The Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon announces an open competition to recruit qualified scholars to participate in the Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars (SUSI) which will take place at various colleges, universities, and academic institutions throughout the United States over five-to-six weeks beginning between late-May and early-July 2025. Each Institute includes a four-week academic residency and, if possible, up to two weeks of an integrated study tour to another region of the United States. To obtain general information about the Institutes, prospective applicants are encouraged to visit this website: http://exchanges.state.gov/susi. The Study of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars will be on the following themes in U.S. Studies: American Politics and Political Thought; Contemporary American Literature; Journalism and Media; U.S. Culture, Identity, and Society; U.S. Economics and Sustainable Development; and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Institute Themes:
The Institute on American Politics and Political Thought will provide experienced and highly motivated university faculty and practitioners insight into how intellectual and political movements have influenced American political institutions and American democracy. The Institute will explore the shaping of American identity and the chemistry between that identity and U.S. history, politics, and the democratic process. The Institute will cover a broad range of American experiences that have influenced and been influenced by American national identity. The Institute will provide a deeper understanding of major currents in U.S. political thought, from the colonial period to the present, and explore contemporary U.S. political and social debates and public policy, relating them to U.S. political thought and American identity.
The Institute on Contemporary American Literature will provide experienced and highly motivated university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present, through an examination of contemporary American literature. The Institute will examine how major contemporary writers, schools, and movements reflect the U.S. literary canon. The Institute will also explore the diverse communities and voices that constitute the American literary landscape and expose participants to writers who are establishing new directions for American literature. The Institute will cover a variety of contemporary American writers and writing and suggest how the themes explored reflect larger currents within contemporary U.S. society and culture.
The Institute on Journalism and Media will provide experienced and highly motivated journalism instructors and other related specialists with a deeper understanding of the roles that journalism and the media play in U.S. society. The Institute will examine the role of journalists in recognizing and preventing disinformation and will explore strategies for media and information literacy to counter disinformation. Additionally, the Institute will examine best practices in journalism by discussing the rights and responsibilities of the media in a democratic society, including editorial independence, journalistic ethics, legal constraints, and international journalism. The program will also highlight the impact of technology in journalism, including the influence of the Internet, globalization of the news media, and other changes that are transforming the profession.
The Institute on U.S. Culture, Identity, and Society will provide experienced and highly motivated university faculty and other specialists with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions through the lens of diversity and national unity. The Institute will examine the ethnic, racial, social, economic, political, and religious contexts in which various cultures have manifested in U.S. society while focusing on how these cultures have influenced social movements and American identity throughout U.S. history. The program will draw from a diverse disciplinary base and will itself provide a model of how foreign universities might approach the study of American culture and society.
The Institute on U.S. Economics and Sustainable Development will provide experienced university faculty, researchers, experts and policymakers with a deeper understanding of key components and structures of the U.S. economy. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the program will explore various topics of socioeconomics; how financial institutions, investors, and businesses interact to support sustainable economic development and growth; and increasing diverse and equitable employment through institutional regulation, social inclusion strategies, and private and public policies. Throughout the Institute, participants will examine the interplay of climate change, U.S. business innovation, corporate regulation, entrepreneurship, and economic theory. Participants will have opportunities to learn about key institutions and stakeholders in the U.S. economy and meet with a diverse range of business leaders and small business owners, among others.
The Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy will provide experienced university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of new approaches to U.S. foreign policy and how U.S. foreign policy is formulated and implemented. The Institute will include a historical review of significant events, individuals, and philosophies that have shaped U.S. foreign policy. The Institute will explain the role of key influences on U.S. foreign policy including the executive and legislative branches of government, the media, the U.S. public, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral institutions. The program will also examine the current U.S. foreign policymaking landscape and recent trends that are shaping policy.
Candidate description and qualifications:
Ideal candidates are individuals whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into its curricula, to develop new courses in the subject of the Institute, to enhance and update existing courses on the United States, or to offer specialized seminars/workshops for professionals in U.S. studies areas related to the program theme. Priority will be given to candidates who have no prior or limited experience in the United States; and who have special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties. Candidates should be mid-career, typically between the ages of 30-50, highly motivated, experienced scholars and professionals generally from institutions of higher education or research-focused organizations.
Candidates must demonstrate English language fluency. Institutes are rigorous and demanding programs. Participants will be expected to read and comprehend substantial reading assignments in English and to fully and actively participate in all seminar and panel discussions.
Submitting Candidatures:
Interested applicants must submit a completed application in English and a statement/personal essay of up to 500 words conveying why the applicant is interested in participating in the selected Institute, what s/he expects to gain from the experience, what s/he will contribute to the program, and how s/he will leverage the experience to achieve any of these other potential outcomes:
- create new course
- create a new degree program
- school/university curriculum redesign
- national curriculum redesign
- new research project
- new publication
- professional promotion
- government or ministry policy
- new professional organization
- new institutional linkages
- raise institutional profile
To download the application, please visit https://cm.usembassy.gov/program-applications/. All applications must be submitted via email to ExchangesYaounde@state.gov, no later than midnight Cameroonian time on Monday, December 02, 2024. Late applications will not be considered.
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