SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT Form B-1

        SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT                                                                                        Form B-1

Name:          Scott MacDougall

TRAVEL

Give Itinerary Place                       Dates of Visit                            Purposes Achieved St Petersburg, Russia       September 2010         Same Purpose Moscow, Russia                September 2010          for all places:    Berlin, Germany                December, 2010          Directed Visitation  Dresden, Germany           January, 2011               as per Sabbatical Istanbul, Turkey                January, 2011                Leave Plan Ankara, Turkey                 January, 2011 Izmir, Turkey                     January, 2011 Havana, Cuba                   February, 2011 Trinidad, Cuba                   February, 2011 Cienfuegos, Cuba              February, 2011 Santa Clara, Cuba             February, 2011 Hong Kong, China              April, 2011            Guilin, China                       April, 2011 Shanghai, China                April, 2011 Xi’an, China                       April, 2011 Beijing, China                    April, 2011

10-22-92, Rev. 11-1-94  (Sabb\Forms\report.frm)

SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT Form A-1

SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT Form A-1

Name:          Scott MacDougall
INSTITUTIONAL STUDY
Name of Institution      Université Libre, Bruxelles                                          Open University, Online	Place of Institution  Brussels, Belgium
Period of Attendance   September to December 2010 Open University, March 2011	Units completed semester/quarter    16 ECTS in Brussels  40 Hours at Open University
Belgian University Courses: The Political System of the EU - POLI - 0405 European Cultures & Mentalities in Historical & Comparative Perspective  - ESP-SOCO-10071 Comparative federalism Europe, U.S.A., Canada - POLI - 0507 40 hours of Open University coursework: A 211-1 Introducing philosophy (8 hrs) A 211-2 Two concepts of freedom (20 hrs) DU-301-1 Rights and justice in International Relations (13 hrs)

10-22-92, Rev. 11-1-94  (Sabb\Forms\report.frm)

PROPOSED OBJECTIVES AND EVIDENCE OF COMPLETION

   SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT                                                                                                 Page 3

Name:          Scott MacDougall

PROPOSED OBJECTIVES AND EVIDENCE OF COMPLETION Identify specific objectives proposed in your application and describe in detail the evidence that accompanies your report, which indicates that you have met each objective. If there are deviations, please explain.  Examples follow: Institutional study Objective:            16 ECTS of graduate level political science/history courses as indicated on Form A will be taken at l’Université Libre de Bruxelles – and/or its Dutch sister school, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). and  40 hours of Open University coursework: Introducing philosophy (8 hrs) Rights and justice in international relations (13 hrs) Two concepts of freedom (20 hrs) Evidence: All available on line at: http://mcandsmac.blogspot.com/2011/08/proposed-objectives-and-evidence-of_24.html For the Belgian Semester:   Attendance Verification letters signed by the Instructor, class notes, and a syllabus for an offering of Pol Sci 240, Political Theory. Open University Evidence: ·      An outline of course content ·      My notes on course lecture material. ·      For each of the course taken, a 500 word review of the readings, lectures and my evaluation of the topics presented in the course. All available on line at: http://mcandsmac.blogspot.com/2011/08/proposed-objectives-and-evidence-of_24.html Travel Objective:            Directed Visitation of five selected national capitals. The proposed objective is to observe the institutions of several of the societies about which I teach for the purpose of collecting examples that can be used to illuminate for students the ways in which culture expresses itself in social and economic life and then how those cultural values shape government and politics in those places Evidence:  For the Travel Semester I will produce three journals. All available on line at: http://mcandsmac.blogspot.com/2011/08/proposed-objectives-and-evidence-of_24.html 1)    Preparation Week Journal: For each of the five countries, each Preparation Week activity (6 x 5, 30 total) will be discussed in a journal entry of no less than 250 words.  The Prep Week Journal will total a minimum of not less than 7,500 words.  This journal will provide evidence of my preparation for each visit. It will provide a daily commentary of the local news of the day, impressions of films seen and a summary of the books read.  2)    Travel Journal: A second Journal will record my observations, which result from the completion of the eighteen distinct travel activities in each country. Each of these activities (17 x 5, 85 total) will be discussed in a journal entry of no less than 250 words.  The Travel Journal will total a minimum of not less than 21,250 words.  3)    Photo Journal:  Supplementing the Travel Journal, at each site, I will take pictures of those sites and of their artifacts for use as visuals in class and to be presented in an electronic Photo Journal.  On return, these records will be reproduced and presented to students as a reader and as a model for their own observations and analysis, presented as a class assignment.

