Challenges to National Security: A Summer Institute for Educators

July 23-26, 2007
Brown University, Providence, RI


Today the United States faces two major threats to its security: the danger of international terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. September 11 alerted this nation to the all-too-real threat of terrorism. Current developments in North Korea and Iran suggest that the nuclear non-proliferation regime is in serious danger of collapsing. How big a threat are these two challenges to national security? What should be our nation’s policies in dealing with these challenges? Join us for an intensive summer institute exploring these questions and more.

Download application

The Choices Summer Institute will give participating teachers an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the major security challenges facing our nation and will introduce them to effective instructional strategies for engaging adolescents in an exploration of international policy and national security. The primary issues to be examined during this summer’s institute will be nuclear proliferation, international terrorism, and U.S. foreign policy decisions and their implications for national security.

While in attendance at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies, participating teachers will learn from leading scholars in the field of national security as well as experts in social studies pedagogy. Working collaboratively, teachers will also have opportunities to develop and share curriculum with other dedicated and innovative teachers.

Participating scholars include:

Sue E. Eckert, Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Diana Hess, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Catherine McArdle Kelleher, Professor of Strategic Research at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, and Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Linda B. Miller, Adjunct Professor of International Studies (research) at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University and Professor of Political Science (emerita) at Wellesley College

Thomas Nichols, Department of National Security Studies, Naval War College

Justine A. Rosenthal, a Visiting Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Nina Tannenwald, Associate Professor (research) at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Scholar Biographies are available.

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.

How to Apply

Download an online application here. The deadline for applications is March 30, 2007.

Please fax your completed application to: 401-863-1247

or mail to:

The Choices Program
Challenges to National Security Summer Institute
Watson Institute for International Studies
Brown University, Box 1948
Providence, RI 029

Expenses Covered

The cost of the institute, housing and meals will all be covered. All participating teachers will receive curriculum materials from the Choices Program. These will include the following published units:

  • The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons
  • Responding to Terrorism: Challenges for Democracy
  • Conflict in Iraq: Searching for Solutions
  • China on the World Stage: Weighing the U.S. Response
  • The U.S. Role in a Changing World

Participants will be responsible for their own travel expenses.

NOTE: The Challenges to National Security Summer Institute is being made possible with the generous support of the Cranaleith Foundation.

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