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Frameworks for Higher Education in Homeland Security (2005) / Chapter Skim
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4: Parallels Between Homeland Security and Area Studies, International Relations, and Science Policy
Pages 9-14

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From page 9...
... International studies began even earlier, before World War II.1 In both area studies and homeland security studies, the national educational response was to a perceived threat and a corresponding national need. In both cases, the subject matter of the new coursework drew from multiple disciplines.
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From page 10...
... Evidence supporting the public perception of DHS as the primary customer can be seen in educational programs that specifically claim that they will train students to become "homeland security specialists"4 and in university websites that reference solely the Department of Homeland Security in their introductory material5 or provide direct links only to DHS, among all the federal agencies.6 At this point, the course offerings and programs in homeland security are still in their infancy, and it may yet be possible to apply some cautionary lessons learned from the nation's experience with area studies. The primary concern voiced in the breakout session on area studies was that it is a mistake to link an educational program too strongly to a single federal agency.
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From page 11...
... At home, educational programs in area studies are also subject to evaluation on a political basis -- specifically, whether they are overly sympathetic, or obstinately unresponsive, to the needs of their "affiliated" government agency. This debate on the "usefulness" of the area studies curriculum to political goals has emerged in congressional testimony on Title VI.9 The consequence for the university is that the debate both puts federal funding for area studies programs at risk and calls into question the field's inherent academic legitimacy.
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From page 12...
... Should DHS choose to provide financial support for new academic programs, its initiatives can be guided by principles articulated in the National Academies report Evaluating Federal Research Programs: 1. selection of performers by competitive merit review set against clearly stated program objectives and selection criteria; 2.
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From page 13...
... Finally, to come full circle, some of the educational forays made by then-new interdisciplinary "fields" such as area studies, national security studies, and even bioengineering can now provide content to the evolving educational studies in homeland security.
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  • national educational
  • despite homeland
  • educational studies
  • educational response

  • educational forays
  • evolving educational
  • educational landscape
  • educational objectives
  • security shares

  • security specialists
  • threatened academic
  • federal customer
  • corresponding national
  • international studies

  • studies program
  • inherent academic
  • single federal
  • academic legitimacy
  • studies curriculum


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