American Studies in Indonesia: Global or Local Content?

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 00017
Author(s):  
Riani E. Inkiriwang ◽  
Alfred F.I Inkiriwang

The curriculum of the American Studies Program at The School of Strategic and Global Studies of the University of Indonesia comprises among others conversations on American Philosophy, American Democracy, American Culture, American Politics, American Media and American Foreign Policy. An overall perspective of the discourse is to obtain the knowledge and the competence to critically analyze and abstract the role and influence of the United States in contemporary global as well as local affairs. However, in today’s multi-media culture, concerns arise whether the curriculum is still appropriate to fulfill the above goals. Our paper discusses these issues in looking at what to include in an American Studies curriculum that would address its local stakeholders needs and wants, including Indonesia’s vision of Higher Education, which is “to support the competitiveness of the nation.” (DIKTI,2015) In the American Studies context, a tension though might arise when the issues important to American Studies scholars in the USA, which we content are reflected in the themes of the American Studies Association’s 2017 and 2018 Annual Meetings, “Pedagogies of Dissent” and “State of Emergence” respectively, are blended into one local, i.e. Indonesian curriculum. We will explore the global, the main issues in the two above ASA conference themes reflecting “the contemporary theorization of American Studies scholars” and the local, American Studies curriculum’s stakeholders’ concerns. The results it is hoped will provide a discourse to be discussed among stakeholders of the American Studies curriculum in general, and this conference in particular.

Author(s):  
Md. Razib Alam ◽  
Bonwoo Koo ◽  
Brian Paul Cozzarin

Abstract Our objective is to study Canada’s patenting activity over time in aggregate terms by destination country, by assignee and destination country, and by diversification by country of destination. We collect bibliographic patent data from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We identify 19,957 matched Canada–US patents, 34,032 Canada-only patents, and 43,656 US-only patents from 1980 to 2014. Telecommunications dominates in terms of International Patent Classification technologies for US-only and Canada–US patents. At the firm level, the greatest number of matched Canada–US patents were granted in the field of telecommunications, at the university level in pharmaceuticals, at the government level in control and instrumentation technology, and at the individual level in civil engineering. We use entropy to quantify technological diversification and find that diversification indices decline over time for Canada and the USA; however, all US indices decline at a faster rate.


Author(s):  
Przemysław Potocki

The article is based on an analysis of certain aspects of how the public opinion of selected nations in years 2001–2016 perceived the American foreign policy and the images of two Presidents of the United States (George W. Bush, Barack Obama). In order to achieve these research goals some polling indicators were constructed. They are linked with empirical assessments related to the foreign policy of the U.S. and the political activity of two Presidents of the United States of America which are constructed by nations in three segments of the world system. Results of the analysis confirmed the research hypotheses. The position of a given nation in the structure of the world system influenced the dynamics of perception and the directions of empirical assessments (positive/negative) of that nation’s public opinion about the USA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maili Pörhölä ◽  
Kristen Cvancara ◽  
Esta Kaal ◽  
Kristina Kunttu ◽  
Kaja Tampere ◽  
...  

Abstract This study reports results from cross-cultural comparisons of (a) the frequency of university students’ experiences of bullying victimization and perpetration between students, (b) students’ experiences of bullying victimization by university personnel, and (c) the breakdown of victimization by the forms of bullying students have experienced. Gender breakdowns are offered. Survey data were collected from undergraduates in a total of 47 universities, using large sample sizes, similar measures and assessment methods in four countries: Argentina (N = 969), Estonia (N = 1053), Finland (N = 4403), and the United States (N = 2072). The results confirmed previous findings which suggest that a notable number of students experience bullying during university studies by fellow students and/or staff members, and a smaller number of students admit to bully their fellow students. The results add to previous knowledge by demonstrating remarkable cultural differences in the prevalence and forms of bullying and suggesting that bullying at the university level starts to transform similar to bullying in the workplace. The overall rates of bullying victimization and perpetration between students were the highest in Argentina, followed by the USA, Finland, and finally Estonia. However, victimization by university personnel was reported the most in Estonia, followed by Argentina, the USA, and Finland. Gender breakdowns in bullying experiences varied between countries. Verbal forms of bullying were common experiences. The most often reported form in all countries was unjustified criticism, belittling or humiliation related to academic performance. Students in the USA reported the highest frequencies in most forms of victimization. The results are discussed by reflecting on higher education features and comparing cultural characteristics of the countries. Practical implications are provided.


1953 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-271
Author(s):  
Arthur Berndtson

THERE ARE SEVERAL motives for giving a course in Latin-American philosophy. Of these, the most immediately practical in intent, and the one which directly led to the formation of the course at the University of Missouri, was a desire to furnish a relevant course in philosophy for the use of students in Spanish, history and the Latin-American studies area. This factor has turned out to be of secondary importance at Missouri, since only a small part of the students who take the course are from the fields named. The value of this motive will necessarily vary from campus to campus, and it may well be of considerable magnitude in many situations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 73-92
Author(s):  
Dmytro Lakishyk

The article examines US policy towards West Germany after World War II, covering a historical span from the second half of the 1940s to the 1980s. It was US policy in Europe, and in West Germany in particular, that determined the dynamics and nature of US-German relations that arose on a long-term basis after the formation of Germany in September 1949. One of the peculiarities of US-German relations was the fact that both partners found themselves embroiled in a rapidly escalating international situation after 1945. The Cold War, which broke out after the seemingly inviolable Potsdam Accords, forced the United States and Germany to be on one side of the conflict. Despite the fact that both states were yesterday’s opponents and came out of the war with completely different, at that time, incomparable, statuses. A characteristic feature of US policy on the German question in the postwar years was its controversial evolution. The American leadership had neither a conceptual plan for development, nor a clear idea of Germany’s place in the world, nor an idea of how to plan the country’s future. However, the deterioration of relations between the USA and the USSR and the birth of the two blocs forced the US government to resort to economic revival (the Marshall Plan) and military-political consolidation of Western Europe and Germany (NATO creation). US policy toward Germany has been at the heart of its wider European policy. The United States favored a strong and united Western Europe over American hegemony, trying to prevent the spread of Soviet influence. Joint participation in the suppression of communism, however, could not prevent the periodic exacerbation of relations between the United States and Germany, and at the same time did not lead to an unconditional follow-up of the West Germans in the fairway of American foreign policy.


