The 2024 College of the Atlantic Summer Institute examined Democracy in the United States during one of the most consequential years of our times. 

Struggles for democracy traverse our lives and society, from ballot boxes to inboxes, from the corridors of Congress to the halls of schools, from kitchen tables to city streets. Questions of democracy confront us in our debates over freedom of the press, voting rights, artistic freedom, struggles against authoritarianism, and in conversations about how to effectively engage with disagreement and conflict across a range of topics.

From July 29 - August 2 elected officials, authors, analysts, and community organizers discussed what democracy means to them, the threats it faces, and how our individual and collective efforts can fortify democracy now and for future generations.

Exploration has brought humans to our plant's greatest heights and deepest depths, pushing upon the boundaries between the known and unknown. It has taught us elusive lessons about our world and ourselves that we would have never learned otherwise. At the same time, exploration brings us face to face with dynamic and hard-to-resolve ethical questions about the impact of exploration on human and non-human communities. 

From July 31 - August 4, join College of the Atlantic and the National Geographic Society for the 2023 Summer Institute: Reimagining Exploration, as we gather some of the greatest living exploders, writers, artists, and thinkers to help reimagine exploration.

In conversations with those who have ventured into extreme landscape, the deep sea , the human mind, the world of art and other disciplines, we will examine exploration in the broadest sense. Ultimately, we hope to recast an approach to exploration that is rooted in inclusivity and reciprocity, while also preserving the magnificence and health of our planet and its people.

The 2022 Summer Institute: Our One and Only Ocean, held in collaboration with The National Geographic Society, will explore the beauty, promise, and perils of our greatest commons—the ocean. We will dive into the complex and interwoven challenges facing our ocean while spotlighting solutions and leaders that offer us hope. Institute sessions will address climate change, deep sea exploration, fisheries and aquaculture, pollution and resource extraction, conservation, history, art, and inspiration.

The 2021 Summer Institute: Good Food and Food Fights, will explore all aspects of food- production, policy, climate change, food justice, hunger, organics, nutrition, and the joy of eating and cooking.

The 2020 Summer Institute: November 3 - What's at Stake? will explore the future of US diplomacy, climate change policy, income inequality, national security, the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court, coronavirus, and other issues that will be critical
national topics leading up to the presidential elections in November.

The 2019 Summer Institute: Art: Dissent and Diplomacy will explore the way art challenge-es, promotes, undermines and advances political, social, religious and cultural norms.

The 2018 Champlain Institute: International Affairs, will focus on national security, trade disputes, cyber warfare, terrorism, where democracy is working, civil wars, Russia, North Korea, and other hotspots around the globe.

The 2017 Champlain Institute: American Democracy, will focus on the state of American Democracy, the Constitution, and our collective future in these United States. Jeffrey Rosen will curate the 2017 Champlain Institute. Rosen is a professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and commentator on legal affairs. Since 2013, he has served as the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. He has been described as "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator."