Spring 2007 Roster

The “Beijing Program of Asian Studies,” the full name of my program, was established in the mid 1980's as a cooperative program between Peking University and American University. The program is now open to students from other universities, hence the smattering of students from such exotic locales as Boston College, Kenyon College, Linfield College, and Miami University of Ohio.

The program offers a language component, and several “regular” classes structured like an average American University course–that is, reading, class discussion, and a midterm examination and final paper, or perhaps two term papers. The courses are all conducted in english, and the professors are all Peking University professors. As for me, I’m taking Chinese language, Chinese Political Reforms, China in the Global Economy, and Sino-U.S. relations.

Chinese language is, as you might expect, the toughest for me. I don’t have a natural serious aptitude for learning languages, so it’s hard work. Compared to Spanish, say, I worked out it is, mathematically, three times as hard. Spanish, you learn the language Spanish to English, and English to Spanish. With Chinese, because the language is written using characters that bear no relation to a word’s pronunciation, you learn English to Pinyin (pronounced), English to Character (written), Pinyin to English, Character to English, and Pinyin to Character, Character to Pinyin. Thus, with six linkages, instead of two, it is three times as difficult. At least that’s how I justify it!

The other classes are fine, insightful, and interesting to hear. Chinese Political Reforms is taught by a professor who is a full fledged member of the Chinese Communist Party, a notion that made me laugh immediately. On a more sobering note was his warning not to publish or attribute anything he said in class, in the event the authorities read the discussions. While freedom of discussion was something he valued on campus and in the classroom, he noted it may not be fully acceptable in the “real world.” Sobering indeed. The other two classes are routine, if insightful, looks at China’s emergence as a global economic power and accession into the World Trade Organization, complete with case studies and exposure to various economic theories; and a look at contemporary Sino-U.S. relations with an emphasis on the past two hundred years of history, and how it helped form the current Chinese attitudes to the United States.