Author(s):  
Walid Hejazi ◽  
Alan Lefort ◽  
Rafael Etges ◽  
Ben Sapiro

This chapter describes the 2009 study findings in a series of annual studies that the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in Ontario and TELUS, one of Canada’s major Telecommunications companies, are committed to undertake to develop a better understanding of the state of IT Security in Canada and its relevance to other jurisdictions, including the United States. This 2009 study was based on a pre-test involving nine focus groups conducted across Canada with over 50 participants. As a result of sound marketing of the 2009 survey and the critical need for these study results, the authors focus on how 500 Canadian organizations with over 100 employees are faring in effectively coping with network breaches. In 2009, as in their 2008 study version, the research team found that organizations maintain that they have an ongoing commitment to IT Security Best Practices. However, with the 2009 financial crisis in North America and elsewhere, the threat appears to be amplified, both from outside the organization and from within. Study implications regarding the USA PATRIOT Act are discussed at the end of this chapter.


1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 563-566
Author(s):  
Shlomo Slonim

Gordon Wood mentions that in 1987, as part of the Hebrew University's program of events marking the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, he delivered the annual Samuel Paley Lectures in American Civilization at the University in Jerusalem. If I, as chairman of the Department of American Studies was, as he says, a gracious host, he was no less a gracious guest and, moreover, a fascinating lecturer. A synopsis of his remarks is included in the volume that I edited, The Constitutional Bases of Political and Social Change in the United States, comprising lectures delivered at a bicentennial conference later that year and attended by prominent American and Israeli constitutional scholars, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, now Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Aharon Barak, now President of the Israeli Supreme Court.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald H. Chilcote

The Cold War assumptions of mainstream Latin American studies in the United States were challenged in the 1960s by a new generation of academics that opened up the field to progressive thinking, including Marxism. West Coast intellectuals played a major role in this transformation. These new Latin Americanists rejected the university-government-foundation nexus in the field and emphasized field research that brought them into close relationships with Latin Americans struggling for change and engaging with radical alternatives to mainstream thinking. In the course of this work, they confronted efforts to co-opt them and to discourage and even prevent their field research. Despite this they managed to transform Latin American studies into a field that was intellectually and politically vibrant both in theory and in practice. Los supuestos de la Guerra Fría dominantes en los estudios latinoamericanos en los Estados Unidos fueron cuestionados en la década de 1960 por una nueva generación de académicos que abrió el campo al pensamiento progresista, incluso el Marxismo. Los intelectuales de la costa oeste jugaron un papel importante en esta transformación. Estos nuevos latinoamericanistas rechazaron el nexo universidad-gobierno-fundación que caracterizó el campo y enfatizaron la investigación en el terreno que los ubicó en una estrecha relación con los latinoamericanos que luchan por el cambio y se enfrentan con alternativas radicales al pensamiento dominante. En el curso de este trabajo, confrontaron esfuerzos para cooptarlos y desalentar e incluso prevenir su investigación en el terreno. A pesar de esto, lograron transformar los estudios latinoamericanos en un campo que era intelectualmente y políticamente vibrante tanto en la teoría como en la práctica.


2018 ◽  
pp. 167-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg Mashevskyi

The cooperation of the Ukrainian state with the most influential international actors, as well as the maintenance of good stable partner relations therewith guarantees the successful integration of Ukraine to the global community in this day and age. Therefore developing relations between Ukraine and the USA as with the single superpower is a crucial component of the integration process. Holding conferences, seminars and the expert meetings is extremely essential in investigating and studying the American history, economy and social life. In this respect, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv remains the standard-bearer. The article analyses the work of the Second International Scientific Conference “Ukraine and the USA: the experience and Prospects of Cooperation” dedicated to the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the United States which took place on November, 23 2017 and was backed by the Modern and Contemporary History Department (History Department, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv). The general session was opened by Oleg Mashevskiy, the convenor, PhD (history), professor, head of the Modern and Contemporary History Department. He as well presented the third volume of the specialized scientific “The American History and Politics”. The openings remarks were made by the dean of the History Department (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), PhD (history), Ivan Patryliak. The latter outlined the scientific importance of the event and of the subject thereof. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Maksym Kravchuk, the co-organizer of the conference, head of the Kyiv Office of Kennan Institute Kateryna Smagliy and the Chairman of the Board of the National Sikorski Center Charity Fund Viktor Yagun delivered challenging and thoughtful speeches. In his speech, Makar Taran, the Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian American Studies Association Public Organization (the originator and one of the organizers of the event), underlined the rising influence of the NGOs within the framework of the Ukrainian-American relations. The scientific discussions then moved on within the conference sections. The latter were respectively divided into those on the Ukrainian-American relations, the foreign policy of the USA, the contemporary American society, the Ukrainian expat community in the USA etc. Over 190 key American studies specialists (scholars, experts, diplomats, servicemen, public persons and statesmen) partook in the conference.


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