LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Chinese studies classes offered this fall are just part of a new University of Louisville initiative to globalize its liberal arts education.
U of L’s College of Arts and Sciences is bringing in two faculty members from Nankai University in China for visiting two-year terms to teach language and culture courses in its new Chinese studies minor. Classes this fall will include elementary, intermediate and advanced intermediate Mandarin Chinese language and two classes in English, “China through Film” and “Chinese Literature in Translation.” The college has also appointed a permanent, full-time faculty member from China for the program.
Benefits will extend beyond U of L. For example, one visiting professor will begin his days teaching Chinese at Atherton High School, a Jefferson County Public Schools magnet school for international studies, in addition to two U of L courses this fall as he begins his two-year appointment.
Wei Wei Zhang, a Nankai University professor who spent last spring at U of L through its Liberal Studies Project, has extended his stay through the fall and is expected to participate in some informal seminars.
Also proposed for the community are seminars and workshops offered in partnership with business-related and international groups and other organizations such as the Crane House Asian cultural resource center in Louisville.
University of Louisville also is exploring a study-abroad program with Nankai University, located in the port city of Tianjin southeast of Beijing. Nankai University has exchange and cooperative agreements with more than 100 overseas universities, and its language faculty has developed a model for teaching Chinese to non-Chinese students.
For more information, call Joy Carew, assistant to the dean for international programming in the College of Arts and Sciences, (502) 852-7523.