Professional Documents
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Building upon the interest generated by our region-based institute in South Africa during the past seven years,
we are pleased to announce the eighth Democracy & Diversity Graduate Summer Institute in Cape Town, South
Africa. In this intensive program, an international body of civic-minded junior scholars and activists will
examine critical issues of challenges to democracy and democratization as they manifest themselves in
Southern Africa and beyond.
Twelve years after launching its imaginative program for the creation of a post-apartheid society, economy,
and state, South Africa provides an exceptionally stimulating setting for study and debate on democratic
transitions and consolidation. The Democracy & Diversity Institute is designed and organized by the
Transregional Center for Democratic Studies at the New School for Social Research, New York, in
partnership with collaborating scholars and public intellectuals from the region, under the auspices of the
Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS) at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa
(IDASA). The program will bring together 40 young scholars and civic leaders, primarily from the countries
of Sub-Saharan Africa but also from the United States, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Central & Eastern
Europe.
The highly intensive program, offering the equivalent of a full semester of graduate study, includes four core
seminars, co-taught by faculty from Africa and the United States, and a set of master class sessions that
provide a common thread for the institute’s seminars and feature guest speakers from South Africa and the
region.
The curriculum will be complemented by evening discussions and study tours. Guest speakers at the 2007
Cape Town Institute will include prominent scholars, civic leaders, policy makers, and public intellectuals
from the region.
TRANREGIONAL CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC STUDIES TEL. +1 212 229 5580 x3137
NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH FAX +1 212 229 5894
65 FIFTH AVENUE, ROOM 230 FRATRIKJ@NEWSC HOOL.EDU
NEW YORK, NY 10003, USA WWW.NEWSCHOOL.EDU/TCDS
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Curriculum
Classes begin on January 6 and run through January 20. Participants are expected to arrive on January 5 and
depart by evening of January 21. The Institute offers four seminars, each of which is equivalent to a one-
semester graduate course (complemented by the master class sessions, evening meetings, and study tours). All
seminar classes meet a total of 16 times (seminar sessions plus master class sessions). Participants select two
of the four seminar classes offered and participate in all master classes. Upon completion of the course
requirements, New School students receive appropriate course credits (six credits) and non-New School
participants receive certificates of completion.
Seminar Classes:
The globalization of economic life means greater international capital mobility and more international trade. Such
globalization has occurred along with rapid technological change and a political shift in many countries involving a
greater reliance on market mechanisms. These changes have corresponded with rising income inequality across and
within countries and an apparent narrowing of the scope for effective economic policy in any given country. What
economic development strategy options are still available at the international, national, regional and community
levels? This course will explore the question of economic development in the context of global changes in
technology, corporate strategies and the political shift towards neoliberalism. We begin with a historical look at the
development patterns in industrialized and newly industrialized countries. We then take up the issue of development
strategies in the contemporary context, beginning with the role of international trade, foreign direct investment,
portfolio capital movements and “global” public goods.Topics will include the management of financial crisis and
the exchange rate, the regulation of transnational corporations, the development implications of global supply
chains, the liberalization of world trade in agriculture, and the protection of intellectual property.
Recognizing that the principle of gender equity is still poorly reflected even in the societies that live under
democratic, accountable governance, the seminar will be focused on the intersection of gender and citizenship,
especially in postcolonial and postcommunist societies, as they are challenged by both nation and globalization.
The center of our examination will be women in new or newly consolidated democracies, who at the beginning of
this century find themselves caught between local, national, and global pressures. We will consider the various
strategies through which local women (and local feminism) respond to these pressures. Our discussion on the
capacity to introduce change in the context of movements for social transformation, or in the context of enabling
democratic infrastructure, will be informed by two key categories: identity and agency.
We will explore the relationships between women and nationalist projects, between nationhood and identity, gender
and citizenship, public and private. We will look at the relatively recent emergence of globalization, a supraterritorial
system of growing interdependence, and consider its gender implications. While examining the role of women in
local settings and in global civil society, we will discuss the question of the universality of human rights, the
principle of gender mainstreaming, and the tensions between feminism, liberalism, cultural relativism, and
multiculturalism. Finally, we will consider the question of a global civil society, and the prospects for (and
implications of) global feminism
• GSOC6053: The Public Sphere: Problems of Democratic Culture, Social Change and Media —
seminar
William Gumede, School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand, and
London School of Economics; Teaching Partner: To Be Announced
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Democracy as a set of political and cultural practices proved to be significant alternative to 20th Century totalitarian
and authoritarian regimes. In Africa, as well as in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Latin America and
Asia, potent democratic oppositions initiated a wide variety of democratic transitions, with greater and lesser
successes. The wave of new democracies led some to celebrate the end of history, while others struggled with the
very difficult tasks of constituting democracy. In recent years, a markedly less favorable global context for
democracy has developed. Democracy is being challenged by the drama of terrorism and anti-terrorism
transnationally, by political hegemonies by the forces of globalization. Declared democrats have embarked on
markedly anti-democratic political actions, and those seeking social justice, as well as those defending injustice, are
openly challenging democratic principles. In this course, the political cultures of democracy and its opponents will
be examined in comparative perspective.
