Democracy
& Diversity Graduate Summer Institute
Cape Town, South Africa, January 11—26, 2002
_________________________________________________________________________
Following the success of our region-based institute in South
Africa in the last
three years, we are pleased to announce the fourth Democracy
& Diversity Graduate Summer Institute in Cape
Town, South
Africa. In an intensive
two-week program, an international body of civically-engaged junior scholars
and activists will examine the critical issues of democracy and democratization
as they manifest themselves in the region and beyond.
Seven years after launching its imaginative program for reconstructing
a post-apartheid society, economy, and state, South
Africa provides an
exceptionally stimulating setting for study and debate on democratic
transitions and consolidation. The Institute, designed
and organized jointly between the Transregional Center for
Democratic Studies of New School University, New York, and The EDGE Institute
in Johannesburg,
will again bring together 50 young scholars and civic leaders primarily from South
Africa and other
countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, but also from the United
States, Latin
America, and Central & Eastern
Europe.
Faculty and Program
The highly intensive program, offering the equivalent of a full
semester of graduate study, includes four core seminars, each co-taught by
faculty from Africa and
the United States. Additional 2002 Institute faculty will
include special guest lecturer Claus Offe (Humboldt
University, Berlin, Germany).
The curriculum will be complemented by a daylong concluding conference,
a series of evening guest lectures, panel discussions, and field trips. Guest
speakers at the 2002 Cape Town Institute will include prominent civic leaders, policy
makers, and public intellectuals from the region.
Guest speakers at the past institutes have included:
- Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert (former leader
of parliamentary opposition and co-founder, IDASA),
- Amina
Mama (Director, African Gender Institute),
- Njabulo
Ndebele (Vice Chancellor, University
of Cape Town),
and
- Zackie Achmat (Director, Treatment Action Campaign).
Curriculum
·
Sustaining Democracy?
Challenges to Democratic Politics in the 21st Century —Seminar
David Plotke, Department of Political Science,
Graduate Faculty, New School University;
Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, Department of
Political Science, University of Ghana, and Centre for Democracy and
Development in Accra
In the last
two decades democratic institutions have been put in place in a larger number
of countries than ever before. These efforts have had too many successes to be
termed experiments any longer. Yet in some countries democratic institutions
have collapsed amid ethnic and sectarian strife. Elsewhere democratic
institutions are nominally in place but political life is dominated by military
or religious elites.
When do
democratic institutions persist in 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. (Africa will be a major empirical focus.)
We first
survey recent efforts to sustain democracy in different parts of the world.
Then we consider how democracy is sustained. What are the contributions of the
design of political institutions, the extent and shape of economic development,
and political and social values to maintaining and enriching democratic
practices? Throughout the course we assess different challenges to democracy,
such as via institutional failure, corruption, and extreme poverty. This year
we will be especially interested in the challenges to democracy posed by
anti-democratic ideas and practices. These challenges range from sectarian and
intolerant political and religious views to terrorism and related forms of
political violence. How can democratic politics be successfully and
legitimately defended against antidemocratic ideas and activities?
·
Nationalism, Gender,
Globalization —Seminar
Shireen Hassim,
Department of Political Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg;
and
Elzbieta Matynia,
Committee on Liberal Studies, Graduate Faculty, New School University;
with Guest Speakers
This course
will investigate three factors (and their accompanying movements) that have
influenced both political discourse and action in the new democracies over the
last decade. Whether defined as philosophical
concept, ideology, attitude, or group state of mind, nationalism
continues to be a major idee force, leading to successive reconfigurations of the world
map. In Europe, as in Africa, nationalism has been both a force for progressive and
revolutionary change, and a mobilizing factor in
authoritarian politics. Recognizing that the principle of gender
equity is still rarely reflected in actual social practices in the new
democracies, we will discuss the challenging intersections of gender and nation
in postcolonial and post-Communist societies. We will examine the relationships
between women and nationalist projects, between nationhood and identity,
between ethnicity and politics. Finally we will look at globalization,
and consider how the political goals of nationalist movements
(self-determination and state sovereignty) are challenged by the emergence of a
supraterritorial system of growing interdependence
involving the movement of goods, people, and knowledge across borders.
·
The Public Sphere:
Problems of Democratic Culture and its Enemies —Seminar
Xolela Mangcu,
Executive Director, Steve Biko Foundation, Johannesburg;
and
Jeffrey C. Goldfarb, Department of Sociology,
Graduate Faculty, New School University
Democracy as a
set of political and cultural practices proved to be significant alternative to
20th Century totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. In Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, 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 democratic
constitution. On September 11, 2001, the profound
character of the opposition to democracy was revealed to New Yorkers, Americans
and the rest of the world. In this course, starting with a close reading of
September 11th and its aftermath, the political cultures of
authoritarianism, totalitarianism and terrorism will be compared and contrasted
with each other and with democratic culture.
