Past Institutes & Workshops

"Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency" with Professor Larry Diamond

February 9, 2024 | Virtual Workshop

This free virtual workshop will feature a talk by Professor Larry Diamond on his book, "Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency." "Ill Winds" analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world at this potential “hinge in history,” and offers an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home and abroad. Professor Diamond’s core argument is stark: the defense and spread of democratic ideals relies on U.S. global leadership. If the U.S. does not reclaim its traditional place as the keystone of democracy, today's authoritarian wave could become a tsunami, providing an opening for Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and their admirers to turn the twenty-first century into a dark time of surging authoritarianism.

"Rights Make Might: Global Human Rights and Minority Social Movements in Japan" with Professor Kiyoteru Tsutsui

January 31, 2024 | Virtual Workshop

This EPIC book talk with Professor Kiyoteru Tsutsui, offered in partnership between the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and SGS, will focus on Rights Make Might: Global Human Rights and Minority Social Movements in Japan (2018), which examines why the three most salient minority groups in Japan all expanded their activism since the late 1970s against significant headwinds, and chronicles how global human rights ideas and institutions empowered all three groups to engage in enhanced political activities. Attendees will receive a complimentary copy of Professor Tsutsui's book.

"Brutal Beauty: Aesthetics and Aspiration in Urban India" with Professor Jisha Menon

October 26, 2023 | Zoom Meeting

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and Stanford Global Studies (SGS) are pleased to offer a professional development workshop for community college educators featuring Jisha Menon, professor of theater and performance studies at Stanford, who will be discussing her newest book, Brutal Beauty: Aesthetics and Aspiration in Urban India (2021). The workshop is free and open to all community college educators, and attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the book. This workshop is made possible through the support of U.S. Department of Education Title VI funding.

The Silk Road, Old and New

June 16-18, 2022 | Virtual Institute

Networks of goods, peoples, cultures, and trade stretch from China to the Mediterranean Basin. These “silk roads”—overland across Eurasia and through maritime routes across the Indian Ocean—have shaped empires, spread religions, and fueled global economies for millennia. Today, new silk roads, like China's Belt and Road Initiative, build on old and extend beyond their traditional reach, to Africa and beyond. How has the Silk Road influenced the modern global economy, politics, and world religions? How can the transregional lens of the “silk road” help us understand globalization, borders, and migration? 

Religion, Politics, and Global Challenges

April 7-9, 2022 | Virtual Institute

How is religious identity linked to political identity? Why does religious violence erupt and how is religious conflict resolved? How do global challenges impact the relationship between church and state? This workshop will explore the complex interplay between religious identity and politics by looking at topics such as religious conflicts and war, religious activism, forms of moral authority, secularism, and religious pluralism. A closer examination of religion and politics will provide insights on past and current forms of violence and conflict resolution around the world with important lessons for understanding how religious identity shapes and is shaped by global challenges.

Beyond the Norms: Gender and Activism in Historical and Contemporary Contexts

February 3-5, 2022 | Virtual Institute

What is the relationship between gender and power? How and why are cultural concepts of gender identities refashioned over time? What does it mean to think in terms of feminisms and masculinities? How do gender identities factor into forms of resistance and activism? This workshop adopts a global lens to explore the dynamic and evolving role of gender identities in shaping social norms, political power, and movements for human rights. It will also consider how gender is embodied and expressed through language, environmental politics, and forms of resistance.

Cyber Threat Across the U.S. Nuclear Enterprise

January 25, 2022 

SPICE and Stanford Global Studies are pleased to announce an upcoming Education Partnership for Internationalizing Curriculum (EPIC) workshop for community college instructors that will feature a talk by Dr. Herbert Lin on his latest book, Cyber Threats and Nuclear Weapons. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss with Dr. Lin the cyber threat across the U.S. nuclear enterprise.

Race and Rights in a Globalized World

October 28-30, 2021 

This workshop will explore the historical and contemporary underpinnings and lived realities of race as a form of identity with related implications for social equity, inclusion, and justice.

History of the Americas: U.S.-Mexico War or Intervention?

