I. SAMPLE OPENING STATEMENTS

As a Fulbright Scholar, I would hope to teach the basic course in U.S. constitutional law for the University of XXX described in Award #XXXX from the same fundamentally interdisciplinary perspective in which I was trained and on which I rely in my own research. Such a course would introduce students to American constitutionalism not only in its traditional doctrinal and case-based dimensions—the way I must by necessity teach the subject to my own students at XXX, as indicated by the course syllabus included with this application—but also for its historical, cultural, political, and theoretical significance. I taught a similar, rather brief class for … at the University of XXX in the summer of 2005, and the experience impressed upon me the wisdom of teaching constitutional law from an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective to international students. The course I would hope to teach thus would not simply be the American equivalent of a European course in legal dogmatics with a different set of background norms, but instead, a course in American legal culture broadly conceived—a class about American legal consciousness as revealed through its constitutional traditions. I believe such an approach is the most justifiable from an academic perspective; I also know that it is the most fun and exciting for students.

I believe my extensive educational experience—particularly in the areas of the sociology [of my field]—would be of benefit to the University. The University already has in place a variety of outstanding programs in the field, but my nearly 40 years of teaching, research, and professional activity …should allow me to contribute to these programs. In turn, I am confident that my own understanding of aging—especially from a comparative perspective—would profit from exposure to issues confronting European societies and other nations represented in the University’s programs in [my areas of specialization].

Southern writers… have long recognized that an intense focus on the peculiarities of place offers an unparalleled opportunity for exploring universal and international themes. More recently, [scholars] have noted that throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century dissonant black and white southern voices drew literary and intellectual sustenance from international traditions and discourses. During and after my proposed Fulbright lectureship, I will seek to foster the creation of learning and research communities at home and abroad that explore the efforts of [foreign] and American writers to use their “little postage stamp[s]” to interrogate universal themes such as military defeat, racial difference, the formation of public identities, and the struggles of the disabled. The seminars and classes that I participate in before and after my proposed lectureship will draw comparisons among some of [host country]’s and America’s most famous novels and short stories. In so doing, I hope to gain new insights into the role that perspective and background play in our interpretation of what initially appears to be highly individualized and local narratives. I hope to share our collective experiences with a larger audience in a journal article or book ….

Muslim women’s education has recently attracted the increased attention of academics as well as policy makers. Some of this attention has focused on the modern education of women, especially in the light of current events such as the Taliban’s harsh restrictions against women in Afghanistan. There is also a growing body of research on female scholars in earlier periods of Islamic history. In particular, the participation of women as students and teachers of religious knowledge enshrined in the sayings (ḥadīth) of Prophet Muḥammad has proved a fertile field for examining not only gender history but also broader issues in Muslim social and intellectual history. Research in this area, however, has focused on material found in published chronicles and biographical dictionaries. I propose to use the Fulbright fellowship opportunity in Syria to explore archival sources that remain underutilized in the quest to reconstruct women’s lives as scholars and students.

Identity construction is a complex and often contradictory process by which people come to see themselves in particular ways, either individually or collectively. It is a continuous, multifaceted, and creative process of self-fashioning whereby we communicate to others who we are, but even more importantly a process where we convince ourselves who we are and then “try to act as though [we] are who [we] say [we] are” [author cited]. The process of identity construction takes place within and around specific social and cultural systems, and people develop situative identities—such as “mother” or “politician” or “teacher”—by which they identify themselves and are identified by others. Holland and her colleagues refer to these contexts as “figured worlds” (p. 41) which can be understood as a complex web of histories, social encounters, forms of knowledge, rituals, and processes/actions. It is through participation in these figured worlds that we become at once social products and social producers. This project is theoretically grounded in this, and similar, work on idenIn applying for Fulbright support to spend a year teaching and learning in [host country] I hope to knit together several aspects of my life—my abilities as a teacher who integrates research and teaching in a liberal arts environment, my skills at program development honed through being department chair and member of the leadership team for our new science facilities, and especially as co-advisor to my institution’s semester program in [host country] that has been on-going since 1986. I am anxious to spend time in [host country] learning and collaborating with fellow professors and college leaders on our mutual educational missions. [Host country] is in a phase of rapid transition demographically, socially and in its educational needs and goals making this an exciting time to visit as a faculty member and in particular as a faculty member who guides students from my institution on projects in [host country] Finally, I hope to reconnect with former colleagues in [host country] with research expertise in my fields of physiology and by traveling to a number of institutions for seminars and departmental visits.