Among the
issues to be considered are: the relationships between democracy and
nationalism, and democracy and social injustice; the legacies of dogmatic and
democratic resistance; the problems of civil society; the dilemmas of
multiculturalism; and the sociological spectacle of media politics (with
special focus on terrorism as media performance).
·
Democracy and Development—Seminar
Stephen Gelb,
Director, The EDGE Institute, Johannesburg;
and
William Milberg, Department of Economics, Graduate Faculty, New School University
The transition
from an authoritarian system to democracy creates enormous political pressure
for economic change. Economic policy must respond to the needs of a wider base
of citizens. Coinciding with the wave of democratization over the past decade
is a marked “globalization” of production and finance, involving
greater international capital mobility and trade openness. This heightened
interconnectedness of markets across countries has narrowed the scope for
effective economic policy in any given country and contributed to new forms of
cultural and political response, including global activism, international
crime, and even terrorism. Many governments have relied more heavily on market
mechanisms and adopted policies favoring business
investors. What are the prospects for economic democracy in such an
environment? Can the apparent conflict between globalization and
democratization be resolved? What development strategy options are available?
This course will explore these questions, relying heavily on experiences in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
·
Concluding Conference—The State of Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Guest speakers will include
scholars, political commentators, and public figures from South and Southern
Africa.
Why Cape Town?
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 of 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.
Facts about the Program
Candidates invited to apply may have academic backgrounds
in the areas of political science, sociology, social psychology, gender
studies, social work, economics, history, political philosophy, and
anthropology.
Applicants will fall into two groups:
·
Junior
faculty or advanced graduate students (preferably working toward their Ph.D.)
in the fields mentioned above. We are interested both in theoretically-oriented
students and in those who are engaged in applied social sciences (e.g., policy
design and analysis). University graduates who are currently working in
leadership positions in public sector, non-governmental or community-based
organizations.
The Institute offers four intensive seminars, each of which is
equivalent to a one-semester graduate course (complemented by an evening
program and a concluding conference). Participants will select two of the four
seminars and, upon completion of the Institute requirements, will receive
certificates. U.S.
graduate students will receive appropriate credits (3 credits per course for Graduate
Faculty students).
Institute seminars are conducted in English. All candidates must have an excellent command of the English language. Participants from
non-English speaking countries must provide evidence of English language
skills.
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.
Applications
·
Applications from Africa:
Applications are welcome from all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. A
limited number of scholarships will be available to selected candidates.
The following information is required for
the processing of applications:
- Full name;
- Reliable/preferred
mailing address, telephone/fax numbers, e-mail address;
- Educational background,
degrees received, and current institutional affiliation;
- Applicants affiliated
with an NGO or a civic organization should include a brief description of
the nature of the work undertaken by their organization;
- One letter of
recommendation; and
- A 1,500 word essay in
English on a key current issue or problem facing your country, and your
views on possible policy measures which government and/or social
organizations, and/or international action could pursue to address the
problem.
Interested candidates should send applications to the attention of
Jonathan Faull at The EDGE Institute. Applications should preferably be sent
via email, but can also be submitted via fax, regular or courier mail:
Email: jfaull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Postal Address: The EDGE Institute,
P.O.
Box 30896, Braamfontein 2017, South Africa;
Physical Address (for couriered documents): The
EDGE Institute, 11th Floor Braamfontein Centre, 23 Jorissen
St., Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa
Please direct all inquiries to Jonathan Faull:
South African applications: tel. (011)
339-1757(office); 082-415-0197 (mobile – evenings); fax (011) 4032794
Other African applications: tel. +27-11-339-1757
(office); +27-82-415-0197 (mobile – evenings); fax +27-11-403-2794
·
Candidates
from North America, Latin
America, and Central
& Eastern Europe should contact Timo Lyyra, Transregional Center for Democratic
Studies, New School University, New York, USA; (tel.) +1-212-229-5580; (fax)
+1-212-229-5894; (e-mail) lyyra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx The deadline for applications
from these regions is November
12, 2001.
JONATHAN FAULL
The EDGE Institute: Economic
Development, Growth & Equity
11th floor, Braamfontein Centre, 23 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein PO Box 30896 Braamfontein 2017
Phone: 011 339 1757 or 082 415
0197
Fax: 011 403 2794
E-mail: jfaull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
