework we will consider issues such as the shape and limits of democratic constitutions, relations between democratic politics and group identities, the nature of citizenship, and the role of government in designing and regulating other institutions. Readings include texts by Dahl, Elster, O'Donnell, Offe, Putnam, Przeworski, Putnam, Rawls, Sen, and others.
Democratic Culture: Societal Inclusion, Public Deliberation, and Difference
Professor Jeffrey Goldfarb, Department of Sociology, Graduate Faculty, New School University
This seminar course will be organized around three axes of conflict and dilemmas that affect democratic life, democratic dreams and realities. These axes are inclusion, deliberation, and difference. Democratic culture will be studies 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 these tensions. Our inquiry will conclude with a consideration of the project of constituting a 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 Elzbieta Matynia, Committee on Liberal Studies, Graduate Faculty, New School University, and Ilya Prizel, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and Center for Russian and East European Studies, University of Pittsburgh
Whether defined as philosophical concept, ideology, attitude, or 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. This course will explore the multifaceted character of this key phenomenon of modernity, its many temporary and spatially limited forms. We will discuss the various theories of nation and nationalism, as well as the relationship between ethnos and demos, nationhood and identity, and the ethnification of politics. The course will have two components: the first part will focus on the origins and typologies of nationalism and their interactions with enlightenment, liberalism, and romanticism. The second part of the course will focus on the issues posed by contemporary nationalism in Central Europe and the former USSR, in light of globalization and postmodernity.
Theories of Gender in Culture.
Professor Ann Snitow, Committee on Gender Studies and Feminist Theory, Graduate Faculty, New School University
This course surveys central debates about the role gender plays in shaping of both public and private lives. The readings reflect the current process of redefinition going on in the field of "gender studies" and include a wide range of materials from scholars and emerging women's movements in East and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. We will also conduct comparative analyses of the entry points that are available for introducing a gender perspective into swiftly changing regional configurations of thought and action. Towards these aims, the seminar draws on its eclectic mixture of themes, methods, and sources. In keeping with our now-traditional commitment to constant change, we will also look at some new debates about international feminism and human rights-based claims for justice; about the strengths and weaknesses of current forms of institution-building, particularly of NGOs; about "the future of difference" and the fluctuating status of identity politics.
Institute curriculum subject to modification without notice.
Extracurricular Activities
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
Classes at the Democracy & Diversity Institute are conducted as intensive seminars meeting daily during weekdays, 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.
Program Costs:
Participants from the Graduate Faculty of the New School University:
The cost of the Graduate Summer Institute is based on the summer 2001 Graduate Faculty tuition rate and includes full room and board. Travel costs are not included.
Participants from other universities in the U.S. and universities in East and Central Europe, the Newly Independent States, and elsewhere:
The cost of the Graduate Summer Institute is USD 1,100, including tuition and full room & board. Travel costs are not included. Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek funding independently and already during the application process.
Application:
Candidates from the Graduate Faculty of the New School University:
To receive an application form, contact Elizabeth Santucci, 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.
Also, download application form from our Web-site.
Candidates from other universities in the U.S. and universities in East and Central Europe, the Newly Independent States, and elsewhere:
Interested junior faculty members and doctoral students should send an application package consisting of the following materials:
-Application letter including the applicant's full name, date of birth, nationality, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, educational background, degrees received, and current institutional affiliation (CV/resume).
-Evidence of substantial English language skills (GRE test result or statement by an English-speaking faculty member or comparable).
- One- or two-page personal statement outlining your own analysis of the current societal, political, or cultural issues (conflicts, problems) in your home country which you deem most pressing or significant as challenges to democracy or democratization there, and a description of how your own ongoing work relates to these issues and to your decision to apply to the Democracy & Diversity Institute.
- One letter of recommendation.
Mail, fax, or e-mail a complete application package to: Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, Attn.: Cracow 01, New School University, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 413, New York, NY 10003; tel. (+1-212) 229-5580; fax: (+1-212) 229-5894; e-mail: lyyra@newschool.edu.
For further information on the program and application, contact Timo Lyyra, Program Coordinator, Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, New School University, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 413, New York, NY 10003; tel. (+1-212) 229-5580; fax: (+1-212) 229-5894; e-mail: lyyra@newschool.edu.
Deadline for all applications is April 9, 2001.