Living in a Nuclear Age: Facing the Challenges
A Summer Institute for Educators
July 7 - 10, 2009
Nuclear weapons, with their potential for unimaginable devastation, have occupied a central role in international relations and U.S. foreign policy since 1945. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) went into force forty years ago in an effort to reduce the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. While the treaty has served as a binding commitment among states to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, today serious new challenges are straining the non-proliferation regime. The threats posed by the existence of nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran, worries about the political situation in Pakistan, and the danger of nuclear terrorism place nuclear weapons at the center of the international agenda. How can the world address the problems posed by nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century?
The Choices Summer Institute will give participating teachers an opportunity to explore the challenges posed by nuclear weapons and introduce them to effective instructional strategies for engaging adolescents in the topic. Major themes covered during this institute include the status of the non-proliferation regime, nuclear terrorism, policies toward states at risk, and U.S. nuclear policy and its global implications.
While in attendance at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies, participating teachers will learn from leading scholars in the fields of foreign policy and national security. Working collaboratively, teachers will also have opportunities to develop and share curriculum with other dedicated and innovative teachers.
Scholars
Sue E. Eckert
Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Jo-Anne Hart
Associate Professor, Lesley University
Adjunct Faculty, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Catherine McArdle Kelleher
Professor of Strategic Research at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Thomas Nichols
Department of National Security Studies, Naval War College
Jonathan Pollack
Professor of Asian and Pacific Studies and Director of Strategic Research at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
Nina Tannenwald
Associate Professor (Research), Watson Institute, Brown University
Andrew C. Winner
Professor of Strategic Studies at the Naval War College
Who Should Apply
The Choices Summer Institute is designed to stimulate and support secondary-level educators who are interested in teaching international issues and are prepared to take on leadership roles within their schools and communities. Applicants should have experience teaching social studies at the secondary level, be familiar with the Choices approach, and have an interest in introducing other teachers to the Choices Program. Twenty teachers from across the nation will be selected to participate.
Expenses Covered
The cost of the institute, housing and meals will be covered. All participating teachers will receive curriculum materials from the Choices Program. Participants will be responsible for their own travel expenses.
NOTE: The Choices Program 2009 Summer Institute is being made possible with the generous support of the Cranaleith Foundation.