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Welcome to the 2024 PERIL Summer Institute Online Application
The application for the 2024 PERIL Summer Insititute is now open!
Visit our How to Apply page to learn more
In partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) is launching the Summer Institute from June 16th to June 20th 2024 at American University.
The Summer Institute will comprise various workshops and sessions that emphasize public health and community-based approaches to preventing youth radicalization, with a focus in online radicalization. It will also introduce methods by which school leaders, educators, school counselors and other trusted adults can intervene, or seek help with intervention to prevent further radicalization. The workshops will focus on radicalization into antidemocratic and supremacist movements, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements, unlawful militia and sovereign citizen movements, male supremacist and violent misogynist movements, and more.
Through the Summer Institute, PERIL aims to cultivate a network of educators, school administrators, youth mental health professionals, coaches, and other professionals who work with young people to approach issues of violence prevention from a perspective that prioritizes communities’ needs and lived realities. In contrast to carceral and securitized approaches, the Summer Institute will center community-building, violence-prevention, and interventions that promote systems-level resilience against white cis male supremacist and antidemocratic movements. The Summer Institute will introduce fellows to modes of intervention that build community trust and systems of accountability. Such systems will serve as foundations for community members to identify, address, and intervene in supremacist and antidemocratic politics as they arise in everyday life.
If you have any questions, please contact us at perilsummerinstitute@american.edu.
Program Unit Work
Participants will be able to gain an understanding of:
- An overview of the “State of Hate,” including contemporary terminology, symbols, and themes
- Tools and resources for intervention such as how to establish a civic engagement club for youth at your institution, community organizations you can ally with in preventing radicalization, and best practices for engaging with parents of youth.
- Policy guidelines and response protocols for administrators and leaders who want to make their communities more resilient to hateful radicalization.
We invite school administrators, school board members, teachers, department heads, and other leaders working with students in 6th-12th grade to apply. We especially encourage marginalized communities, including, but not limited to, people of color, LGBTQ people, cis women, disabled people, low-income people, and first-generation graduate students.
Participants receive full room and board, as well as a travel stipend to cover travel to and from Washington, D.C. Workshops and sessions will be facilitated by senior scholars and practitioners from far right and right-wing studies, gender studies, queer studies, critical race theory, Africana studies, sociology, media and communications, psychology, anthropology, and more.
PERIL
The Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) is an applied research lab at American University’s School of Public Affairs preventing radicalization to violent extremism by strengthening community resilience. We use a public health approach to design, test, and scale-up evidence-based tools and strategies that effectively reduce the threat of radicalization to harmful online and offline content including conspiracy theories, mis/disinformation, propaganda, and supremacist ideologies. As an alternative to securitybased approaches that rely on surveillance, censorship, and incarceration, our work takes a multidisciplinary and pre-preventative approach to address hate, bias, and radicalization before they manifest into violent extremism. Our work supports individuals and communities to reject propaganda and extremist content, as well as empower them to intervene and interrupt early radicalization.
How to Apply
The application for the 2024 PERIL Summer Institute is now open! We are seeking school administrators, school board members, teachers, department heads, and other leaders working with students in 6th-12th grade.
Please review the information below for details, and reach out to perilsummerinstitute@american.edu with questions.
Program Details
Participants will be able to gain an understanding of:
- An overview of the “State of Hate,” including contemporary terminology, symbols, and themes
- Tools and resources for intervention such as how to establish a civic engagement club for youth at your institution, community organizations you can ally with in preventing radicalization, and best practices for engaging with parents of youth.
- Policy guidelines and response protocols for administrators and leaders who want to make their communities more resilient to hateful radicalization.
We invite school administrators, school board members, teachers, department heads, and other leaders working with students in 6th -12th grade to apply. We especially encourage marginalized communities, including, but not limited to, people of color, LGBTQ people, cis women, disabled people, low-income people, and first-generation graduate students.
Participants receive full room and board, as well as a travel stipend to cover travel to and from Washington, D.C. Workshops and sessions will be facilitated by senior scholars and practitioners from far right and right-wing studies, gender studies, queer studies, critical race theory, Africana studies, sociology, media and communications, psychology, anthropology, and more.
Eligibility
Following is a summary of the basic eligibility criteria for the 2024 Summer Institute:
- One of the following professions/roles:
- School administrator/leadership
- School counselors
- Teachers
- Parents in the PTA
- School District Members
- Coaches
How to Apply
To apply for the PERIL Summer Institute, please fill out our online application form by following these steps:
- Set up an account on our online application platform by clicking the Register button at the top right of this page. If you have applied before, use the Login button.
- Prepare your application materials:
- Answer the “Eligibility Requirements,” and “General Information” sections
- Curriculum Vitae or Resume
- Prepare the answers to the “Supporting Information” section
Contact Us
Marylin Rodriguez
Senior Curriculum & Training Manager
Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab- American University
Washington, DC 20016
Email: perilsummerinstitute@american.edu
Key Dates
Contact Us
PERILPolarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab- American University
Washington, DC 20016
Email: perilsummerinstitute@american.edu
