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THE EUROPEAN UNION:  CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

YALE-HOPKINS SUMMER SEMINAR 2008

Monday, July 7-Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The 27th annual Yale-Hopkins Summer Seminar (YHSS 2008) will take as its theme “The European Union: Contemporary Challenges.”  The European Union and the United States both face the same great challenges today but often approach these complex problems in very different ways.  Americans sometimes do not realize that we and our European partners have a lot to learn from each other about many crucial issues.  This intensive nine-day seminar will give you all you need to teach about today’s EU and six vital topics.  After a brief look at EU institutions and history, YHSS ‘08 will spend a full day on each of the following subjects:  (1) immigration, population, and nationalist backlash;  (2) terrorism, security, and differing EU/US responses around the world;  (3) globalization and trade;  (4) threats to the social safety net;  (5) environment and climate change;  and (6) constitutions, federalism, and regionalism.  We will also touch upon trends in art and literature, US/European relations, and EU enlargement, and will spend one day in New York City at embassies and other sites.  The reconstruction and unification of Europe is one of the most important political, economic, and social developments of the past 50 years, and participants in YHSS ’08 will come away well-equipped to teach their students about it.

The series is designed for K-12 and college teachers, curriculum specialists, librarians, and administrators in all disciplines.  No previous training in European studies is necessary.  During their stays in New Haven, participants will attend lectures and seminars with leading professors, will participate in intensive discussion sessions led by our master teachers, and will be exposed to innovative teaching strategies and to the rich resources in New England for teaching about the EU and the issues it (and we) face today.  The New Haven seminar will include a day-long field trip to New York on Thursday, July 10. 

Series organizers are Brian Carter, PIER/European Studies Outreach Coordinator at Yale, and Master Teachers Paul Rowan and Stephen Armstrong.  David R. Cameron, Professor of Political Science and Director of the European Studies Program at Yale, is Faculty Advisor. Other presenters will include noted faculty from Yale and other universities, and diplomatic personnel from European embassies.

Tuition for the program is $150, which includes all texts and materials.  Residence during the New Haven program is not mandatory, but housing can be arranged at Yale for $65/night single occupancy or in nearby hotels for $125-$150/night double or single.  Some financial assistance is available this year to help defray travel, meals, and housing expenses for qualified applicants.

Admission:  YHSS application forms are available from:  Brian Carter, PIER European Studies, P.O. Box 208206, New Haven, CT 06520-8206, phone (203) 432-3424, by e-mail at brian.carter@yale.edu, or at the PIER website:  http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/pier/institutes.htm.  There is no deadline, but applications received by May 15 will have priority.    

YHSS 2008 is sponsored by PIER-European Studies, the European Studies Council, and the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, with support from the US Department of Education through a Title VI grant.  The YHSS is planned in accordance with nationwide Continuing Education Units standards, and Yale is a CEU provider.  Upon completion of the program, Yale will grant teachers up to 6 CEUs.