Social Science Research Council

The Abe Fellows Retreat is designed to enable Abe Fellows to get to know each other in a relaxed environment, to facilitate intellectual exchange among Fellows and Abe Fellowship Program Committee members, and to share advice on problems fellows are facing in the conduct of their research. To that end, the Retreat agenda includes carefully designed research presentation sessions and discussion groups. In addition, throughout the retreat, there are opportunities for participants to interact on a more informal basis over meals and during unscheduled time. Participants in each retreat include Abe fellows in the current and previous year's cohort who are residing in the United States at the time of the retreat, as well as members of the Abe Fellowship Program Committee and CGP staff. The event is staffed by the SSRC.

Research Presentation Sessions: Fellow are assigned to one of four small groups in which they will have an opportunity to present and receive extensive critical feedback on a research project they have summarized in a memo circulated to all retreat participants. A committee member or SSRC staff member moderates each discussion group. Each fellow is requested to prepare two formal critiques of presentations made in his or group. In order to maximize the benefit of exposure to fresh perspectives on one's research, each group includes fellows from a variety of disciplinary,theoretical, methodological, and national backgrounds, and with varying levels of international research experience. Critique assignments,therefore, also reflect this diversity.

Each of the groups meets over four sessions. During the first two sessions, each fellow in a given group makes a 10-15 minute presentation of his or her research. Each presentation is followed by two 5-minute critiques by group members assigned to discuss the substance and methodology, respectively, of the research and a 15-minute group discussion which the presenter is invited to thoughtfully digest, but to which he or she is not permitted to contribute. During the final two Research Presentation sessions on the following day, presenters are invited to offer a brief response to the discussion of their research on the previous day and to lead a follow-up discussion of that research for up to 30 minutes.

Discussion Groups: The Program plans discussions around books, films, and current events, and also encourages participants to organize impromptu discussion groups on topics of their choosing during free times and meals throughout the weekend.