INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY
Einstein Drive
Princeton, New Jersey 08540

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-2010

INSTRUCTIONS for REFEREES


________________________ has selected you as a reference for his/her application to be a Member in the School of Social Science during the 2008-09 academic year. We would appreciate your evaluation of the candidate’s proposed research, and his or her ability to carry it out.

Please email your reference to sssrecs@ias.edu, and put “Reference for CANDIDATE’S NAME” in the subject line. Also, be sure to include your own name, title and institution within the text of the reference letter.

Reference emails must be received by November 15, 2008.

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BACKGROUND

Each year, the School of Social Science invites some fifteen to twenty scholars from a large applicant pool. The group is interdisciplinary and international, and scholars are expected to pursue their own research. A completed doctorate or equivalent is required of all applicants.

The following thematic focus for 2008-09 is neither an exclusive nor excluding theme; it is expected that only one-third of the accepted scholars will pursue work relating to this theme. We describe it below in case it is helpful to you in composing your reference letter.

Education, Schools, and the State

Every society and political regime develops institutions and practices of education that substantially shape that society and its evolutions, revolutions, and stabilizations over time. Diverse educational practices are also tightly linked to specific political orders. Contemporary phenomena have placed significant
pressure on the approaches to education undertaken by many polities as well as on the capacity of educational systems to support democratic political systems in particular. In the U.S. context, a quiet nationalization of education exists side-by-side with ongoing fragmentation that makes consideration of the "educational sector" as a whole difficult; demographic changes including population increases, immigration, and urban-suburban-rural differences also present challenges. In Europe, decisions at the level of the European Union present difficulties within particular countries. In the developing world, issues of education are often closely tied to gender relations. Everywhere national governments’ engagement in educational policy raises questions about the politicization of education. Because of the centrality of education to the continuity of socio-political orders, its analysis embraces virtually all the social sciences.  What are the socio-political issues at stake in how any given society  educates? What are the socio-economic and socio-political causes and effects of different approaches to education? How do transformations in the educational sector affect other socio-political domains and human development?

Should you wish more information about the Institute for Advanced Study, please visit our website at www.ias.edu.