Research Working Groups:

The Walker Institute’s primary mission is to promote interdisciplinary collaborative scholarship on important issues of national and international concern.  Drawing on the strength of more than 70 faculty associates representing nine departments in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Moore School of Business, Law School, School of the Environment, Arnold School of Public Health, the College of Education, the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, and the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, the Walker Institute represents an impressive and diverse array of scholarly expertise.  Faculty associates of the Walker Institute have identified three major interdisciplinary research topics for on-going collaboration.  They are:

New Workshop at the Walker Institute to Study Development

A working group of the Walker Institute is forming to focus on Development Studies. The Working Group will bring together faculty and students with research interests in development and development-related issues to interact throught colloquia, discussion groups, and presentations of working papers. Faculty and graduate students interested in participating in the Development Studies Working Group should contact Professor Ed Carr in Geography or call the Walker Institute at 777-8180.

"Displaced Peoples"  This group is focusing on the multifaceted problems of people displaced by international and civil conflict.  Their interests have ranged from cases of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia to regional conflicts in northern Uganda and the Darfur region of Sudan.  Anthropologists and linguists in the group have discovered a common interest in studying the impact of forced relocations in Guatemala and Peru on village economies and the loss of native Mayan languages.

"European Identities"  A core group of 14 faculty members from five departments has identified this theme around which they are engaging in interdisciplinary dialogue.  They are focusing on the multiplicities of identity in Europe today, with special emphasis on Muslims in Europe, EU expansion, and the regional, ethnic, religious, and national complexities of the “New Europe.”

"National Security, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism"  This group of scholars meets on a monthly basis to share their varied research on the social and behavior dimensions of terrorism and counter-terrorism.  Participants represent a variety of disciplines and research themes, including the impact of terrorism on international trade patterns, terrorism and state-building in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the geography of terrorism in multivariate space, assessing best practices in school safety and responses to terrorist threats,  the mass media and public perception of terrorism.

U.S. Studies Institute:  "The Conduct and Formulation of U.S. Foreign Policy"

Sponsored with a grant from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Cultural and education Affairs, this is a six-week intensive academic program for a group of faculty from 18 foreign institutions of higher education.  The program provides a survey of the historical and global context of U.S. foreign policy, an exploration of the policy-making process, and exploration of the impact of society and domestic politics in shaping contemporary U.S. foreign policy.  The program is coordinated by three outstanding USC professors: Professor Donald Puchala and Professor Jerel Rosati.  Guest lectures by other academic specialists and government officials representing the State Department, Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA, as well as representatives of NGOs, commercial enterprises, and local and regional governments supplement the course content.  Participants have the opportunity to visit cultural, political, economic, and national security points of interest during trips to Charleston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.

For more information and to visit the U.S. Studies Institute website, please click here.