10-22-92; Rev.  11-1-94  (Sabb\Forms\report.frm)

Open University Descriptions - Two Concepts of Freedom

Two Concepts of Freedom

Open University Descriptions - Rights & Justice in International Relations

Rights & Justice in International Relations

Boy are we lucky!

For the last 27 years we have lived under the canopy of a large oak tree.  The tree is in the middle of the neighbor's yard, its trunk probably 50 feet from our house.  We always knew that there was a chance part of it could come down.  About 15 years ago, part of it did - smashing the fence and making a mess, but no real harm.  I always thought if it happened again it would be the same scenario.  A limb would break and it would fold down.  The heavy part being close to the base and just the outer, lighter branches near our house.  I figured they might brush the house on the way down, but since they are not the big branches, how much damage can they do?

Well it turns out they can do a lot of damage.  We were very lucky.  It happened in the middle of the night with Alexander and Emily sleeping with their heads against the wall the branches hit on the way down.  The branches were heavy enough to puncture the roof and then put a hole through the ceiling.  Another branch came down with enough force to put a hole through the back wall.  We are lucky the only damage was to the house.

We are also lucky Alexander and Emily are living there.  Straightening this out and overseeing the repairs is going to be a major pain.  I am sure it is not what they thought they were signing up for.  Thanks guys!  We owe you.

Catching Up w/ MC & Moscow

Well we have arrived in Brussels and have been looking for a place to live as well as finding more classes for Scott to take.  He had a class scheduled to begin at 10 this am and received an email sent at 2 am from the professor telling him that the class was not going to be offered this term! They do not seem to be very well organized.
As for apartment hunting that is also a challenge.  Almost all leases are for 1 year so looking for a 3 month lease is difficult at best.

Brussels is a beautiful city and we are looking forward to being here for the next few months.  The weather has been beautiful and today will be in the 70's....

Since I started writing this earlier in the day there have been some developments,  we have found a place to live while in Brussels, YEA!!!  It is a one bedroom flat right next to Place Flagey.  We have many little shops and small grocery stores as well as many bakeries, including a middle eastern bakery selling many, many, many different kinds of baklava!   I guess I might not lose any weight after all....

Russia was interesting but I'm glad we are done with that part of our journey.  St Petersburg

Moscow U. - one of the 7 Sisters

was a nice place to visit, many museums and lots to admire. The city itself is very easy to manage on foot, but the metro is very efficient and is well used. My favorite part was certainly people watching and I must say the Russian women are very interesting.  They are for the most part very attractive and the younger generation makes an effort to always look very put together.

Moscow is a very militaristic city with police, army and all kinds of soldiers, etc. in big hats, trying to look as intimidating as possible.  Our home stay host told us on our first day there that if you are stopped by the police they will ask for your papers (you don't carry your passport, just a copy, because of theft.  You must also have a copy of your visa and your registration, a document showing that you have registered with the police upon your arrival. For us Canadians and Americans this seems crazy!) She then said, "they will say that there is a problem with your papers and they can fix it for a fee, but do not give them any money, it's a scam."  Now that is scary!

Moscow is huge and very drab. When walking around you are overwhelmed by the noise, most streets being 6 to 12 lanes wide, you feel like you are walking on the freeway!

Most of the museums we went to were deserted and always seemed to have more Russian museum employees watching you than visitors. Many had a few descriptions in English but never as much information as in Russian.

