Amid some criticism from the American Studies department, the plan for the Center for Global Studies and Citizenship has begun to take form and its creators are seeking input from students and faculty.

Early last month, Political Science Professor Andrew Latham and Dean of International Studies and Programming Ahmed Samatar authored a preliminary proposal that recommends the convergence of the International Center, the Community Service Office and the Internship Office to form the Center for Global Studies and Citizenship. President Brian Rosenberg enlisted Latham and Samatar to write the proposal.

In recent weeks, Latham has discussed the proposal with students, academic departments and programs throughout campus. This week, Latham described the process as moving from general conceptualization to a phase of seeking input.

Latham recently met with the American Studies department, the Women’s and Gender Studies department and the department of Multicultural Life. The three departments declined comment other than to say that their discussions with Latham were productive. A number of students have said that the American Studies department has voiced discontent with the proposal. According to these students, several professors in the department have brought up the Center in their classes and criticized the initial proposal for failing to mention multiculturalism.

American Studies and History Professor Peter Rachleff declined to comment on the department’s meeting with Latham, but said that personally, the formation process of the Center upsets him. Rachleff said that the Center has been conceptualized and proposed solely by Latham and Samatar, and that he would like to see the inclusion of multiculturalism in the plans for the Center.

“People who have been working on multiculturalism were not invited to write the document,” Rachleff said. “You have two of the three pillars of the college mission: civic engagement and internationalism. Where is the third pillar?”

The proposal has upset some students as well. A group of six to twelve students who share Rachleff’s concerns have been meeting once a week since early October to discuss their worries about the Center. The students say that the proposal reflects a trend at Macalester of systemic marginalization of multiculturalism. These students have begun what they describe as a “grassroots effort” to define global citizenship more inclusively.

The group will create a report of its own on global citizenship, the students said. The report will be based on about 40 interviews with faculty, staff, and students about the meaning of global citizenship. The report is likely to contain proposals for the Center, but the level of detail has yet to be worked out, group member Grace Zaiman ’06 said. “We’ve been really careful about asking questions right now,” she said.

Latham, who has received the brunt of the criticism regarding the proposal, said that the initial process of conceptualizing the center was less than perfect. Now that the process has opened to public input, however, he said he would like to move past the initial problems. “There may have been a bumpy start to this, but looking forward, how can we work together to make this the best center that it can be?” Latham said.

In what Latham describes as “stage two” of the formation of the Center, he will present plans for the Center at the first of at least two planning workshops. The workshops, which will be held in Kagin Commons on Nov. 19 and Nov. 22, will focus on student input, Latham said.

Rosenberg has yet to announce exactly what the rest of the planning process will look like—specifically the way in which the final design of the center will be achieved. Latham said he personally would like a task force or committee of students, faculty and staff to be in charge of the final design stage.