JOHANNESBURG 2015
13th Democracy & Diversity Institute
Johannesburg, South Africa
January 8-24, 2015
The Transregional Center for Democratic Studies of The New School for Social Research in New York is pleased to announce the 13th Democracy & Diversity Graduate Summer Institute to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa this January 8-24, 2015. Organized by TCDS and our new partner, the University of the Witwatersrand, we will again welcome up to forty junior scholars from the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa, and other regions of the world for this intensive three week program of study in contemporary society, culture and politics.
Johannesburg, the intellectual, economic and cultural hub of South Africa and the gateway to the rest of Africa, provides a stimulating setting for the 13th Democracy & Diversity Institute which is known as an intimate international forum for lively and rigorous debate on critical issues of democratic life. The Institute brings an interdisciplinary, comparative, and highly interactive approach to the social, political, and cultural changes facing today’s world.
Building on the achievements of our 2012 Johannesburg Institute and the Cape Town Institutes (1997-2009) this year’s program is designed to facilitate intellectual, experiential, and practical insights into our increasingly globalized world, all while fostering new relationships between scholars usually separated by geographical circumstances. Core faculty from The New School for Social Research will co-teach seminars with distinguished South African scholars and will be joined by numerous guest spakers.
Application Deadline for New School students November 12, 2015
Application Deadline for African students and other Non-New School students November 1, 2015
Courses Offered:
Precarious Citizenship: Democracy and the Foreigner
Andreas Kalyvas (NSSR, Politics)
Hylton White (University of the Witwatersrand, Anthropology)
Producing and Consuming Places: Travel, Ethnography, Globalization
Rachel Sherman (NSSR, Sociology)
Pamila Gupta (University of the Witwatersrand,Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research)
Regarding Gender: Tensions in Feminist Theory and Practice
Elzbieta Matynia (NSSR, Sociology and Liberal Studies)
Shireen Hassim (University of the Witwatersrand, Political Studies)
Media, Publics and Politics
Jeffrey Goldfarb (NSSR, Sociology)
Daryl Glaser (University of the Witwatersrand, Political Studies)
Extracurricular Activities
The seminars and lectures at the Johannesburg Institute will be complemented by study tours in and around the city that will highlight the history of apartheid and resistance, the transition to democracy, the challenges facing democratic South Africa, and the problems of urbanized Africa. Sites and institutions to be visited include the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, Freedom Square, the Hector Pieterson Museum and Soweto, the Cradle of Humankind, the inner city of Johannesburg – the Central Business District – as well as the Yeoville neighborhood, referred to as the Afropolitan center of Joburg.
A series of evening talks and meetings will complement the curriculum confronting the major issues of the day in a specifically South African context. Past speakers have included: Adila Hassim (a human-rights lawyer working with Section 27), Anton Harber (a professor of journalism at the University of Witwatersrand and a co-founder of the Mail and Guardian), Liza Key (South African film maker, the director Rewind), and Bishop Paul Verryn of Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg.
Accommodation
Participants will be housed in the graduate student housing on the University of the Witwatersrand campus. These modest, single rooms have private bathrooms as well as a small kitchen. Located in the heart of Braamfontein not only will students be able to walk to their classes, the library, and other campus facilities but they will be close to many café’s, restaurants, music venues and other convenient locations to carry on the discussions that began in the classroom.
ELIGIBILITY
Graduate applicants: Applicants should have completed their undergraduate studies by the time of the Institute and should be either enrolled in a postgraduate degree program or working as junior university teachers or researchers. Preference will be given to those applicants who can demonstrate active involvement in civil society and civic life.
Advanced undergraduate applicants: Applicants must be enrolled as juniors or seniors. Preference will be given to those applicants who, while academically inclined, can demonstrate an active interest in civic life.
Researchers based in African NGO and Civil Society Organizations: The Institute also welcomes individuals from within Africa who are professionally engaged in the themes of the Institute. Applicants must either be currently working for an organization whose work relates to the themes of the Institute, or be involved in research which is directly tied to the concerns of the Institute.
PROGRAM COSTS
~Participants from The New School:
Tuition: Tuition for applicants from The New School is based on the tuition they pay at their respective home divisions. New School financial aid is applicable. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for more information.
Program Fee: The program fee of $2000 covers participants’ room and partial board (breakfast and lunch) for the duration of the Institute, as well as the cultural program of lectures, tours, opening and closing receptions, etc. Travel costs are not included. Successful applicants can apply for support in their respective divisions. New School for Social Research (NSSR) students may apply directly to TCDS for support in covering the program fee. We encourage all applicants to look for outside funding sources.
~Participants from other institutions in the US and abroad:
Program Fee: The program fee of the 2015 Graduate Summer Institute for non-New School students is $2500, covering tuition (non-credit), room and partial board (breakfast and lunch), and the cultural program of lectures, tours, opening and closing receptions, etc. Travel costs are not included. We strongly encourage all applicants to look for funding sources from their home institutions and local organizations.
~African participants based at institutions in Africa:
Program Fee: The program fee and accommodation fees will be waived for successful applicants from Africa. The waiver will also include partial board (breakfast and lunch). However, African students will still be responsible for covering their transport costs to Johannesburg, and for having enough finances to cover their other needs (dinner, everyday necessities etc).
HOW TO APPLY
Application form is available on the TCDS Web site at http://blogs.newschool.edu/tcds/application-form-jhb-2015/.
~All Applicants from The New School need to submit:
Completed application form ● CV or resume ● Application essay (approx. 500 words describing how the Institute would complement one’s academic experience to date and enhance educational and professional goals for the future) ● New School academic transcript (unofficial)
~All other Applicants need to submit:
Completed application form ●CV or resume ●Application essay in English (approx. 500 words describing how the Institute would complement one’s academic experience to date and enhance educational and professional goals for the future) ● One letter of recommendation sent from the e-mail address belonging to its author or as an attachment to the application letter if scanned ●TOEFL or other evidence of substantial English language skills is required if coming from a non-English speaking country ●Applicants affiliated with an NGO or a civic organization should also include a brief description of the nature of the work undertaken by their organization
WHERE TO SUBMIT
~Applicants from The New School except for Eugene Lang College: Please submit application materials to TCDS via e-mail: tcds@newschool.edu with the subject “JHB15 Application.”tcds@newschool.edu You can also submit your application in person at TCDS, 80 Fifth Ave, 5th Floor, Room#517, NY, NY 10011.
~Applicants from Eugene Lang College: Please submit application materials to Dechen Albero, Senior Academic Advisor, or Kiah Shapiro at Eugene Lang College Study Abroad by e-mail: Langstudyabroad@newschool.edu with the subject “JHB15 Application.” You can also submit your application in person at Study Abroad, 64 W 11th St, New York, NY, tel: 212.229.5100 x2260.
~Applicants from Africa: Please complete this application in full and submit it to Claudia Gastro at the University of the Witwatersrand via e-mail: claudia.gastrow@wits.ac.za please include “JHB15 Application” in the subject line.
~All other Applicants: Please submit application materials to TCDS via e-mail: tcds@newschool.edu with the subject “JHB15 Application.”tcds@newschool.edu You can also send your application by mail to The Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (TCDS), 80 Fifth Ave, 5th Floor, Room#517, NY, NY 10011.
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE
For all New School applicants, the application deadline is November 12, 2014.
For all other applicants, the application deadline is November 1, 2014.
For more information, please visit our Web site (http://blogs.newschool.edu/tcds/wroclaw-2014)or contact us by e-mail at tcds@newschool.edu or by phone at 212 229-5580 ext. 3137
