For Immediate Release
Yale Offers International Studies Training to Educators
June 19, 2006. New Haven, Conn.- Yale University's Programs in International Educational Resources, part of The MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, will offer six summer institutes for educators in July.
Each institute will focus on one region of the world: Africa, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Central America or the Middle East. All institutes will include lectures and seminars by experts from Yale and other institutions as well as films, field trips, hands-on cultural activities and teaching strategy and resource sessions. Institutes are open to educators, executives and the media.
This summer's institutes include:
July 6-15: "The Teaching of Africa" is an intensive introductory course in African Studies designed to help educators learn about the peoples, civilizations and cultures of Africa. The course is also developed to help transform perspectives about the continent and to enable participants to identify and access unique resources about Africa. The program includes a full-day field trip to cultural sites in New York City.
July 10-14: "Transforming Japan: Global Connections, Domestic Developments" will explore the far-reaching developments in politics, economics, culture and society that have emerged in Japan since its decade-long economic stagnation. The program will look at the future of the Liberal Democratic Party and Japan's economic and political significance within the context of geopolitics in the 21st century. There will be an optional study trip to Japan following the institute.
July 10-14: "Putin's Russia: Problems and Prospects," the 25th annual Yale-Hopkins Summer Seminar, will be held at Yale and in Russia. An intensive five days of seminars and workshops in New Haven will be followed by a two-week tour of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladimir, Suzdal and Yaroslavl, July 15-29. Participants may attend either or both parts of the seminar. All three weeks will examine the tumultuous events of the past six years and their historical, economic and social context. Topics will include political life and the drift toward authoritarianism, the economics of oil and reform, Russian-American relations, Russia and Europe, everyday life in Russia today, the future of Russian literature, Orthodoxy and religious conflict, Soviet and Post-Soviet film and education at the crossroads.
July 6-12: "International Development: Focus on South Africa" will examine political, economic, social and cultural issues facing South Africa today. South Africa is critical to U.S. foreign policy interests and is one of the richest and economically most important countries of Africa. Despite its gains, it still faces the challenges of stark poverty and inequality resulting from its apartheid legacy. This seminar includes a full-day field trip to cultural sites in New York City.
July 6-14: "Central America" will study socio-economic, political and cultural changes and continuities in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Using an interdisciplinary approach connecting the past to the present, participants will explore Central America's diverse societies and identities. A ten-day field trip to Nicaragua will immediately follow the summer institute.
July 10-14: "Black Gold: The Geopolitics of Oil in the Middle East" will examine in detail the role that oil has played in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries, their neighbors, and their partners in commerce. Oil remains one of the world's most precious and sought after commodities, and the most extensive reserves of this natural resource lie in the Middle East. This seminar will trace the geopolitical impact of the development of the oil industry in the Middle East and beyond. Special attention will be paid to issues pertaining to the environment, trade policy, social impact and current political concerns. The institute will be followed by an optional field study trip to the Arabian/Persian Gulf.
For information about fees, Continuing Education credits and more, see www.yale.edu/macmillan/pier/institutes.htm
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Contact Information:
Marilyn Wilkes
Yale Center for International and Area Studies
(203) 432-3413
marilyn.wilkes@yale.edu
