Disseminating a culture of transatlantic mobility
Project
2017 Project submitted by Northwestern University | Embassy of France support: $ 3000
Project coordinator: Marianne Hopman
Summary of the Project
The French Interdisciplinary Group (FIG) at Northwestern University (NU) promotes long-term intellectual exchanges and collaborations among Northwestern faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in all fields, and their French counterparts. Our group is organized around five partnerships with French institutions, each of which emphasizes disciplinary strengths at both institutions. Our 2017 project proposes to draw on our international network to promote a culture of transatlantic mobility across disciplines at Northwestern. We seek to widen and diversify Northwestern faculty engagement with our French partners; publicize existing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate study abroad in France; and work toward the development of new study abroad programs jointly offered with our partners.
Northwestern schools and offices involved in the project include the International Program Development office; the Buffett Institute for Global Studies; the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences; the School of Communication; and the Law School. Relevant faculty members teach in Political Sciences, Sociology, History, English, Comparative Literary Studies, French and Italian, Radio/Television/Film, among others.
We have learned over the years that faculty support is crucial to reach out to undergraduate and graduate student and foster a culture of transatlantic mobility at Northwestern. Our specific objectives for 2017 are thus threefold:
- Involve an ever-expanding group of Northwestern faculty into research and mentoring collaborations with partner institution faculty;
- Capitalize on faculty interest in French scholarship to actively advertise existing undergraduate and graduate study abroad programs;
- Draw on the faculty ties developed through research and mentoring collaborations to expand our study abroad program offerings.
Planned activities to serve those purposes include: month-long faculty visits from and to our partners; a networking delegation to explore institutional specificities, review current collaborative programs, and brainstorm about new possible offerings; a joint academic conference; and a joint summer institute bringing together faculty and graduate students for a week. While our planned activities draw on a range of approaches and formats, all illustrate the benefits of collaborating.
