In the summer of 2003, the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" published an essay warning that the United States was on the verge of losing the peace. Dozens of similar arguments appeared that year, but this one, written by Michael V. Bhatia, a 26-year-old graduate student, was as devastating as any of them. In 2007, to the surprise of…

A unit on China's ethnicities provides students rich opportunities to explore multiple themes in the social studies while helping them to develop a deeper understanding of recent events in western China. Studying China's ethnic minorities encompasses such topics as stereotyping, cultural diversity, the creation of ethnic identities, and key…

History has placed the stamp of approval on the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the top-secret history of the Vietnam War. If WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange is another Daniel Ellsberg, then it is possible the website's disclosures will be viewed over time as similarly in the public interest. A classroom discussion on the release of…

Educational exchanges and fellowships are not new; the best known, the Fulbright Program, is more than 60 years old. But the Community College Summit Initiative Program, as this fledgling effort is known, reflects a growing recognition among American government officials that the United States must do a better job in its public-diplomacy outreach…

As the issue of school reform grows ever more intense, it is imperative that we learn what we can from previous efforts. The new social studies was a 1960's attempt to transform the teaching of history and the social sciences in schools. With origins in the Cold War, the movement sought to develop critical thinkers through "inquiry" and…

An attack by Japanese naval aircraft on the USS "Panay" in 1937, which the Japanese government declared accidental and for which it paid compensation, caused a crisis in U.S.-Japanese relations. A little-known dimension of the incident was the expression of spontaneous sympathy and apologies by Japanese citizens to the U.S. embassy in…

This essay is based on the author's presentation at the Wachman Center's July 26-27, 2008 history institute, co-sponsored and hosted by the Cantigny First Division Foundation of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. For Europeans, World War I remains the epochal event of the twentieth century. For Americans, the war falls between two much larger and…

The ongoing economic crisis in Europe raises fundamental questions about the European Union's ability to harmonize educational policy across its member states. With evidence that European unity is clearly faltering, many educational goals, including lifelong learning, are in trouble. In this book, the contributors work toward a greater…

The Bush Administration's quiet resumption of, or initiation of new, nuclear weapons programs aimed militarizing space, and erecting a missile defense shield that would have the effect of rolling back 19 years of solid detente, has gone largely unnoticed over the last eight years. Weapons makers, government officials and politicians have expressed…

This article describes how Bruce Hoffman and Marc Sageman, two prominent scholars of terrorism, square off over whether Al Qaeda remains the primary global terrorist threat. The dispute began in the pages of "Foreign Affairs," where Hoffman, a professor in the security-studies program at Georgetown University, wrote a withering review of…

On March 1-2, 2008, FPRI's Wachman Center presented a weekend of discussion on "China's Encounter with the West" for 45 teachers from 21 states across the country, held at and co-sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Asia Program. Sessions included: (1) China's Early Encounters with the West: A History in Reverse…

The frosty relationship between the United States and Iran has created a chill in many areas of scholarly endeavor. One resulting battle, over whether Iranian scholars can belong to the American Chemical Society, has been largely resolved. But a new imbroglio looms with the arrest of a prominent U.S.-Iranian scholar who was visiting Tehran. The…

Linking to voices from the world is exciting for both students and teachers, but everyone needs to understand that global education is a form of citizenship education. The activities of the nation have a great effect on people in the rest of the world, whether in the realm of economics, diplomacy, the media, or the environment. Some states, like…

Simple role-play simulations can not only demonstrate the dynamics of a conflict but also create awareness of multiple perspectives even among populations relatively set in their opinions. To teach my student population of military officers, I utilize simple, nongame simulations of multisided Middle East conflicts that not only facilitate learning…

Purpose: This paper aims to outline considerations for trust management between established national identity federations in education and research. It also aims to discuss policy issues related to cross-federation and to compare existing academic identity federations. The paper seeks to investigate Nordic national federations and to introduce the…