Initiatives aim to boost global literacy

by Karin Dienst
"Global awareness should be 'built into the DNA of Princeton,'" said President Tilghman at this year’s Opening Exercises, quoting a University trustee in her address to students. With recent high-level faculty appointments in international affairs and comparative politics and new globally focused courses and research projects, this "DNA" is being expressed in unprecedented ways at Princeton.

Two years ago when Anne-Marie Slaughter became dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she stated her goal to rebuild the school's strength in international affairs. A distinguished internationalist, Slaughter now is seeing the fruits of her efforts in the hiring of five new faculty members and four visiting professors, all within the past year.

New faculty member Jennifer Widner, who studies comparative politics and law with a focus on Africa, talks with Jeffrey Herbst, chair of the politics department and specialist in African politics.

This year also marks the first anniversary of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS), which was formed by the University and the Wilson School to conduct multidisciplinary research and teaching on issues of global importance. Led by Latin American studies scholar Miguel Centeno, PIIRS includes approximately 100 faculty associates from a broad range of academic disciplines at Princeton.

In their efforts to boost international education at the University, Slaughter and Centeno explained why it is imperative for students to become knowledgeable about the wider world.

"Princeton students today live in a globalized, networked world," said Slaughter. "It is our job to give them the cultural competence — through courses, experiences and interactions with international students here at Princeton — to allow them to succeed and lead in that world."

"International knowledge is a little like literacy," said Centeno. "It's not a luxury. We have to guarantee the nation that all the students coming out of Princeton are globally literate."

Read the full story, as well as profiles of new faculty appointments, in the Weekly Bulletin.