DC Courses
(6 credit hours, UM credit)
Students work for academic credit in their DC internships Tuesdays through Fridays. Class meets weekly on Mondays. Program support includes full staff support during the entire internship process, from identifying internship options in students’ areas of interest, direct help with polishing application materials and gaining internship offers, to developing higher-level skills, projects and workplace networks. Course includes workshops, site visits, and networking opportunities. Students develop a professional portfolio, reflective exercises, and institutional analysis, and complete several diagnostics including goal setting, skills assessments, and strategies for future professional success.
Policy Salon
Capital Education also partners with WISH and Ohio State University to offer the Policy Salon speaker series each term. Weekly Policy Salon sessions provide students direct encounters with DC ‘movers and shakers,’ including Congress members, administration officials, lobbyists, journalists, and corporate and nonprofit entrepreneurs.
Policy Salon is an exclusive offering for WISH housing residents. Schools and programs may choose to utilize Policy Salon content and material for some of their core seminars or electives.
The Washington Policy Process: People,Places and Processes
(3 credit hours, UM credit)
The policy seminar will include overviews of basic American political institutions and processes. These overviews are designed to serve as a review for those students with a background in politics and government, or to provide a basic understanding for those students with little knowledge of the topic. DC guest speakers and site visits are utilized to enhance student learning and understanding of the course topics.
Throughout the course we will delve deeply into the role of electoral and policy institutions (e.g., elections, parties, interest groups, media) and government institutions (e.g., Congress, executive, Supreme Court, bureaucracy) in shaping U.S domestic and international public policy. Overall, the emphasis of the course will be on learning the “stories behind the stories” in relation to several questions: Who really wields power in Washington over policy agendas and outcomes? Does the political process produce policies that are in the public interest? How would we know? Is the current policymaking process democratic? How has policymaking changed in the post-September 11 climate? What can you do to wield influence and shape policy? Should the Washington political process be reformed? If so, in what ways?
Language Instruction: Beginning Arabic (Course meets for 10 weeks)
Beginning Arabic
Instructor: Omar Shamoon
Students will undergo the basic M.S.A. (Modern Standard Arabic) essentials, including the alphabet, learning to read and write, and proper pronunciation and speech. First 4 weeks will cover the entire range of Arabic letters and their three ways of deliberation (beginning, middle, and end.) Weeks 5 through 8 are designed to accustom students with writing their own name, recognizing basic words, (exit, restrooms, directions, etc.) along with learning new phonics and sounds. In weeks 9 through 10 students develop an ability to read and write new vocabulary. Overall, students should complete the course with a general understanding of the Arabic language, with a sound basis for further development of language fluency.
To register, contact Joel Clark at (703) 307-9770, or jclark@capitaleducationdc.com
Omar Shamoon has several years of experience in the fields of language instruction and translation, including as senior instructor at 21st Century Learning Center, and as a professional tutor at Oakton Professional Center, where he taught English to international students including those participating in diplomatic exchange programs between South Korea and the U.S. Shamoon has also participated in exchange programs involving Jordan and Kuwait, and Directed the Washington Seminar for Peace, which conducted world wide contributions to help end Middle Eastern conflicts through peaceful interacting, negotiation and reconciliation. A native of Iraq, Shamoon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and International Politics, and a Certificate in Foreign Language Interpretation and Translation from George Mason University.
