I have had the great pleasure of organizing and leading Elmira College’s first study abroad in China course “China East to West-Past to Present.”  This course begins on campus familiarizing the participants to China past and present through a concentrated exploration of China’s history, current social and political structures, language, arts and culture. Then we embark on an intense program of field work visiting a range of historical, cultural, political, and economic sites. Each term is organized around a theme designed to open to examination deeper layers of Chinese history, daily life, and practices. Themes have included the Silk Road, Food Culture, “One Belt, One Road” (yi dai yi lu 一带一路) . This course gives students an opportunity to meet the complex of things that we often call China and the diversity of folk that we often term “the Chinese” in person.

Course Blog 2013