Our home stay host was a very interesting 76 year old widow.  She described herself as a victim of Stalin, having been orphaned at the age of 3, father murdered, mother sent to the gulag, she was raised by her aunt in Siberia.  Always being at the top of her class, she was sent to Moscow to attend university.  She became a chemist and headed up some foreign department.  Her English was good but said that her husband (who died 2 years ago) spoke much better.  They have been home stay hosts in Moscow for 18 years and already this year she had hosted 20 times.  Scott was able to have many conversations with her about life then and now.  She is quite a remarkable woman, very outspoken and certainly has had a very interesting life.

We took the new high speed train from St Petersburg to Moscow.  While waiting to board the train I noticed that the luggage tag of the couple waiting behind us had a Sacramento address.  Small world!  We struck up a conversation with Irina and Dave, she originally from Moscow and Dave from Yuba City.  Had a nice chat and went our way.  The next day we went to Jesus Christ the Savior Basilica for services (one of Scott's requirements is to attend church in his study country).  There we ran into Irina and Dave!  They were actually there for services, they are Russian orthodox, we ran into them again after the service.  We decided to get together and had dinner with them at their hotel and had another point of view from someone who lived in Russia until 1991, and has been back every 2 years since then.  We hope to see them again in California.  The world is getting smaller!

Russia; Parliament

It would be nice to be able to see Russia's government up close and in action.  It seems however, that the government is not at all interested in that kind of attention. We visited the

The Duma

buildings of two parts of the Russian legislature; the State Duma and the Senate. The Duma is in a large building just across the street from Red Square and the Kremlin. In front of the Duma is a guard house, a cube that looks like it is made from bullet proof glass. The cube is about 6' x 10'. In it is a guard with his computer and monitor.

To get into the Duma you have to show him your identification and be approved. If you pass, you leave the cube and approach the front doors which are buzzed open to let you pass. Almost no one enters the Duma.

When I arrived in Moscow I was asked by my host what I wanted to do while I was here.

The Cube

When I mentioned visiting the Duma she expressed disbelief. "That is impossible!" she replied. "You would have to know a delegate to make an appointment."


The Russian Senate is behind the Kremlin walls and operates behind a similar wall of security. Thousands of people enter the Kremlin's grounds every day, but they are not allowed to approach the Senate. The Kremlin grounds are divided by a large square whose perimeter is defended by a cadre of traffic cops, in the middle of the square is a guard. If you want to go to the Senate you have to show

The Senate

him an ID which he carefully checks before allowing you to proceed to the second security check behind a large iron gate. 
Russians can see their government, just not in person. Every night on the news you are shown long reports featuring Putin and Medvedev showing them hard at work and describing their views and activity. Of course what a person sees is what the government decides to show them through the portal of the state controlled media. To Russians, this seems normal. To us is an affront to our notion of popular sovereignty.  We want to be able to reach out and yell at them.  Russians don't see the point.  They will do what they want to do anyway.  I wonder who is right.

Flashbacks: Russia

We have a lot of posts to log - written during our time without internet in Moscow.  We won't dump them on you all at once.  A few at a time, mixed with some current stuff from time to time, until we catch up.

Russia; Explore Moscow

I am afraid I'm with Peter the Great on this one. The story is that Peter created St. Petersburg because he could not stand Moscow. I think I agree with him. When you compare Moscow and St. Petersburg, Moscow really comes up short.

Moscow is not at all beautiful, in any respect.  That is not to say that there are not beautiful things in Moscow.  There are.  Lots of them.  The problem is that these bits are overwhelmed by the rest of the city.

Moscow is massive.  Its Metro has nine different lines.  The exact population is not known for certain, Muscovites tell me.  More than ten million have permission to live here but there are millions more who live here without official permission.  Yes, you need official permission to live in Moscow.  This is Russia.

On the metro you encounter that immense crush of humanity. With all those lines, of course, from time to time you must transfer. At rush hour, the train doors open and out streams a flood of people. The mass flows, shoulder to shoulder along the corridors to the next train. Heaven forbid you should want to pause (maybe to check directions or read signs in a strange alphabet?)  There is no place to stand. You just get swept along.

