Educational Exchanges

American Studies and English Language Teaching

The American Studies Collection was created by an endowment fund established by the U.S. Congress of the United States "in order to promote a thorough understanding of the United States" abroad. Designed expressly for university libraries outside the United States, the resulting collection of more than 1,300 volumes is a selective but authoritative library of literature and scholarship intended to provide foreign students, teachers and scholars with the opportunity to increase their understanding of American life and institutions, past and present. The Collection includes major works from virtually all the disciplines that are germane to the study of American civilization. The titles in history, politics, government and law are especially rich, as are the titles in literary criticism, contemporary American fiction, poetry and belles lettres, fine and performing arts, American philosophy and religion, and other aspects of U.S. society and culture. On May 15, 1997 U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz presented the American Studies Collection to the European Humanities University in Minsk. EHU has been a pioneer in developing a program of cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary study of the United States. By agreement with the U.S. Embassy, EHU has pledged to make the collection readily available to professors and students of other educational establishments of Belarus.

American Studies Association

The Association was formed in December 1995 to unite educators who are leading experts in Belarus on American history, culture, literature and other disciplines related to the American society. Members of the Association promote American studies by creating special teaching courses in their respective disciplines. The Association issues a newsletter and sponsors or co-sponsors conferences in American studies with the participation of local or international scholars.

Salzburg Seminar

The Salzburg Seminar is a private, non-profit organization. The Public Affairs Section of the Embassy Minsk assists this multifaceted and prestigious institution in carrying out its conferences and sessions on American studies. Visit Salzburg Seminar Web site for their program brochure, session descriptions and application forms.

Summer Institutes

The U.S. Department of State sponsors summer institutes for secondary school (Summer Institutes for Secondary School Educators) and university level (Summer Institutes for Foreign University Educators) educators in the fields of American studies and civic education. Each summer institute consists of four week of academic courses plus two-weeks of travel designed to introduce participants to the people and culture of the United States.

English Teaching Materials

Of the specialized English teaching materials published by U.S. Information Agency (now part of the Department of State) English Teaching Forum, a quarterly for English teachers around the world, is the most widely asked for and used. Together with the publishing company Macmillan Inc., the Department of State sponsored the development of Family Album USA, a major American multimedia project to teach English through television broadcasts and class sittings. English teaching materials are available at the Information Resource Center by appointment and during public hours.