So, believe it or not, the college won't give you a year off just cause you want to bum around the world. You have to demonstrate that what you intend to do has value for the students and the institution. That took some doing with this project, which some of you might think sounds a lot like an extended vacation. I had to convince the sabbatical committee, the chancellor and college presidents that it is not. It only took me two years and three drafts to get that done. Here's the case I made:
The travel portion of my sabbatical is designed to provide me with first hand experience of countries that are part of the curriculum of Comparative Politics. The central element of that course is an attempt to understand the politics and institutions of representative models of different social, economic and political systems. To that end we compare several different countries (currently: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, India & Nigeria).
Some of these countries I have had the opportunity to experience first hand. Others I know only from books and the media. In the cases where I have had the opportunity to visit the countries personally, I have found that I have been able to find living examples of the conceptual points made in lecture. The examples make it possible for students to see the connections between the concepts we are discussing (say gender equality, class differences, etc.) and the “real life” of the “other society” in the same way they experience and understand those concepts in their “real American life”.
The set of countries I have visited is somewhat limited and relatively Eurocentric, however. The purpose of the second part of the sabbatical is to expand that set and enable me to speak with authority about a much larger range of political systems.
On the way to Brussels and back, I intend to make extended visits in at least 5 other countries. As detailed in "the plan", each of these visits will require a minimum of 3 weeks of preparation and execution. It may seem like a vacation, but its not. From a tourism perspective, most of these places aren't terribly exciting. My interest is in the politics and culture of these places. The intent, as you will see, is not to spend a week sight seeing in Paris (or anywhere else for that matter) but to systematically explore several countries in order to later make formal comparisons of many aspects of their culture, politics and daily life.
More than a year in advance of an actual visit, it is difficult to say with certainty whether it will be safe and legal to visit all of the places on this list. The top priorities include Iran and Cuba, countries where the political situation is relatively volatile, and the relationship with the U.S. uncertain at best. At a time much closer to the actual visit, I will make a judgment about whether visitation of these countries is possible. At that time a specific itinerary will be established. Regardless, I have committed to making visits to five different countries, representing at minimum one country from each of three sub-sets, representing the three political systems studied in my course.
The countries are listed below (within the sub-sets, bold red as they become reality) in order of the priority I would place on visiting them. All of the countries would be acceptable and useful and would satisfy the purposes envisioned in this project. The final selection of visits from this list will reflect political, logistical and financial considerations prevailing in the last months prior to departure.
Leninist/former Leninist Countries
• Havana, Cuba - February 2011
• Moscow, Russia - Sept. 2010
• Beijing, China - April 2011
Developing/Ex-Colonial Countries
• Tehran, Iran Ankara, Turkey - January 2011
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Delhi, India
• Nairobi, Kenya
Liberal/Democratic Countries
• Tokyo, Japan
• Paris, France
• Berlin, Germany - December 2010
• London, England
• Ottawa, Canada
The travel portion of my sabbatical is designed to provide me with first hand experience of countries that are part of the curriculum of Comparative Politics. The central element of that course is an attempt to understand the politics and institutions of representative models of different social, economic and political systems. To that end we compare several different countries (currently: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, China, Mexico, Iran, India & Nigeria).
Some of these countries I have had the opportunity to experience first hand. Others I know only from books and the media. In the cases where I have had the opportunity to visit the countries personally, I have found that I have been able to find living examples of the conceptual points made in lecture. The examples make it possible for students to see the connections between the concepts we are discussing (say gender equality, class differences, etc.) and the “real life” of the “other society” in the same way they experience and understand those concepts in their “real American life”.
The set of countries I have visited is somewhat limited and relatively Eurocentric, however. The purpose of the second part of the sabbatical is to expand that set and enable me to speak with authority about a much larger range of political systems.
On the way to Brussels and back, I intend to make extended visits in at least 5 other countries. As detailed in "the plan", each of these visits will require a minimum of 3 weeks of preparation and execution. It may seem like a vacation, but its not. From a tourism perspective, most of these places aren't terribly exciting. My interest is in the politics and culture of these places. The intent, as you will see, is not to spend a week sight seeing in Paris (or anywhere else for that matter) but to systematically explore several countries in order to later make formal comparisons of many aspects of their culture, politics and daily life.
More than a year in advance of an actual visit, it is difficult to say with certainty whether it will be safe and legal to visit all of the places on this list. The top priorities include Iran and Cuba, countries where the political situation is relatively volatile, and the relationship with the U.S. uncertain at best. At a time much closer to the actual visit, I will make a judgment about whether visitation of these countries is possible. At that time a specific itinerary will be established. Regardless, I have committed to making visits to five different countries, representing at minimum one country from each of three sub-sets, representing the three political systems studied in my course.
The countries are listed below (within the sub-sets, bold red as they become reality) in order of the priority I would place on visiting them. All of the countries would be acceptable and useful and would satisfy the purposes envisioned in this project. The final selection of visits from this list will reflect political, logistical and financial considerations prevailing in the last months prior to departure.
Leninist/former Leninist Countries
• Havana, Cuba - February 2011
• Moscow, Russia - Sept. 2010
• Beijing, China - April 2011
Developing/Ex-Colonial Countries
•
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Delhi, India
• Nairobi, Kenya
Liberal/Democratic Countries
• Tokyo, Japan
• Paris, France
• Berlin, Germany - December 2010
• London, England
• Ottawa, Canada
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