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When Catherine Boone and her husband, Peter Trubowitz,
arrived in China in August of 2002, they never
imagined what lay ahead of them. The couple, both
associate professors of government at the University
of Texas at Austin, traveled to the Beijing Foreign
Studies University on Fulbright grants.Their two
sons, eight-year-old Sander and ten-year-old Joshua,
accompanied them. The boys were enrolled in an
international school and even took music lessons
at the nearby Beijing Minorities University.
In the spring, Boone and Trubowitz were invited
to lecture in Seoul, Taipei and Hanoi. The events
were cancelled, however, when the SARS (sudden
acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic broke out.
Many foreigners-students and professors alike-at
universities all over Beijing opted to leave.
Trubowitz and Boone, however, decided to stay.
"We felt no pressure, at all, from the university
to stay," says Trubowitz. "In fact,
the dean called us every day to make sure we were
okay. We wanted our sons to finish the school
year, and we felt a moral obligation to our students."
When classes resumed, both Fulbrighters discussed
the Chinese government's handling of the SARS
epidemic with their students. Most of the students
agreed that the government made a mistake in not
reporting the actual number of cases in the beginning.
During the year the couple also lectured extensively
around China. With his background in U.S. foreign
policy, Trubowitz found himself in especially
high demand on the "think tank" circuit
and was also a frequent guest on Dialogue,
one of China's leading nationally broadcast public
affairs television programs.
In addition to discussing the epidemic, Boone
and Trubowitz feel that their students learned
a great deal from their classes. They also believe
the students enjoyed getting to know and observe
the Americans and their habits. "We visited
a student and stayed with his family," Boone
says. "They thought it was very funny that
we traveled with instant coffee in our backpacks.
Did we contribute to international understanding?
I think so!"
Boone and Trubowitz taught at both the graduate
and undergraduate levels in their areas of specialization:
hers, comparative politics and political economy;
his, American foreign policy and international
relations. "The students were a delight,"
Boone says. "Their level of English proficiency
was high, and they were always interested in participating
in class discussions."
Boone, whose research focuses on Africa and Latin
America, plans to write a book comparing the impact
of globalization on agriculture in China, Mexico
and Ghana.Trubowitz, who returned to Beijing for
a conference on Sino-American relations, looks
forward to similar opportunities in the future.
"Professionally as well as personally,"
he says, "the year was a broadening experience."
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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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