Our Moscow Homestay

Above ground Moscow is littered with large Soviet era buildings, separated by very wide streets. Ten lanes across is not unusual. Crossing them would be impossible so they send you under. At most intersections there are "subways" and along those passages are a variety of small cubicle shops selling almost anything you can imagine: kitchen ware, clothing, phones, watches, medications, you name it. And they are not just there 'on offer', at commute times the stands are busy. A time saver for harried people in a rush.

Smaller, slower, less Soviet, St. Petersburg is more my style.

Russia; St. Petersburg - The Hermitage Museum

Is the Hermitage the world's greatest museum? I had heard people make that statement, but I have never really given it much credence. Seriously, how could it be? The Louvre has the advantage being the home country of so many of the world's great artists, how could the Hermitage be better? I was skeptical, especially since only days earlier I had been in another of the world's great museums, the British Museum.

The overriding impression I always have at the British Museum is; "Wow, having a global empire sure gives you the chance to steal some cool stuff!"  The Brits have treasures from everywhere. The Russians never really had a global empire, how can their treasure trove ever compare?  Yet it does.

The Hermitage is amazing, not only for its quality but also for its size and scope of its collection. The guide says that its collection contains more than 3 million objects. What they display is contained in more than 300 rooms. It is truly a massive collection.  Contained in the collection are some amazing pieces. Having been to the Vatican I have seen Roman statuary -  but not pieces in a condition as good as the Hermitage. Fingers! The statues still have their fingers! And the paintings, room after room of the Masters. It is an all inspiring collection.

When you recover, you begin to think about what it means. 300 rooms, many of which were worth seeing even if they have not been stuffed with art. A palace whose scale makes Versailles seems small. Palaces do not appear magically. They are the product of wealth and power. The Hermitage and the Winter Palace are testimony to the enormous wealth and power of Russia's Czars. The art that fills them is the legacy of a ruling class that extracted great wealth from its country and its people. Maybe in the palace you can see the revolution coming?

Russia; Exploring St. Petersburg

Impressions of St. Petersburg.

It starts of course, at the airport, even before the seat belt sign is turned off, as the plane taxis down the runway past the rusted hulk of an earth mover pushed just far enough to be out of the way and left to rot. Then past the carcasses of the decommissioned aircraft, neatly parked and seemingly waiting for something - but it's not clear what. Would they ever be brought back to service? Who in their right mind would board a flight on a plane that looks like it has not been used in 10 years? If they are junk, why not move them? It's a lot like now disappearing Carquinez moth ball fleet. And it sets a tone.

It is a tone that recurs somewhat frequently throughout St. Petersburg. There are many relics of a previous time that look like they don't quite work and don't quite belong in a modern Russia. Parked next to brand new BMWs you'll see a 30 -year-old Lada that looks like it will collapse into parts at a stiff breeze. Walking around St. Petersburg you are impressed with the spectacular at nearly every turn. The architecture is mostly classical European, the buildings are generally well maintained as are the roads. Notably, the sidewalks are not. Uneven footing everywhere, asphalt covering coarse granite, pot holes everywhere. The streets are crowded, but seems most of the foreign tourists are gone. The groups in the church today all seemed to be conducted in Russian.

St. Petersburg is not hard to get around it. We have found English speakers to help us everywhere we have ordered food (okay maybe that's not a stretch at Mickey D's) but the other place was a real restaurant.  We are starting to recognize words and letters, but reading is not speaking. That is still tough.  Breathing is tough, too. Everybody smokes. Walking down the street we move from cloud to cloud. Some of the clouds are auto exhaust. Clearly they have not adopted California emission standards. The smell of exhaust is pretty constant.

Negatives do not overwhelm stunning views however. St Petersburg is a beautiful city. Water almost always improve the beauty of the city. San Francisco certainly benefits from a watery separation from Oakland. That watery space creates vistas for appreciating the structures beyond.

