The end of the Cold War and related collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 seemed like a declaration of victory for democracy; in the immediate years that followed there was a flourishing of democratic growth across the globe. Today, those victory bells seem a distant memory, as an increasing number of democratic regimes face democratic erosion and backsliding, and non-democratic regimes deepen their authoritarian tendencies. Exacerbated by a number of global phenomena—economic inequality, a global pandemic, mis/disinformation, government corruption, and more—democratic erosion is affecting nations worldwide with no clear international consensus on how to respond To explore these questions in greater depth, the Incubator will co-sponsor the teacher workshop, “The Future of Democracy,” this summer from August 1 to August 3, 2022.
During the summer workshop, offered by Global Studies Outreach at Harvard, educator participants will form learning communities that will investigate and make sense of these challenges and opportunities and consider how to communicate them effectively to their students. The workshop is geared toward middle school, high school, and community college educators in the humanities and social sciences, but is open to educators in all subjects. The workshop will feature presentations by scholars, experts, policy-makers, and practitioners at the forefront of shaping global conversation; explore pedagogy and skill-building techniques to help educators and students better understand democracy in today’s context; and provide an introduction to relevant classroom resources and pedagogies.
The workshop costs $75 and is held on-site at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Educators interested in participating should apply through the workshop’s online application page; instructions are available at the Global Studies Outreach at Harvard website. The deadline to apply is April 29, 2022. For additional questions about the workshop or the application please email Cris Martin at clmartin@fas.harvard.edu.
The Global Studies Outreach at Harvard’s summer workshop is co-sponsored by the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator, Asia Center, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Center for African Studies, and the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, all of Harvard University.