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Fellowships for Chinese studies and travel for 2008-2009 have been awarded to four scholars in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences through the Grier/Woods Presbyterian China Initiative.
The initiative, administered by the Carolina Asia Center, aims to further develop Chinese studies through faculty support, language instruction and study abroad opportunities. It was created through a gift to UNC in 2004 from Amy Woods Brinkley, a 1978 Carolina graduate, and her husband, Robert G. Brinkley of Charlotte.
Two fellowships in Chinese studies were given to faculty pursuing research projects on China-related topics. Two travel awards went to faculty who will travel to China to enhance curriculum development by broadening or deepening their expertise on the country.
The fellowship recipients are:
- Wendan Li, department of Asian studies, “Chinese Writing and Calligraphy.” Li will work on a manuscript for a book entitled, Chinese Writing and Calligraphy. The book will offer a description of Chinese brush writing and the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy. It will describe calligraphy in its cultural, historical and philosophical dimensions. The book is written specifically for Western learners with little or no previous knowledge of the Chinese language. It is designed to fit a course at the college level.
- Yan Song, department of city and regional planning, “Effect of Decentralization of Industrial Employment on Job Access of Rural Migrants in Urban China.” Many Chinese cities have established industrial parks that are far from existing city centers. As a result, jobs have relocated from old urban areas to the newly developed areas. This project will examine the responses of the workers, especially the rural migrants, to their employer’s relocation. While rural migrants live in urbanizing villages that are close to city centers due to institutional constraints, Song seeks to understand how the decentralization of industrial employment affects job access by rural migrants. Specifically, she will explore patterns in the distribution of responses across urban households and rural migrants.
The travel award recipients are:
- Yi Zhou, department of Asian studies, “Teaching Business Chinese.” Zhou seeks to develop a new advanced course, taught in Chinese and entitled “Business Chinese.” This course will address a curricular need for advanced study geared toward students who have studied Chinese for three years. While enhancing students’ oral, reading, writing and socio-linguistic skills, it will inform students of the recent economic reforms in China, provide understanding of entry strategies by global companies and Chinese approaches to organizational leadership and management, and Chinese perceptions of globalization.
- Robin Visser, department of Asian studies, “Sustainable Chinese Aesthetics.” Chinese traditional aesthetics in painting, poetry, architecture, garden and urban design prefigure one of the essential concerns of sustainability — harmony between humans and nature (tianren heyi). Renewing the spiritual and social principles inherent in classical aesthetics (disparaged under Maoist socialism and post-socialist neo-liberalism) can guide the just and sustainable application of science, technology and economic development. Visser’s research investigates two developments in the relationship between the environment and Chinese aesthetics: the renewed contribution of the arts in raising public consciousness of environmental issues, and case studies of sustainable development by architects and planners who draw upon classical Chinese aesthetic principles.
“The demand for information and teaching about China has increased substantially in recent years,” said Kevin Hewison, director of the Carolina Asia Center and a professor in the department of Asian studies. “These awards ensure that Carolina faculty are able to effectively respond to this demand.”
