GETTING STARTED

A little bit about the program

The primary purpose of this program is to develop students’ Chinese language and intercultural communication skills so that they are proficient enough to carry out further independent and collaborative scholarship—research, education, or service—on/about/of human ecology in Chinese-speaking East Asia (i.e., mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Tibet). Students will learn enough Chinese to reach a functional intermediate level–with an emphasis on conversational proficiency—that will allow students to continue learning the language independently (particularly for those who wish to achieve a higher degree of functional literacy). By the end of the program, students should be able to negotiate and foster relationships with host country nationals in regard to independent scholarship. A related goal is to develop students’ intercultural competence and their understanding of theories, philosophies, empirical evidence, and practice that inform intercultural education, in and beyond formal educational institutions. During the first few weeks, Suzanne Morse provided additional faculty support during the critical first weeks of the program and helped us to understand the human ecology of food and food systems in Taiwan as an integral element of our collective experience and to support those students who may wish to carry out independent studies related to food or agricultural production.