Among the issues to be considered are: the relationship between civic capacity and democracy, the role of the
independent intellectual; democracy and social justice; the legacies of dogmatic and democratic resistance; the
problems of civil society; the dilemmas of multiculturalism; and media and democracy.
• GPOL6213: Democracies & Boundaries: Conflicts about Membership, Borders, and Diversity —
seminar
David Plotke, Department of Political Science, New School for Social Research
(Course description forthcoming)
Master Classes:
In addition to the seminar classes, all participants will actively take part in a series of master classes,
conducted on a theme relevant to the Institute’s curriculum with South African academics and public
intellectuals.
Cape Town, the capital of the Western Cape Province, is simultaneously an historic and picturesque city of
17th-century origins, and the dynamic legislative capital of South Africa, the site of its Parliament and other
important political and educational institutions. It is situated on the Cape of Good Hope peninsula, whose
southernmost point is the richly symbolic tip of Africa. With its mild climate, extraordinary setting featuring
the spectacular Table Mountain and Lion's Head as backdrops, and its vivid mix of historic sites amid the
signs of energizing social and political change, the Cape Town area is an ideal location for the Democracy &
Diversity Institute.
The main site of the Institute will be Breakwater Lodge, a waterfront campus of the University of Cape Town
and a residential complex whose history in many ways is intertwined with that of apartheid. It was used briefly
in the early part of this century as a prison, and later, until 1989, as a men's hostel for migrant workers from
the rural areas working in Cape Town harbor. Here one is further confronted by a sobering view of Robben
Island with its massive prison, now a museum, where anti-apartheid leaders of the African National Congress,
including President Nelson Mandela, were held.
Program Costs for Participants from The New School (except Eugene Lang College) and Other U.S.
Universities
The total cost for the program is $2500.00, which includes full room, most meals, course readers, and the
cultural program and study tours. Qualified students from The New School for Social Research will be offered
a $2000.00 TCDS scholarship. Airfare is not included. For more information, please contact Julie Fratrik at
fratrikj@newschool.edu, or call 212.229.5580 x3137.
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The cost of tuition for the program is based on the spring 2007 New School tuition rates and NSSR financial
aid is applicable. For questions, please contact Financial Aid at financialaid@newschool.edu or 212.229.8930.
The total program cost for the program is $1000.00, which includes full room, most meals, course readers,
and the cultural program and study tours. Airfare is not included. For more information, please contact
Wendy Garay, Academic Advisor/Study Abroad Coordinator, at 64 West 11th Street, Rm. 119, tel. (212) 229-
5100 ext. 2280, email garayw@newschool.edu.
Application
Qualified candidates should either be affiliated with a university, as junior faculty members or as advanced
graduate students, or be actively engaged with a relevant NGO. Preference will be given to those young
scholars who, while pursuing their academic goals, can demonstrate a commitment to the strengthening of
civil society and an active interest in building bridges among universities, NGOs, and the communities in
which they live. Institute seminars are conducted in English. Participants from non-English speaking
countries must provide evidence of English language skills.
• Indicate whether you are a US citizen, and if not, list your country of citizenship
• Educational background, degrees received, and current institutional affiliation
• Relevant employment or community activity
• Indicate whether you’ve lived or traveled abroad
• List the 2 seminars (choose 2 out of the 4 listed) you would like to enroll in.
• Please sign and date.
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• CV
• One letter of recommendation
• Official Transcripts from universities attended
• A short essay (approx. 1,500 words) describing how the Institute would complement your academic
experience to date and enhance your educational and professional goals for the future.
Please send your applications by email to TCDS@newschool.edu with the subject heading “CT07” or by
mail to Julie Fratrik, TCDS, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 228, New York, NY 10003. For further information,
contact Julie Fratrik at (212) 229-5580 ext. 3137, or write to fratrikj@newschool.edu. Mailed
applications must be postmarked by Wednesday, November 15. Electronic applications are due
Wednesday, November 15, at 12:00 noon.
Transregional Center for Democratic Studies and The New School do not discriminate on the basis of race,
color,national origin, religion, gender,
sexual orientation, age, physical handicap, or marital status.