July 06, 2006
Dewey center to host scholar from Macedonia
CARBONDALE, Ill. The Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will host a Fulbright Scholar from the Balkan States.
Suzana Miovska-Spaseva, a philosophy professor at St. Cyril and Methodius University in the Republic of Macedonia, will study at the Center from August to July 2007. She received a Fulbright Visiting Scholar grant, which allows foreign academics to lecture and/or conduct research at U.S. institutions for an academic year or term. Miovska -Spaseva's work involves the history of education, comparative education and social pedagogy.
"It makes me feel very humble," said Larry A. Hickman, director of the Center for Dewey Studies. "Dr. Miovska-Spaseva's choice of SIUC as her host institution testifies to the international reputation of the Center for Dewey Studies as a unique resource for research into the life and work of John Dewey."
The center holds key source materials for the study of America's quintessential philosopher-educator, John Dewey (1859-1952). His philosophy of education focused on learning by doing rather than memorization. By virtue of its publications and research, the center is the international focal point for research on Dewey's life and work.
Since 1993, the center has hosted more than 450 visitors from 25 countries. Miovska-Spaseva will be the center's third Fulbright Scholar. The other two were from Denmark and Poland.
The Fulbright program is the U.S. government's flagship program in international educational exchange. Approximately 800 Fulbright Visiting Scholars come to the U.S. each year. The Council for International Exchange of Scholars administers the program.
Hickman said the center attracts interest from all over the world.
"Our Web site gets more than 6,000 hits every month, from international scholars to a recent inquiry from an Israeli housewife who was helping her sixth grader with a homework assignment." Hickman said.
The Center for Dewey Studies opened its doors in 1961 to collect, edit and publish the works of John Dewey. Visit it on the Web at http://www.siu.edu/%7edeweyctr.
Enhancing the culture of research and scholarship is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.