James Nathan, Khalid bin Sultan Eminent Scholar, Auburn University-Montgomery
Lecturing: Political Science, American Foreign Policy
China
September 1999-July 2000

Charles Tien, Assistant Professor,
CUNY-Hunter
Lecturing: Political Science, Politics
China
September 1999-July 2000

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.