2016 SHAFR SUMMER INSTITUTE IN THE NETHERLANDS
“Culture, Propaganda, and Intelligence in Foreign Relations”
The Institute will focus on the use of propaganda, intelligence, and culture as lenses through which to reconsider broader approaches to international and transnational history. Emphasizing the role of government security and information agencies, state-private networks, and non-state and transnational actors, the institute will explore the interconnectedness of public and private, domestic and international, state and non-state. Participants will work with each other and the organizers in a series of research workshops to refine and enhance the analytical framework of a significant research project, ideally (but not exclusively) oriented toward publication of a first book. In addition, the Institute will include professional development sessions and an active-learning pedagogical workshop on the theme of historical memory that will take place at a local site of historical significance.
Objectives of the Institute include: (1) enhance the analytical complexity of on-going research; (2) internationalize SHAFR by building connections between American, European, and other international scholars; (3) promote collaborative international and transnational research networks; (4) share knowledge, archival sources, and research techniques in intelligence and propaganda history.
The Institute is designed for advanced graduate students and early career faculty members in history from around the world, with roughly half the participants coming from North America. All sessions and readings will be in English. Participants will be expected to do some collaborative online work prior to the Institute, and submit a draft chapter-length portion of their research projects by March 15, 2016. Each participant will be provided free accommodation and a stipend sufficient to offset major travel expenses. In addition, the TSA conference fee will be waived for Institute participants.
The Institute will be led by Kenneth Osgood (Colorado School of Mines), J. Simon Rofe (SOAS, University of London), Giles Scott-Smith (University of Leiden), and Hugh Wilford (California State University, Long Beach).