July 26-29, 2021

Join the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) and the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching (CSET) in summer 2021 for a professional learning experience on the Mexican-American War, also known as the U.S. Intervention in Mexico. 

The Resurgence of Great Power Politics

June 16-18, 2021

This workshop will examine current relations between states in various hotspots around the globe and contextualize them in light of their historical roots and contemporary dynamics. In this workshop, participants will learn how to infuse opportunities for discipline specific formative assessment in the virtual and in-person learning space both during and between lessons.

EPIC Workshop for Community College Instructors: Myanmar and U.S.-Myanmar Relations

May 14, 2021

Guest Speaker: Scot Marciel (Former U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar)

April 16-18, 2021

This workshop explored the complex and often misunderstood origins, methods, and outcomes of movements around the globe historically and today. In this workshop, participants learned how to elicit student thinking in the virtual and in-person learning space using discipline specific, culturally sustaining moves and instructional design.

Identity and Citizenship

February 26-28, 2021

This workshop explored citizenship as a legal category, an identity marker, and a product of history. It will examine how citizenship can be both a privilege and a burden. Participants will learn how to infuse alternative artifacts and oral histories into their classrooms. These methods empower students to participate in the preservation of history while also allowing them a greater understanding of whose history “counts.”

History of the Americas: Central America and the Cold War

July 27-30, 2020

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) and CSET offered this institute about the Cold War and how it affected, and was shaped by, Latin America. Expert Latin American Studies scholars and community organizers provided rich content knowledge on the lasting effects of the Cold War on Central America, including the work of women and indigenous groups in rebuilding the social fabric while seeking justice.

Slavery in Historical and Contemporary Contexts

June 26-27, 2020

This workshop focused on different ideologies, practices, and systems of slavery throughout history and across cultures and examined the legacy and impact of economic exploitation around the globe. Participants considered how to engage students practically in combating trafficking in their local communities, and learned how to infuse alternative artifacts and oral histories into their classrooms.

Understanding the World Through Religion

February 7-9, 2020

In this workshop, participants explored a diversity of religious traditions, movements and institutions and examined how they have shaped politics, economics, and societies across the globe both historically and in the present day.  Participants learned how to implement discipline specific practice-based methods of instruction to facilitate text-based, whole-class and small group rich discussion.

Ukraine and U.S.-Ukraine Relations

January 17, 2020

This workshop featured a scholarly lecture by former Ambassador Steven Pifer on the history of U.S.–Ukraine relations and a discussion on the current state of relations between the two countries.  Steven Pifer is a William J. Perry fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).   His research focuses on nuclear arms control, Ukraine, Russia and European security.  A retired Foreign Service officer, Pifer’s more than 25 years with the State Department focused on U.S. relations with the former Soviet Union and Europe, as well as arms control and security issues. 

Politics and Culture in Contemporary Iran

December 13, 2019

This workshop for community college instructors featured a scholarly lecture and Q&A session with Abbas Milani, an expert on U.S.-Iran relations as well as Iranian cultural, political, and security issues. Dr. Milani is the Hamid & Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies and adjunct professor at the Center on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University.  Until 1986, he taught at Tehran University’s Faculty of Law and Political Science. 

People on the Move: Global Migration in the Past and Present 

November 15-17, 2019

Designed for history and social science instructors at the community college, high school and middle school levels, this course explored some of the major questions that characterize  large-scale migrations including refugees and political exiles, labor migration, undocumented migration, and political, economic, and social responses to immigration. Participants learned to create central historical questions and sets of competing primary documents to create an experience for students to modify and hone their hypothesis and expectations of historical events. 

History of the Americas: Latin America and the Cold War

June 19-22, 2019

The Center for Latin American Studies and CSET offered this three-day course on the Cold War and how it affected, and was shaped by, Latin America and the Caribbean. Expert Latin American studies scholars provided rich content knowledge, from U.S. and Soviet involvement to inter-American relations in post-Cold War Latin America, including the role of underrepresented populations such as women and indigenous groups. The course explored how to use primary sources, literature, and scholarly texts to build curriculum that reflects the revised History-Social Science Framework, encouraging students to think critically about key historical events and navigate complex and often contradictory content.