As we move into the 21st century, many national and local education systems are considering how best to meet the changing needs and demands they face. One result is an increased interest in teachers, since they are the ones who will eventually implement any changes being considered. Understanding who teachers are, and how they see themselves, becomes increasingly important as educators, policy makers, and communities consider what they want their educational system to do and be. This seems especially important at this time, when many teacher training programs, such as those in [host country], are facing major reforms and restructuring. Educational research and literature often recognize that teacher identity is a key factor that influences teachers' sense of purpose, self-efficacy, motivation, commitment, job satisfaction and effectiveness, and that teacher identities are shaped by the broader social, cultural, political, and economic conditions in which they live and work…. While the concept of identity is often cited in educational research and theory, critical explorations into individual teachers' personal and professional identities have been relatively rare, as have attempts to understand that identity construction within a national context. Yet such analysis is important if we want to understand how the teaching force is constructed as a historical, political, and social actor within a particular national context. In this way, we gain insight into the ways in which teacher identities influence teacher practice, and how that practice is related to broader social and cultural contexts.

As a Fulbright-Museums Quartier Artist-in-Residence in [host city], I will work on an animated documentary film tracing the history of my [relative’s] treasured collection of exlibris, or bookplates. This collection consisted of over 200 beautiful small works of art on paper that he commissioned, as well as hundreds of exlibris he exchanged with fellow collectors. My [relative] created his first exlibris when he was thirteen years old, ordering from a stationary store a rubber stamp with the words “Ex libris. Possessoris. [name].” He went on to commission artists to create exlibris commemorating important events in his life and themes of interest to him. My grandfather’s collection was seized by the Austrian National Library in 1938. The film, tentatively entitled Ex Libris, will raise questions of imprint, memory, loss, and longing. Through factual exposition including historical and legal documentation, visual exploration through animated visions of the small works of art which were my grandfather’s legacy, and through memory which reveals and distorts the truth of human history, the film will explore attachment to lost objects, objects that might be retrievable, unlike lost and murdered family members.

I am interested in this Fulbright award at the [host university] because, as an American politics scholar, I am ideally suited to teach courses that are central to its Program in Global and American Studies. I have expertise in the subject area, having published several books and a number of book chapters and articles on American political institutions and politics. I also have the ability to incorporate a comparative element into the instruction of American politics to make my lecturing understandable, relevant, and enjoyable to an international audience and the enthusiasm and facility to collaborate with international scholars abroad. My administrative experience with [home institution’s] Program in Public Affairs, which is similar to [host institution] Global and American Studies Program, will also aid me in curriculum development and the creation of study abroad opportunities at both institutions. A Fulbright award will provide me the opportunity to extend [home institution] existing relationship with the [host institution] to our regional campus in [city], which is currently focusing on internationalizing its curricula and placing greater emphasis on global studies.

The number of blind persons in [host country] in 2000 was estimated to be 18.7 million with an expected increase to 24.1 million in 2010, and to 31.6 million in 2020 Education and rehabilitation programs have grown over the years to meet these individuals’ needs. For example, in 2004 the National Initiative for the Blind, a joint venture between [institutions] was established to teach mothers of children with visual impairment the basics skills of Braille so they can provide early intervention to their children to improve their literacy and computer skills. …

 

The Fulbright Scholar Program would enable me to build on my knowledge by using the expertise I have gained over the years. Teaming with [host institution] faculty to move a vision education program forward is a challenge I welcome at this point in my career. More importantly, a global perspective of the lives of people with visual impairment will increase my repertoire of techniques and strategies these individuals use for independent functioning. The question is “what can I learn from [host country] faculty and individuals with visual impairments to improve my teaching and research activities in the United States?”