Program prerequisites | Course descriptions | Living arrangements | Extra costs | Deadlines |
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The China Study Group is designed to give Colgate students, particularly those with concentrations or minors in Chinese or Asian studies, an opportunity to acquire eye-witness knowledge of cultural, social, economic, and political changes in modern China, and to improve proficiency in Chinese language.
By studying in Beijing, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with interspersed field trips, students will obtain a deep sense of changes and continuities between tradition and modernity in Chinese culture, history, and society. This experience will help students understand how China today grapples with diverse issues in its dynamic processes of development.
Academic program
The program is hosted in Beijing by Peking University’s Chinese Language and Literature Department. Founded in 1898, Peking University (Beijing Daxue) is the premier institution of higher learning in China.
Program prerequisites
Prerequisites include at least one year’s coursework in Modern Standard Chinese, and Core China, Women in China, or another background course on China as approved by the Director.
Required courses
The program equals one semester at Colgate. Students are expected to carry a four-course load. The following are required unless special arrangements are made in advance for independent study:
China in Transition: Professor C. Long|
This course focuses on topics central to the social, economic, and political transitions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to such topics as family and social life, education, ethnic and geographic diversity, ecology, economic growth, political development, and international relations. Issues that are most important to present-day China and its emerging role in the world are explored through readings, videos, guest lectures, and discussions, supplemented by field trips to schools, farms, factories, and other sites. The goal is to arrive at understanding through both analysis and experience. Classes begin in Taiwan and continue in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Topics in Chinese Culture: Professor C. Long
This course takes materials from literature, film, art, music, performance, and various forms of popular culture to focus on the long tradition of Chinese culture as well as the personal experience of people living through the changes and continuities discussed in its companion course, China in Transition. It also focuses on the implications of tradition on China’s most pressing issues and their solutions. Guest lectures, readings and discussion are enriched by visits to museums and temples, attendance at performances, and face-to-face meetings with scholars, artists, performers, and others. The goal is to develop sensitivity and imagination as well as understanding. Classes begin in Taiwan and continue in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Chinese Language: Oral. Peking University Chinese Language and Literature Department Faculty
This course emphasizes speaking and listening, through the use of drills, conversation, and audiovisual materials. It meets 10 hours per week.
Chinese Language: Written. Peking University Chinese Language and Literature Department Faculty
This course is designed to improve reading and writing skills through textbooks and supplemental reading material. It meets 5 hours per week.
For Chinese language courses, Colgate students are divided into two groups according to their proficiency levels in Chinese.
Major field trips
The Study Group will first fly to Taiwan in mid-January and spend one week in Taipei and Kaohsiung. In Taipei, the group will learn about the profound changes in Taiwan, especially the process of democratization in a Chinese culture. In Kaohsiung, we are hosted by National Sun Yatsen University’s Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, and will learn about economic changes and visit factories and cultural sites. We will then fly to Hong Kong to be briefed by local scholars and to visit cultural and historical institutions through arrangements by the Office of International Student Exchange at the University of Hong Kong.
The group will then fly to Beijing at the end of January and have classes at Peking University until the end of April. During the stay in Beijing, the group will make a major field trip to Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. We will visit Pudong Development Zone in Shanghai, the literati gardens of Suzhou, and West Lake and the tea culture in Hangzhou. We will see and discuss similarities and differences between Beijing in northern China and these cities in southern China. The schedule and itinerary will be finalized with Peking University in the fall of 2010.
Students may choose to travel independently during the week-long mid-term recess, and after the conclusion of the semester.
Planned extracurricular activities
Colgate students will be paired with Chinese conversation partners at Peking University for language and cultural exchange. Arrangements also will be made for students to meet informally with Chinese people from all walks of life and to visit Chinese homes.
Living arrangements
Students will be housed in double rooms in foreign student dormitories.
Extra costs
Costs above Colgate’s tuition include room and board, airfare, and necessary out-of-pocket expenses. On the average students can expect to spend about $2,500-$3,500 more than a semester on campus. These increased costs are used in calculating the aid packages of students who receive financial aid, provided this is their first study group experience.
Students who are planning extensive personal travel will need to increase their budget accordingly.
Estimate of Student Expenses China Study Group
Calendar and deadlines
Students are encouraged to attend an information session on Monday, November 9 at 4:15 in 103 Lawrence.
Application forms will be available in early November in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, 219a Lawrence, and in the Office of Off-Campus Study, 201 McGregory. Only applications written clearly and in black ink will be considered. In listing references, include your language instructor and one or two members of another department.
Completed applications should be received in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, 219a Lawrence, by November 20, 2009. Students will be notified of acceptance in mid-January.
Further information
All inquiries about the Group may be directed to Professor Gloria Bien at gbien@colgate.edu or Professor Cheryl Long at cxlong@colgate.edu.
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