Democracy Today: Where and What Is It? 

April 26-28, 2019

This three-day workshop examined the nature of democracy in historical and contemporary contexts around the globe, equipping teachers to critically engage this subject with their students. Participants explored different forms and manifestations of democracy while considering the challenges democracy has faced and is facing from above and below. In this session, the pedagogical focus was on developing formative assessments. Teachers will learned how and when to assess student historical thinking and knowledge in unique ways.

Immigration and Assimilation

April 19, 2019

This half-day workshop for community college faculty featured a talk by Tomás Jiménez, associate professor of sociology and comparative studies, on his latest book, The Other Side of Assimilation: How Immigrants are Changing American Life (University of California Press, 2017).  Jiménez uses interviews from a race and class spectrum of Silicon Valley residents to show how a relational form of assimilation changes both newcomers (immigrants and their children) and established individuals (people born in the U.S. to U.S.-born parents). 

Intersecting Identities in Historical and Contemporary Contexts

March 8-10, 2019

This three-day workshop equipped teachers to tackle the complexities of overlapping social positions and identities by taking a broader, global and historical look beyond our present day, US context. Course context explored issues of social justice and equality by examining, for example, dynamics of gender and sexuality across a variety of religious contexts or comparative histories of race and class. With a pedagogical focus on the Structured Academic Controversy (SAC), teachers developed expertise in leading difficult conversations with primary sources. 

Contested Histories Around the World

January 18-20, 2019

In this three-day workshop, participants examined case studies, such as how textbooks represent contested historical events in East Asia, how California textbooks teach South Asia, and the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. In addition, teachers received interactive lectures and pedagogical expertise from premier Stanford faculty and staff. The pedagogical focus for this session was to develop an OUT (Opening Up of the Textbook) with historical thinking skills as the focus. Teachers learned to articulate silences and breathe new life into their own textbooks or historical material.

From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia

January 18, 2019

This half-day workshop for community college faculty featured a talk by Ambassador Michael A. McFaul on his latest book, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia. McFaul is the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in Political Science, Director and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).

Stanford Institute on Islam

August 6-8, 2018

CSET and the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies hosted middle- and high-school instructors (teaching grades 6-12) and community college educators for the Stanford Institute on Islam, a three-day workshop that explores how the study of this global religion can be incorporated into the teaching of history, social studies, current affairs, the arts, and related subjects. This year, the institute explored the theme of Muslim intersectionalities by examining questions of race, gender and identity in Islam in a variety of global contexts.  

Institute Abroad: "History of the Americas: Mexican Revolution & Nation-Building" in Mexico City, Mexico

July 24 - August 1, 2018 

This professional development institute abroad, designed for history and social science instructors, brought teachers to Mexico City to explore rich content on the Mexican Revolution and nation-building with El Colegio de México faculty and an expert CSET pedagogy instructor. In July 2016, the California State Board of Education adopted a revised History-Social Science curriculum framework for grades K-12. The new framework reflects the struggles and progress of Chicanos and Latinos in the U.S., as well as major historical events in Latin America, including a focus on Mexico and the Mexican Revolution. In this institute, historians from one of Mexico’s leading universities, El Colegio de México, provided content knowledge on the Mexican Revolution and nation-building. Topics included women of the revolution, Mexican muralists, and U.S.-Mexican political history. Teachers visited key historical sites, museums, and archives in Mexico City and explored how to use primary sources, literature, and scholarly texts to build curricula that reflect the new history-social science framework and teaches students to think critically about key historical events. 

April 27-29, 2018

Designed for history and social science instructors at the community college, high school and middle school levels, this three-day course explored some of the major questions that characterize  large-scale migrations, with a focus on refugees and political asylum, labor and circular migration, undocumented migration, and xenophobia. The program included lectures as well as a visit to the Hoover Institution Library & Archives to examine relevant primary documents.  Instructional support was provided to develop educators’ expertise in making the content relevant to students through inquiry-based, culturally responsive lesson design based on the core history teaching practice of academic discussion.

Course Facilitator: Nicole Lusiani Elliott

Nuclear Risk and Nonproliferation Workshop with William J. Perry

March 16, 2018

This half-day workshop featured a scholarly lecture and curricular presentation on issues related to nuclear risk and nonproliferation. Participants received curriculum materials and a copy of William J. Perry's latest book, My Journey at the Nuclear Brink. William Perry is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies. He is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University and serves as co-director of the Nuclear Risk Reduction initiative and the Preventive Defense Project. He is an expert in U.S. foreign policy, national security, and arms control.  Perry was the nineteenth secretary of defense for the United States, serving from February 1994 to January 1997. He previously served as deputy secretary of defense (1993–94) and as undersecretary of defense for research and engineering (1977–81). Perry currently serves on the Defense Policy Board, the International Security Advisory Board, and the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. 

The Russian Revolution

February 2-4, 2018

Designed for middle school, high school, and community college history teachers, this course explores the 1917 Russian Revolution, and includes museum and archival visits, a period film screening with Q&A, a vibrant academic lecture, and content specific pedagogical support to make all of what you learn accessible and relevant to your students.

Course Facilitator: Nicole Lusiani Elliott

North Korea Workshop with Kathleen Stephens

Fall 2017

Course Description: Kathleen Stephens, a former U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea, is the William J. Perry Fellow in the Korea Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). She has four decades of experience in Korean affairs, first as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Korea in the 1970s, and in ensuing decades as a diplomat and as U.S. ambassador in Seoul.

Stanford Institute on Islam 

Spring 2016 & 2017

How we can deepen our students’ understanding of Islam? Acquire tools for navigating controversial claims about the relationship between Islam and violence, gender, and American foreign policy. Investigate source materials that will expand your students’ appreciation of the diversity of Muslim societies and cultures, and develop ways to integrate the study of Islam into your curriculum. The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at Stanford hosted grade 6-12 teachers and community college educators for the inaugural Stanford Institute on Islam, a series of Saturdays that explored how the study of this global tradition can be incorporated into the teaching of History, Social Studies, Current Affairs, the Arts, and related subjects. In 2016, 29 teachers participated and 7 of them were from colleges.

International Terrorism Workshop with Martha Crenshaw 

December 2, 2016

A lecture and demonstration of the Mapping Militants Project, followed by a discussion among the participants. A copy of Professor Crenshaw's book Countering Terrorism, was pre-ordered and distributed to participants when it came out in January 2017. There were 25 participants.

Examining Global Change in the Era of Imperialism 

Summer 2015 & 2016

Course Description: In this course, Stanford scholars provided rich content knowledge on imperialism in the 15th-20th centuries around the world, including Africa, South Asia, Russia, Latin America and East Asia. Participants explored ways to help students connect to and engage in the study of Imperialism. Model lessons, including offerings by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) were provided. Teachers were able to experience being students again, deepen and broaden their content knowledge and build their curricula. Twenty-eight teachers participated.

Course Facilitator: Alicia Dorosin

Governance Workshop with Frances Fukuyama

February 9, 2016

Followed by Q&A, distribution of the book Political Order and Political Decay, and a group discussion about ways to incorporate the material into community college courses. There were 13 participants.

Immigration Workshop with Gordon Chang

December 4, 2015

Distribution of a curriculum unit on Chinese-American history, and a group discussion of immigration and pedagogy. There were 16 participants.

Infectious Diseases and Global Health Workshop with Robert Siegel

May 8, 2015

A lecture with Siegel, teaching professor of microbiology and immunology, and Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics and health research and policy; Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health curriculum demonstration; and a group discussion of ways to incorporate the material into community college courses. There were 15 participants.

Global Food Security Workshop with Walter Falcon

March 6, 2015

Lecture with Falcon, Professor Emeritus of International Agricultural Policy and Economics, followed by Q&A, distribution of a curriculum unit on food security, and a group discussion of pedagogical practices. There were 19 participants.