Summer Institute for International Professors and Scholars in American Studies

The Institute Director, Katherine Joslin (PhD, English, Northwestern), is director of American Studies at Western Michigan University. An experienced director, Dr. Joslin has organized international and national conferences, chaired numerous sessions at meetings, served as assistant to the dean for curriculum at Western, and has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Among her publications are Edith Wharton, Women Writer's Series (Macmillan and St. Martin's Press, 1991); Wretched Exotic: Essays on Edith Wharton in Europe, co-edited with Alan Price (Lang, 1993); chapters on American writers, among them Addams, Cather, Chopin, and Dreiser, in many books and articles in journals. She is currently writing a literary biography of Jane Addams.

Dr. Howard Dooley, Executive Director of International Affairs, will serve as the Administrative Director for the Institute. He will be responsible for providing arrangements for facilities, housing, meals, and travel. Dr. Dooley will also take part in the pre-program briefing.

Academic co-director Dr. John Saillant (PhD, American Civilization, Brown) teaches early American history and African-American studies, including the voluntary and the forced migrations of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans; his publications treat American political philosophy and religion, as well as migration in the Atlantic world. Dr. Brian Wilson (PhD, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara), academic co-director, brings to the Summer Institute his specialty in the theory and method in the academic study of religion, as well as American religious history; he has written both on American colonial history and on nineteenth-century sectarian traditions in a regional context .

Augmenting the roles of the academic co-directors, several other Western Michigan University faculty members will participate in the Summer Institute. Faculty from the departments of History, Comparative Religion, English, Black Americana Studies, Sociology, Political Science, and Education will share their expertise on specific topics and methods in American Studies. Prominent scholars from other institutions will also contribute to the academic program, presenting their research and offering their guidance on participant research projects.

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