PIIRS adds new sites to program

The University will expand its international summer program locations to include Krakow, Poland, and Istanbul, Turkey, as part of an ongoing push to "internationalize" the University and increase its global reach.

The Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) launched its summer abroad seminar program last year with a seminar in Hanoi, Vietnam, and is currently recruiting students to participate in the two new locations.

PIIRS Director and sociology professor Katherine Newman said the program always planned to expand, especially after last year's successful test-run. The seminars are Princeton-credited courses.

"We are contemplating having three seminars every summer," Newman said. "The program could expand further depending on resources, but there will always be a variety of locations with new ones added each year."

In Krakow, students will examine the recent history of Eastern and Central Europe through film and cultural immersion in the region. The course is titled "Eastern Europe through Film and Touch," and will be taught by Slavic studies professor Petre Petrov and Elzebieta Ostrowska, a film professor from the University of Alberta.

Meanwhile, students in Istanbul will take "Islam, Empire and Modernity: Turkey from the Caliphs to the 21st century," exploring the country's culture and history. Near Eastern studies department chair Sukru Hanioglu and Turkish lecturer Erika Gilson, an Istanbul native, will lead the course's lectures and trips.

The summer seminar offered last year when PIIRS launched, "America and Vietnam at War: Origins, Implication and Consequences," will be taught again by former diplomat Desaix Anderson '58.

This year's seminars were formed in part by considering what different student constituencies would be interested in studying, Newman said. "I definitely wanted to have regional diversity," Newman added. "Thus, we have programs in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and the Near East."

Future locations may include South America and St. Petersburg, Russia, she said.

Unlike other study abroad programs, the new PIIRS seminars require active collaboration between the host university and Princeton, rather than just enrolling a student in a foreign college. "We know the quality is high because we have our own people teaching," Newman said. "Yet we also have the cultural activities of a study abroad program."

Study Abroad Director Nancy Kanach said in an email that the PIIRS programs provide an international experience for students who do not want to sacrifice their normal school year commitments. "The Global Seminars complement programs approved by our office because they are located in places we do not typically send students during the semester," she said.

Timothy Lanni '09, who traveled to Vietnam last year with PIIRS, agreed that the program fills a needed niche at the University. "In general, I'm not so enthusiastic about studying abroad during the year," he said. "It was good to go in the summer before the obligations of junior year because there might not be another feasible opportunity."

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Zachary Ruchman '10, who also participated in the Vietnam seminar, said his time there was a unique learning experience. "I love studying the history," he said in an email, "but the opportunity to explore Vietnam, really get to know modern Vietnam and make friends with Vietnamese students was truly an unparalleled way to be immersed in the subject." Ruchman is also a photographer for The Daily Princetonian.

Kanach said she hopes the expansion of the PIIRS program will encourage students to take on a more international perspective. "We want more Princeton students to study abroad and gain an understanding of other cultures through firsthand experience," she said. "We hope a successful summer experience abroad will help students see just how much there is to gain from living and studying in another country and will [encourage them to] want to go for a fuller experience during the semester."

PIIRS' expansion comes as the University is increasing its emphasis on global outreach, in keeping with President Tilghman's oft-repeated goal of "internationalizing" Princeton during her tenure. In October, she and University Provost Christopher Eisgruber '83 released a report titled "Princeton in the World," which recommended more fluid interaction among global academic communities and increased cultural literacy for students.