Center for Washington Area Studies - Mission
The Center for Washington Area Studies (CWAS) is a multi-disciplinary university-wide research center whose purpose is to encourage, promote and engage in research related to Washington, D.C. and the Washington region. Its primary activities include 1) support of efforts by GW faculty to seek external funding for research on the Washington region or that includes the Washington region in more general research, 2) support of research by GW faculty and students that is of relevance to the Washington area, and 3) support for GW faculty seeking to incorporate the Washington region into their courses by maintaining and disseminating resource materials.
The center fosters research and writing of papers, articles, and monographs relating to the history and culture of the Washington area, most for eventual publication. The center is charged to stimulate social science-based research and publishing on contemporary affairs and public policy issues in the Washington area. This may involve studies of one or more communities or of the entire metropolitan area. Comparative studies involving the Washington area and other metropolitan areas are also of interest. Among the mission of the Center for Washington Area Studies is to improve the bibliographic and archival resources related to Washington history, culture, politics, and public policy, especially those contained in the Gelman Library collections of The George Washington University.
The center sponsors and/or participates in conferences, symposia, workshops, and similar meetings on topics of interest to scholars of Washington area matters. CWAS channels the skills and talents of University faculty and students toward local problem solving in areas related to public interest while promoting increased understanding of Washington area history, culture, politics, and public policy issues among students through courses and sponsored events.