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UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies

UCD Clinton Institute Semester Abroad Programme
CF06

Closing date for Spring 2011 semester is 15th October 2010

The Clinton Institute Semester Abroad programme is a Spring semester programme of modules tailored for US-based students who wish to gain an international perspective on their own country.  The programme consists of several modules which examine America’s global role and it provides students with an opportunity to closely study the perceptions and impacts of the US in another country.

The Programme

Student on the programme will take 30 ECT credits, made up of six modules taught at the Institute;

America in the 21st Century

This course explores the political, cultural and social issues that shape the contemporary United States.  Key themes include: the end of the Cold War and the reshaping of domestic politics and foreign policy; 9/11 and responses to terrorism; the ‘culture wars’; the impact of religious fundamentalism on American culture and politics; and the effects of new media technologies on cultural production.  The sources of our analysis will include foreign policy documents, political campaign ads and debates, photographs, music, movies, television reportage and internet sources.
We shall consider how and by whom the political narratives of the post-Cold War era have been constructed.  What political objectives have been narratives served, and what ideas and values have they helped to sustain?  Is there a distinctive character to twenty-first century American politics and culture?  Is there a distinctive character to twenty-first century American politics and culture?  Students will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, and develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation.

Visualising Americanization Part 1

This module will provide an introduction to the history, theory and practice of visual ethnography with particular reference to contemporary Ireland.  It will focus on photography and documentary film.  Issues to be explored include the ways in which visual ethnography has produced knowledge about borders, work, poverty, urban life, tourism, migration and nationhood.  Students will learn about key ideas and concepts in visual ethnography.  They will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, and develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation.

Visualizing Americanization  Part 2

Building on Visualizing Americanization 1, students will conduct individual fieldwork and create online sites to present the results of their own visual ethnographies of the effects of Americanization in Ireland.  Students will learn about the practice of visual ethnography and develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation, and of online presentation of research

Ireland and the US

This module will assess contemporary realignments in the relationship between Ireland and the United States. As the status of both countries changes under the auspices of globalisation, the historic ties between the two – based most fundamentally on the long history of emigration from Ireland to the US – are remade, as citizens of the two attempt to re-negotiate traditional bonds. Students will focus on historical representations of Irishness in the US and vice versa, entering into a wider scholarly process of reassessing these relationships in line with developments in Irish and American Studies more generally. Seminars will highlight issues such as the impact of the Celtic Tiger, the Irish visa lobby in Washington, representations of the urban, the status of Shannon airport, and the function of America in Irish popular culture. This module will examine primary and critical sources in literature, film & television, music and commentary, in order to investigate the changing conditions of engagement between Ireland and the United States today.  Students will learn about key ideas and concepts in cultural relations between Ireland and the United States.  They will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation, and of oral and audio-visual presentation.

Public Diplomacy and Soft Power

This module will analyse historical and emergent roles of public diplomacy as the ‘soft power’ wing of American foreign policy.  It will consider the ways in which the power of the American state is manifested in its operations across national boarders, and examine the implications for cultural projection and knowledge-formation shaped by the operations of this power.  Key issues include: strategic communications and information warfare; the promotion of educational and cultural programmes; private/public networks and the role of non-state actors and NGOs in delivering and contesting public diplomacy goals; the role of rights discourse in public diplomacy; and the impact of new media technologies on public diplomacy.
Students will learn about key ideas and concepts in public diplomacy.  They will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, and develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation.

Journalism: Reporting Conflict

This module will examine genres and styles of reporting that focus on conflict and foreign affairs.  What determines a focus on particular aspects of foreign affairs?  What frames are used to report on particular issues?  What is the role of international news agencies in disseminating international news?  We will consider the nature of contemporary war reporting.  What is the role of journalists in war and violent conflicts?  How do they negotiate the competing demands of employers, governments and military sources?  How do they manage the tensions between objectivity and empathy with human suffering?  We will also consider the changing nature of news production and consumption in a global media marketplace, including the impact of new media technologies on the reporting of conflict and foreign affairs.
In addition to the taught modules the programme will include a number of social events during the course of the semester.  All Clinton Institute Semester Aboard students are encouraged to participate in the events programme of the Institute, which includes research seminars, symposia and conferences, all of which will enrich the learning experience.

Assessment

Students will undertake the same examinations as domestic students in accordance with University regulations.   Increasingly, essay and class-based work forms a substantial component of the assessment process.

Credit Transfer

AT the end of the semester UCD provides a transcript of modules attended to assist with credit transfer to the student’s home university.

Eligibility

The minimum GPA requirement is 3.00.  

Accommodation

On-campus student residences typically consist of apartments for three/four persons.  Each student has their own single room and shares bathroom and kitchen facilities
www.ucd.ie/residences

Fees

Tuition fee, including cultural programme €6750
Accommodation (budget €2500 - €2800)

To apply

Applications are received online, to apply visit www.ucd.ie/apply
The code for the programme is CF06 (Study Abroad, Arts & Celtic Studies, Clinton Institute)

Applications for 2011 should be completed by the 15th October 2010.

If you have any questions please contact
Ms. Catherine Carey
Catherine.Carey@ucd.ie