SU field study provides on-site learning opportunities that simply cannot be duplicated in the classroom, including travel beyond Beijing. Your semester will begin with a two-week learning seminar that’s designed to give you an experiential overview of China’s fascinating history and culture, and examine new challenges posed by the country’s explosive economic growth.
FALL SIGNATURE SEMINAR
HUM 300.1 The Other China: Minority Cultures, Development, and the Environment (2 credits, required) Option to earn another 1 credit through additional semester work
Many believe that China is an ethnically homogenous country. But with 56 ethnic groups and close to 100 million people, the country’s sizable minority occupies nearly half of China’s vast territory.
With a focus on cultural preservation and economic development, The Other China seminar is an unforgettable entree into remote ethnic villages, controversial environment projects, world cultural heritage sites, and other related NGOs and government agencies. Under the guidance of Dr. Caroline Tong, you’ll meet a Tibetan family, study giant pandas, and examine natural resource management, in order to cultivate a critical understanding of the challenges that face today’s Chinese ethnic minorities. Locations include Bai cultural sites, ancient Lijiang city, Naxi Dongba Culture Museum, Shangri-la and the Songzanlin Temple, and a visit to the 2,200 year-old Dujiangyan irrigation system.
SPRING SIGNATURE SEMINAR
HUM 400.1 China: Past, Present and Future (2 credits, required) Option to earn another 1 credit through additional semester work
Acquaint yourself with one of the world’s oldest civilizations: its glorious past; its bitter memories of imperial decline; and the ongoing struggle with history and modernity. Your journey begins in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China and home to the famous Terracotta Warriors. Then you’ll travel on to glittering Shanghai, a city that many believe embodies China’s aspirations for the future. The seminar culminates in your adopted city of Beijing, China’s current political and cultural heart. China: Past, Present and Future is a sweeping passage over land and through time that provides a strong foundation for the semester of coursework that lies ahead.
