Course Considerations PDF Print E-mail

There are a number of factors that come into consideration in the selection of courses for the MCTS.

  1. Is the subject matter and the approach of the course appropriate for the center? All submissions must, of course, fit under the theme of transatlantic studies, which the center defines as a broad theoretical outlook on disparate Transatlantic themes and phenomena utilizing a multidisciplinary approach and a comparative methodology. In short, courses must deal with themes or issues that are significant on both sides of the Atlantic, they must take a multidisciplinary approach, and they must be comparative in nature.
  2. Do the subject of the course and the discipline of the instructor fit well with other courses offered in the same semester or block? The MCTS tries to offer courses from a wide range of disciplines each semester, and tries not to offer more than one course from the same discipline each semester or block. Most of our students study with us for a full semester, and we do not want them to have similar courses offered in a given semester or block, nor do we want them to have only courses from one discipline to choose from in any semester or block.
  3. Does the course fit into our teaching schedule? Unfortunately, we sometimes get a lot of course proposals for some semesters or blocks and rather few for others. We must offer a good selection of courses in each semester or block. If we think that your course is a good one, but you have proposed to teach it in a very full semester or block, we may ask you if you are available at another time.
  4. From which institution or country do you come? We try to offer our students a variety of options concerning their classes and instructors, and we like to offer a mix of institutions/nationalities for each of the semesters or blocks.

In order to help prospective faculty tailor their proposals to fit our needs, the Board of Directors has created a framework guide. Proposals do not have to fall under these broad categories-indeed, your proposal may spark new ways of conceptualizing Transatlantic Studies. However, we have found that the following areas listed below are ones that recruit well, and that have been successful in the past. You should consider the following as a framework for considering the ways in which your proposal may fit within our programme, not as a strict set of requirements. If you are in any doubt, contact your local MCTS director for more guidance.

All course proposals must have the transatlantic at the center of their academic inquiry.

LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND WRITING

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • English as a lingua franca
  • Travel writing and creative writing
  • Transatlantic Literature

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • American Expatriate Writers in Europe
  • International English
  • Transatlantic Fiction
  • Language, Literature, and Cultural Identity
  • Innocents Abroad? Travel Literature and Its Evolution
  • Transatlantic Travel: Literature and Writing

BUSINESS AND ECONOMIES

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Business
  • Marketing
  • Economics

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • The New Latin American Customer: Influences from Europe and America
  • International Marketing
  • Culture's Influence on Business Behavior
  • New Directions in the Development of the Global Economic Systems
  • Transatlantic Perspectives on the Euro and the Dollar
  • International Development: A Comparative Approach

CONFLICT AND COOPERATION

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • History
  • Psychology
  • Anthropology
  • Gender Studies
  • Race and Ethnic Studies

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • Integration of Europe: Cultural and Political Context
  • The Western Way of War: Europe and the World from 1500-Present
  • Cultural Conditions and Trends of Minorities

CULTURE AND BEHAVIOR

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Psychology
  • Anthropology
  • History
  • Gender Studies
  • Race and Ethnic Studies

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • The New Pioneers; the Psychological Status of Migrants
  • Cultural Conditions and Trends of Minorities
  • Cross-Cultural Perspectives of Abnormal Behavior
  • Mavericks, Miscreants and Misfits: A Transatlantic View of Deviance and Social Control
  • Identity and Environmental Psychology
  • Gender Differences and Culture
  • Women in Prison: A Worldwide Perspective of Triple Jeopardy, Race, Class and Gender

POPULAR CULTURE AND THE ARTS

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts
  • Film
  • Music

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • A Second Look: Trans-Atlantic Comparative Study of Film
  • Popular Culture and Identity
  • World Themes in Theatre
  • American and European Dance in the 20th Century: Converging and Diverging Trends
  • Popular Culture From the Inside Out
  • Contemporary Visual Arts: A Transatlantic Perspective

MULTICULTURALISM AND MIGRATION

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Race and Ethnic Studies
  • Anthropology
  • History

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • From North Sea, Over North Atlantic, To North America: Transplanted British and Scandinavian Culture
  • Population Studies: Introduction and Selected International Perspectives
  • Multiculturalism as an Element of the Society Responsible Classroom
  • The Black Atlantic
  • Comparative Analysis of Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in Western Society

POWER, POLITICS AND LEGISLATION

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Law
  • Foreign Policy
  • Politics
  • Social Sciences

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • Comparative Criminal Justice Policies
  • N. American and European Union Foreign Policy: A Comparative Perspective
  • International Human Rights and the Criminal Law

GLOBALIZATION

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • International Business and Marketing
  • Education
  • History
  • Race and Ethnic Studies

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • Globalization in Education
  • Assessing Global Change for the Information Age
  • Cultural Change in an Age of Globalization
  • Social Change in the 20th Century: Globalization in the Atlantic Community

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • Speech and Communications
  • Journalism
  • New Media

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • Information Systems: Impacts and Issues
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Comparative Media Issues in the Age of Information Revolution
  • Language and Culture/Cross Cultural Communication

HISTORICAL APPROACHES TO THE TRANSATLANTIC EXPERIENCE

Fields of academic inquiry that could fall under this category include the following:

  • World History
  • Comparative History
  • Social History

Successful courses in this area in the past have included the following:

  • Comparative History of Slavery
  • America, Europe and Asia: Contacts and Clashes. Present Times and Historical Perspective
  • Tourism and Resorts: A Cultural History