If you can believe the guidebook, St. Petersburg has more bridges than any other city. It makes sense. St. Petersburg was built on a swamp, drained to become a series of islands. Its existence is a testimony to the will and power of a single man - albeit a man who was Czar. Peter the Great hated  Moscow and so he decided there would be a new capital. And he decided it would be here, the swamp and the difficulties be damned.  At one time he decreed - Czars can do that, just make it so - that no building of stone could be built anywhere in Russia, save in St. Petersburg.   In St. Petersburg they could build, and so they did. The architecture is beautiful. It reminds one of Renaissance France and in some cases Holland. Fitting, considering the great influence those countries had on the 18th century Russian court.

Odds and ends: Young women in St. Petersburg have a penchant for wearing the most impossible shoes. Five-inch stiletto heels are not at all uncommon, and they wear them in the most unlikely places. In the Hermitage we walked almost 8 miles viewing the exhibits and at the end of the day my feet were killing me. Yet we saw plenty of women in five-inch heels. Why? They must be tough, and given the conditions the streets, blessed with great balance.

I think I am going to like it here

Ok, I know it has been a while without a real post.  Things should improve now.  We are now in Belgium, with a stable internet connection and a lot of catching up to do.  Our first afternoon in Brussels has, I'm sure, given us a completely false impression.  Beautiful city, beautiful weather.  But today is a very special day here.  They closed the downtown to cars and the city is full of bikes, skaters, & pedestrians having a great time.  It created a wonderful ambience, but tomorrow is Monday and I expect the workday reality may be a bit less magical.  We'll find out.

100 Word Summary

The Institutional Study element of my sabbatical has afforded me the opportunity to revisit the academic discussion of important concepts of Comparative Politics and to benefit from the unique perspective of scholars from across Europe.   The Travel/Study element has given me the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the history, politics and culture of several countries about which I formerly knew only from books and media.  In the course of my visits I have made invaluable contacts, learned countless things and had many experiences which I am able to use to add color and dimension to the courses I teach.  

Thank you for the opportunity to do this.

Scott MacDougall

Pleasant Hill, September 2011

Course Descriptions - Comparative federalism Europe, U.S.A., Canada

A link to this form on its native site: 

Comparative federalism Europe, U.S.A., Canada - POLI - 0507

Informations Générales
Intitulé du cours	Comparative federalism Europe, U.S.A., Canada
Langue d'enseignement	Enseigné en anglais
Niveau	Niveau 2 dans le cycle
Discipline	Sciences politiques
Titulaire(s)	Johanne POIRIER
Pré-requis
Cours pré-requis
Autres pré-requis	A sound knowledge of English (both written and spoken)
Place du cours dans le programme
Objectifs et méthodologies
Objectifs du cours et compétences visées	Despite the mishaps of some of its real-life  incarnations, the “federal idea” often summarised  by the slogan “unity within diversity” is increasingly  presented as the most effective way of maintaining  a degree of territorial and social cohesion in a state-like  structure, without the disadvantages of forced  homogeneity. Nearly 40 % of the world population  lives in a federal country. The European Union,  Canada and the United States of America represent  three historic efforts, in the words of The Federalist  Papers, to create complex political institutions by  “reason and choice” rather than by “accident and  force” (though many in these countries would deny  this !) This course engages in comparative analysis  of the US, Canadian and various European federations  (the later in the context of the EU integration).  Consideration of the federal dimensions of the EU  will also be canvassed. The approach to the course  will be primarily institutional, though historical  developments, normative discourse and political  debates will also be covered. We will be concerned  with the emergence of the federal or neo-federal  systems, the institutional “architecture” of these  systems, the patterns of interaction between federal  partners. We will also address the issue of policy-making  and policy-implementation in a federal context.
Contenu du cours	The course starts with a reflexion of the methodology  of comparative law, as well as with the variety of  institutional designs. The approach to the course is  primarily institutional, though historical developments,  normative discourse and political debates will also be  covered.
Méthodes d'enseignement	This is a seminar course, and the method is largely  participative. Students are expected to have read the  material prior to class and to be ready for discussion.
Supports d'enseignement	Almost all documents are available through the Virtual  University and some PPT
Références et Bibliographie	Documents available through the internet or the Virtual  University. A detailed course outline and bibliography  will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Evaluation
Méthode	To be determined (a written paper, an open-book  written exam, or an oral exam, depending on the  number of students)
Priorités de l'enseignant	This is conceived as a real participatory exercice.  Students should be present, have read the materials  and be ready to discuss them.
Conseils spécifiques
Langue d'évaluation	English
Organisation pratique
Institution organisatrice	ULB
Faculté gestionnaire	Institut Etudes Européennes
Horaire	Premier quadrimestre - Deuxième quadrimestre
Coordination pédagogique
Contact	jpoirier@ulb.ac.be (please put “Comparative federalism  – IEE” in object of message) (0)2 650 4819 Office H. 3118  (by appointment only) Secretariat: Ms Nadia SERONT  Office: H.3 116 Phone: (02) 650 3968
Remarques

