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Sharing Music and Culture in the East
In the fall of 2003, Bernard Bell, a professor
teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in
American and African American literature at Pennsylvania
State University-University Park, received a Fulbright
grant to Beijing. Bell had three goals in mind.
The first was to promote the Mandarin translation
of his book The Afro-American Novel and Its Tradition
and its newly published English sequel The Contemporary
African American Novel: Its Folk Roots and Modern
Literary Branches.
The second was to promote the development of
African American studies in Beijing and Sichuan
Province. And lastly, Bell wanted to highlight
the 100th anniversary of African American blues
music.
As a lecturing scholar, Bell taught two postgraduate
courses, "The African American Literary Tradition"
and "The Political Economy and Globalization
of African American Culture From the Blues to
Hip Hop." Both these courses were new additions
to Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beiwai).
Bell's curriculum for the courses included mini-lectures,
audio-visual aids and class discussions. Some
of his students were so encouraged by the blues
to hip hop course that they sought further readings
and opportunities to hear more music after class.
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Bell also involved himself with helping several
students with their theses and dissertations,
ranging in topics from Toni Morrison to Clarence
Major to narratology and contemporary critical
theory. Additionally, he tested and reported on
the English proficiency of a postgraduate student
who was applying to the Foreign Language Teaching
Assistant Program.
Bell was as productive outside of the university
as he was inside. He wrote two essays, both published
bilingually, on African American blues music,
participated in cultural festivals, held a book
signing at Beijing National Library, participated
in a Fulbright orientation film along with some
of his students and gave six different lectures,
including one at the Third International Conference
on William Faulkner.
The Fulbright experience was extremely successful
for Bell. "My semester at Beiwai was culturally
enlightening and exciting as well as professionally
beneficial and mutually memorable," he said.
His experience was so beneficial that he was asked
to return to China for two weeks as a Fulbright
Senior Specialist to give lectures at Beiwai,
Beida and the Southwest University of Science
and Technology.
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"International education
exchange is the most significant current project
designed to continue the process of humanizing
mankind to the point, we would hope, that
nations can learn to live in peace"
--J. William Fulbright |
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