|
|
Left: Tien and fellow Fulbrighter Gaye Christoffersen
celebrate the holidays in China.
Right: Nathan inspecting a local drink specialty.
|
Two political science grantees teamed up during the 1999-2000
academic year to conduct a lecturing tour through China. Charles
Tien, an assistant professor at CUNY-Hunter, and James Nathan,
a Khalid bin Sultan eminent scholar at Auburn University-Montgomery,
reported that the lecturing tour was a major highlight of the
time they spent in China as Fulbrighters.
Because Chinese students are generally not encouraged to engage
in open debate with their professors, both scholars saw the lecturing
tour, where participation was voluntary and ungraded, as an excellent
way to pull students into more active discussion. The guest lectures
they gave throughout the country provided a forum for students
to openly discuss issues that were difficult to touch upon in
the classroom, such as human rights, U.S.-China relations and
Taiwan-China relations. Nathan and Tien spoke to over 30 different
groups, some numbering between 300 and 500 people. The lecturing
tour included trips to Urmaqi, Turpan, Dalien, Harbin, Shanghai,
Macao, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Hubei and Nanjing as well as presentations
at the Mexican embassy in Beijing and the Beijing School of International
Relations.
Both men were accompanied by their families during their grants
and reported that their families adapted well to their new environments.
Charles Tien's wife, Kari Olson, carried out anthropological field
research in Chinese women's reproductive health on a Committee
for Scholarly Communication with China grant. His daughter attended
a local Chinese preschool and, in six months, became fluent in
the host country's language. Tien reports hospitality on the part
of his Chinese colleagues that grew into personal and professional
relationships he and his family plan to maintain.
James Nathan has received more than one Fulbright and argues
that this past year in China was, by far, the most productive
and rewarding. He remarks, "Put me on the dance card for
another crack at China in two or three years!"
Please contact us
if you would like to submit your own story and/or photographs.
|
