China Semester officially underway
Dr. Shaomin Li presents the China Semester lecture, “Why China Thrives Despite Corruption” Tuesday in Webster Hall auditorium. Li discussed China’s economic growth in a government-controlled system.
The Missouri Southern volleyball team kicks off next week’s China Semester activities when the players describe the experience of touring China and exploring Shanghai and Beijing. The program begns 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5 in at Webster Hall.
“Indescribable,” said Sarah Joles, junior, undecided major. Joles is just one of the volleyball team members who will be speaking to students on Wednesday.
“I remember seeing the city and thinking it was endless,” said Cherie Baugh, junior biology major. “It looked almost like something out of a comic book.”
Dr. John Kennedy, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, will be speaking at 9:00 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7 in Webster Hall Auditorium. The lecture is titled Two Worlds, Single Country: The Rural and Urban Divide in China. Kennedy will discuss differences between two very different areas of China, and the current divide growing between them. Kennedy will return to Webster Hall at 10:00 a.m. for his lecture, Democratizing or Legitimizing the Authoritarian Regime: Political Reform in China since 1989. Listeners will hear how much the political system of China has transformed in the past 20 years.
“The most important point I hope to make is that the political and social changes occurring in China today are very complex and there is no simple singular explanation,” Kennedy said.
The China semester marks the tenth anniversary of Missouri Southern State University’s themed semesters. The first China semester was in 1997.
“You can’t argue about the importance of China in the 21st century,” said Dr. Chad Stebbins, Director of the Institute of International Studies and member of the China Semester planning committee. “China is now more open to trade in the West and interested in improving its image. When China hosts the 2008 Olympics the whole world will be watching.”
Stebbins said students should attend the more than 30 free events scheduled during the China semester.
“There is more to college than just classes,” said Stebbins. “This is an opportunity that may never come again, to learn about China from the experts.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Missouri Southern State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
