Thanks to a large grant from the Freeman Foundation, Lawrence will be offering the chance for students to participate in one of three study tours of Asia. Each tour will focus on a different departmental specialization or theme related to studies of Asia.
The grant of $1.5 million will provide airfare, lodging, and meals for the trip. The students selected will only be responsible for visa and insurance fees, as well as personal spending cash.
This grant is the second largest in Lawrence’s history and is meant to enhance understanding of Asian perspectives through departmental focuses. It also supports Lawrence’s first full-time hiring of a tenure-track Japanese language instructor and will pay the position’s salary for four years.
The first tour, “Classical Gardens of China and Japan,” to Nara/Kyoto, Japan and Shanghai/Suzhou, China will take place March 18-28, 2004.
The tour requires students to have taken at least two East Asian foundation courses. These courses include East Asian Traditional Civilization, East Asian Classics in Translation, Seminar in Chinese Literature, and East Asian Religious Traditions. Language courses in Japanese or Chinese and experience in art and aesthetics will add weight to applications and increase the likelihood of selection.
The first informational meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 15 to discuss this particular trip. The application deadline for this trip is Oct. 31 and notification of selection is scheduled for Nov. 10. For more information on this trip contact professors Frank Doeringer, Peter Peregrine, Kuo-ming Sung, or Jane Parish Yang.
The “Linguistics and Religious Studies Study Tour” to Tibet is Aug. 7-20, 2004, and focuses on Asian languages and religious traditions.
The program requires different qualifications for those interested in the religious studies aspect versus the linguistics aspect. Students interested in linguistics need to have completed the Introduction to Linguistics class as well as an East Asian linguistics, syntax, or phonology class.
The religious studies section of the trip requires both the Buddhism class and the Systems of Buddhist Philosophy class.
Both groups strongly recommend the East Asian Traditional Civilizations and/or East Asian Religious Traditions courses. Preference will be given to Religious Studies and Linguistics majors and minors.
The application deadline is Dec. 1, with notification scheduled for the first week of winter term. For more information, contact professors Kuo-ming Sung, Dick Vorenkamp, or Ruth Lunt-Lanouette.
The third study tour offered is “The Economic and Political Development of Greater China.” It will take place in late August and early September of 2004.
This 14-day trip requires one of the following six courses: Political Economy of East Asia, Politics and Government of China, Global Economic Relations, Economic Development, Urban Economics, or International Economics. Related courses will factor into the decision.
This trip’s deadline is also Dec. 1, with notification by the first week of winter term. Informational meetings for the last two tours will be scheduled in the near future.