Please share your thoughts on the experience of spending the summer in one of the world's most dynamic cities and countries. Some questions to consider:
-- China is in the news all the time. Our university library is filled with books and journals on China. Many of you have read several of them. Some of you have studied the language, culture, and history for years. A few have even visited China before. So, why did you need to go and live there for the summer? What did studying in China allow you to experience and grasp that would have been otherwise impossible? [Work on this answer, your parents probably have a version of the same question!]
-- What economic and cultural roles do Shanghai seem to play in China today? (Remember the debates among scholars and politicians over whether the city served as a catalyst for modernization or was a parasite, drawing precious resources from the hinterland and providing little in return.)
-- Where have you found "tradition" and "modernity" in Shanghai and in China? What is "traditional" and what is "modern" about the city and its people? How "global" is Shanghai? How is globalization affecting Shanghai and its people and how are they affecting the world?
-- How has economic change affected how people live? Beyond material circumstances, has it affected personal relations or norms of behavior? What do people say about the changes they have experienced? Has the media explosion affected what people think? Have new means of communication affected how people work and play?
You've gone to fascinating places, heard from local and international experts, worked on interesting projects, and have explored on your own. What moment/event/activity was most precious to you? (As a student or as a person?) What made it so?
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