HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES EMBASSY HANOI
UNITED STATES CONSULATE GENERAL HO CHI MINH CITY
Announcement
2019 STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES INSTITUTES
FOR SCHOLARS AND SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATORS
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City are pleased to announce the 2019 Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) programs for scholars and secondary school educators. We seek qualified candidates to nominate for these programs. University lecturers, researchers, and secondary school educators who wish to apply for the programs are invited to submit the online application form by the application deadline. Selections will be announced in early April 2019.
The application deadline is 11:59PM, Wednesday, January 2, 2019 (Vietnam time). Late applications will not be reviewed.
Program Overview
SUSI programs are intensive post-graduate level academic programs with integrated study tours whose purpose is to provide foreign university faculty and other scholars the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American society, culture, and institutions. Knowledge and experience gained from these programs are expected to help the participants to strengthen curricula and to improve the quality of teaching about the United States in their own universities and institutions when they return to their home country.
Each program will host a group of participants from different countries around the world, and will take place over the course of six weeks beginning in or after June 2018. We hope to nominate one scholar from Vietnam for each of the programs below. All participant costs, including program administration, international and domestic travel and ground transportation, housing and subsistence, book, cultural, mailing and incidental allowances will be sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit our website page to obtain general information about the Institutes. The address is: http://exchanges.state.gov/susi
Summary of the Institutes
1. American Culture and Values
The Institute on American Culture and Values will promote American culture, leadership, and values by providing a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly motivated foreign university faculty and other specialists with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, civil society institutions, democratic principles, human rights, and the rule of law. The Institute will examine the concepts of American exceptionalism and American resilience through social, economic, political, and religious contexts in which, historically, various cultures have manifested and shaped contemporary U.S. culture, values, and society. The program will draw from a diverse disciplinary base and should itself provide a model of how a foreign university might approach the study of U.S. culture and values.
2. American Politics and Political Thought
The Institute on American Politics and Political Thought will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced foreign university faculty and practitioners insight into how intellectual and political movements have influenced modern American political institutions and a deeper understanding of major currents in U.S. political thought from the colonial period to the present. Drawing upon the American Political Development approach, the Institute will provide a full and diverse understanding of U.S. political thought and its connection to U.S. politics, public policy, and institutions by linking contemporary issues with historical and social debates. The Institute will explore particular themes including self-rule and limited government, liberty and freedom, individualism and identity, equality and inequality, and the American Dream. The Institute will conclude with an integrated two-week study tour to New York City; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Shepherdstown, West Virginia; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Washington, D.C.
3. Contemporary American Literature
The Institute on Contemporary American Literature will provide a multinational group of up to 18 foreign university faculty and scholars with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present, through an examination of contemporary American (U.S.) literature. Its purpose is twofold: to explore contemporary American writers and writing in a variety of genres; and to suggest how the themes explored in those works reflect larger currents within contemporary U.S. society and culture. The program will explore the diversity of the American literary landscape, examining how major contemporary writers, schools, and movements reflect the traditions of the U.S. literary canon. At the same time, the program will expose participants to writers who represent a departure from that tradition, and who are establishing new directions for American literature.
4. Journalism and Media
The Institute on Journalism and Media will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced and highly motivated foreign 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. Also, the Institute will examine pedagogical strategies for teaching students of journalism the basics of the tradecraft: researching, critical thinking, reporting, interviewing, writing, and editing. 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.
5. Religious Pluralism in the United States
The Institute on Religious Pluralism in the United States will provide a multinational group of up to 18 foreign university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present, through an examination of religious pluralism in the United States and its intersection with American democracy. Employing a multi-disciplinary approach and drawing on fields such as history, political science, anthropology and sociology, law, and others, the program will explore both the historical and contemporary relationship between religion and state in the United States. Participants will examine the ways in which religious thought and practice have influenced, and been influenced by the development of American-style democracy. Study will also include a survey of the diversity of contemporary religious beliefs in relation to the first amendment to the US constitution, elections, public policy, and the demography of the United States. Interfaith dialogue in the American context will be practiced in the context of the group itself as well as site visits to a diversity of religious communities.
6. U.S. Foreign Policy
The Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced foreign university faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how contemporary 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 players in 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 and the new trends that are shaping policy. Topics such as the concept of American sovereignty, shifting attitudes towards globalism, U.S. foreign aid, the monitoring of foreign investment in the United States, the efforts to combat terrorism and radicalization, new trade policies and agreements, immigration and border safety, and cybersecurity will be included. The program will also discuss the reorganization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the new U.S. approaches to international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
7. Youth, Workforce Development, and Closing the Skills Gap
The Institute on Youth, Workforce Development, and Closing the Skills Gap will provide a multinational group of 18 experienced foreign faculty and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how new socioeconomic trends have changed the concept of work, workforce development, and career paths in the United States. The academic program will include a thorough discussion of the role of U.S. educational institutions, particularly community colleges, in preparing Americans with the skills needed to succeed in multiple industries including business, technology, science, the creative arts, and other emerging fields. Topics such as urbanization, globalization, economic development, and advances in technology such as automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence will also be included. The Institute will offer opportunities for participants to research new ideas, in conjunction with American peers, to better understand the evolution of work, the changing demand for skills, and the advancements in workforce development through retraining, reskilling, and closing the skills gap.
8. Secondary School Educators
The Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators will provide three multinational groups of 20 experienced secondary school educators with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture - past and present. Two of the Institutes are tailored for secondary school teachers which focus on content and materials about the United States rather than teaching methods and pedagogy. The third Institute is tailored for experienced administrators including teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, and others.
The programs will also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The four-week academic residencies will take place at U.S. universities and colleges campuses and will consist of a balanced series of lectures, panels, seminar discussions, readings, workshops, site visits, meetings with practitioners in the field, and cultural activities. One-week study tours to a different region of the United States will complement the academic residencies, showcasing the cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity of the United States. The program features curriculum based on the study of how America’s foundations and historical development have shaped and continue to inform U.S. politics, economics, and society. A key cultural component of the program involves community service activities, which will provide participants with a first-hand experience of how volunteerism plays a vital role in U.S. civil society.
Candidate Qualifications
Eligible candidates for the Study of the United States Institutes must:
Secondary school educators with little or no prior experience in the United States, whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. Studies into its curricula, to develop new courses in the subjects of the program they apply for, to enhance and update existing courses on the United States, or to offer specialized seminars/workshops for colleagues in areas related to the program theme are highly encouraged to apply for the programs.
Application Submission
Public Affairs Section
United States Embassy
SUSI Program
7 Lang Ha,
Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Tel: 84-24-3850 5000, ext. 6034
Email: pas.culture@gmail.com
Public Affairs Section
United States Consulate General
SUSI Program
4 Le Duan, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
POC: Luan Nguyen
Tel: (84) (028) 3520-4618
Email: NguyenLH2@state.gov