Course Descriptions - The political system of the EU

A link to this form on its native site:

The Political System of the EU - POLI - 0405

Informations Générales
Intitulé du cours	The political system of the EU
Langue d'enseignement	Enseigné en anglais
Niveau	Niveau 1 dans le cycle
Discipline	Sciences politiques
Titulaire(s)	Olivier COSTA
Pré-requis
Cours pré-requis
Autres pré-requis
Place du cours dans le programme
Objectifs et méthodologies
Objectifs du cours et compétences visées	The aim of the course is to undertake a critical analysis  of EU institutional structure and political functioning.
Contenu du cours	It proposes a reflection on the nature of EU political  system and polity, by looking at its history and  constitutional design. It then examines how the EU  institutions are appointed; how they function; their  respective powers; how they interact with other and  with the national political institution and civil society  actors. It describes the European policy making. It  finally examines the process of institutional reform and  the challenges EU is facing today. There is a written  examination.
Méthodes d'enseignement	Ex Cathedra course
Supports d'enseignement	English syllabus (100 p.) published each year by the  Presses de l'Université de Bruxelles under the supervision  of the prof. PowerPoint slides (165 p.) available to students  on the intranet.
Références et Bibliographie	Peterson, J. and Shackleton, M. ( eds )(2006) The  Institutions of the European Union. Oxford, OUP, 2nd  edition. Hix, S. (2005)  The Political System of the European Union. Basingstoke,  Macmillan. Magnette, P. ( 2005 ) What is the European  Union? Nature and Prospects, Palgrave Macmillan;  Quermonne, J.-L. ( 2010 ) Le Système Politique de l'Union  Européenne. Paris Montchrestien, 8ème édition; Richard  Jeremy ( ed ) ( 2006 ), European Union: Power and  Policy-Making, London, Routledge, 3rd edition; Wallace  Hellen & William ( eds ) ( 2005 ), Policy-making in the  European Union, Oxford University Press, 5th edition;  Costa, O. and Brack,N., Le fonctionnement de l'Union  européenne, Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles ( 2011 )
Evaluation
Méthode	Written exam (2 hours): 4 short questions to be answered  in a limited space (20 lines each)
Priorités de l'enseignant	Straightforward and precise answers: no clap-trap  Analytical capacity is important
Conseils spécifiques	Answers may be structured with bullet points, etc.  Answers must be analytical: students may go beyond  the course, but should avoid private opinions Simple  English or French dictionary and bilingual dictionaries  allowed
Langue d'évaluation	English or French (student's choice)
Organisation pratique
Institution organisatrice	ULB
Faculté gestionnaire	Institut Etudes Européennes
Horaire	Premier quadrimestre - Deuxième quadrimestre
Coordination pédagogique
Contact	E-mail address: olivier.costa@ulb.ac.be
Remarques