The Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Michigan aims to enhance student learning and understanding and to foster greater tolerance of others inside and outside the classroom.
Curricular Development
The Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Michigan provides funding for instructors to develop new courses, including team-taught classes and courses devoted to research on relevant topics; to add modules to existing courses; or to redesign courses that advance the mission of the institute. Funding may also be used for undergraduate and graduate student support, course website development, the acquisition of curricular materials, digital and technological assistance, or other projects related to curricular development. The institute may also want to develop a certificate program.
Flagship Course
Beginning in fall 2025, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Michigan will offer a flagship course, in which students will observe challenging conversations between experts drawn from across the University of Michigan; engage in workshops focusing on the skills of dialogue, discourse, and compassion; and engage in challenging conversations with diverse populalations of University of Michigan classmates. More details about this course will be available soon.
Student Leadership and Experiential Learning
The Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Michigan will fund and assist in the identification and development of experiential learning and leadership training opportunities for students who seek to engage with the values of the institute beyond the classroom. Experiential learning can be integrated into courses and/or promoted through internships. The institute will work with and support instructors to identify or develop experiential learning opportunities in collaboration with community partners.
Through the flagship course, students will be introduced to methods of discussion leadership and those eager to continue will have the opportunity to join the Wallenberg student leadership program, geared specifically toward fostering crosscultural dialogue and common understandings about charged issues related to the mission of the institute.
Current Courses
ALA 259- Religious and Ethnic Tolerance
Instructors: Jeffrey Veidlinger and Miriam Mora
This course brings experts from across campus for meaningful discussions about difficult issues related to ethnic and religious tolerance. Students observe discussions as audience members and engage in group conversations, learning content from expert panelists and dialogue skills through their own engagement.
ISLAM 216- Islam in History
Instructor: Aaron Rock-Singer
This course pursues the following goals: a) to provide a comprehensive idea of the rise and early evolution of Islam and of the subsequent impact that Islamic doctrinal principles have had on the cultures and societies of the Muslim world and beyond; b) to show the amazing diversity of Islam’s interpretation and application by its followers across time and geographical space; c) to demonstrate the profound complexity and ambiguity of interaction between the world of Islam and Western societies. Finally, yet importantly, the course is designed in such a way as to foster in students' analytic skills through composing clearly reasoned responses to the topics covered in the course and critically discussing assigned readings.
POLISCI 489- The Crime of Genocide in the History of Ukraine
Instructor: Yurii Kaparulin
This course is dedicated to the key events in the history of Ukraine in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries that led to tragic consequences for the entire Ukrainian people and significantly impacted the formation of the modern Ukrainian political nation. The course will focus on such topics as Jewish pogroms, Soviet repressions, the Holodomor of 1932-1933, the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust during World War II, ethnic cleansing in Volyn in 1943, the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944, and more.
Partnerships
National History Day
A partnership was established with National History Day to create teacher resources and guides for middle and high school educators on topics of ethnic and religious tolerance.
