About Georgetown
Welcome to the Study of the United States Institutes for Student Leaders at Georgetown University! We are all busy preparing for your arrival to the United States on July 15, 2007.
Georgetown is one of the oldest Universities in the United States. Founded in 1789, Georgetown continues to strive to achieve its commitment of excellence in education that is rooted in the Jesuit tradition. To that end, Georgetown University begins the third millennium with a firmly grounded commitment to the mission of "justice and the common good." Part of that mission is to be the moral formation and civic education of a generation of future citizens and leaders like yourselves.
The Institute for Student Leaders at Georgetown will provide outstanding undergraduate student leaders from China with a deeper understanding of the United States while simultaneously enhancing leadership skills. The program is one part of the Georgetown commitment to educate and train future leaders from around the world.
The academic program will heighten each participants’ awareness of the history and evolution of US society, culture, values and institutions, which are uniquely part of the American experience.
More importantly, the program will promote a true diversity of viewpoints about the sources of and prospects for American constitutional democracy, for the potential and promise of American democracy, and the challenges that have confronted and will continue to confront American society and culture. Such viewpoints will be animated by a sympathetic effort to understand and support the founding principles of the American Republic. As such, students take a practical look at questions of justice, democracy, and the limits of government, political authority, and liberty.
Georgetown University is located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. The region is part of the larger Southern United States-- often called the South. Because of the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, including the doctrine of states' rights, the institution of slavery and the legacy of the American Civil War, the South has developed its own customs, literature, musical styles (such as country music, jazz, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues, blues, and soul), and cuisines; Your Regional Education travel that we are planning will draw on the historical and contemporary strengths of the South Atlantic region.
Additionally, Georgetown University is located in the historic Northwest section of Washington, DC, the capital city of the United States. In addition to being the home for the nation’s government, Washington also serves as host for organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, and other national and international institutions. The Washington Metropolitan Area surpasses 5 million persons, and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area surpasses 8 million. On the weekends, students will have an opportunity to travel to other nearby cities and towns to learn more about the United States, and its unique society and culture.
The academic program will utilize Georgetown’s unique geographic location in the nation’s capital to engage guest speakers from the Washington community to address seminar topics. Guest speakers will range from elected and appointed officials, non-profit leaders and managers, educational leaders, think-tanks, government agencies and Associations.
When you leave Georgetown on August 11, 2007 and return to China, all student leaders will have learned how to:
- Identify and discuss democratic theories and values present American society
- Understand distinctive components of American culture
- Appreciate the multicultural basis and pluralistic nature of American society
- Understand the implications of multiculturalism for democracy in the 21st century
Please check this website daily! We will begin to post information about the academic component, your community service project, and leadership seminar, including readings and course schedules. Additionally, we will begin to post information about your student mentors, student coordinator, and all faculty.
As you read through the materials posted here, please note that the Institute is made possible through the sponsorship and a grant from the Branch for the Study of the United States, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, within the US State Department. Further:
Participants in Study of the US Institutes are among the approximately 30,000 individuals who participate in exchanges managed by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) each year. Other ECA exchange programs include the Fulbright Program and the International Visitor Leadership Program. Through a range of academic and professional exchanges, the Bureau seeks to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. For more information, please click on the to the Study of the U.S. Branch’s website: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/amstudy/.
