The Drs. Charles C. and Maria S. Yu P83 Global Seminar
This seminar, taught at University of Tokyo, with students from Princeton and the University of Tokyo, focuses on developing an understanding of contemporary Japanese and Chinese societies—their histories, cultures, politics, and economies—through lectures, readings, discussions, and tours in Japan and Hong Kong. Excursions include and overnight trip to rural Japan to examine the role of population aging and rural depopulation on peripheral regions and a three-day trip to Hong Kong to experience a rapidly changing Chinese cultural setting.
If you have any questions, please contact Yan Bennett, [email protected].
What Our Students Have to Say
In Gansu, we visited Buddhist monks at the Labrang monastery and met Hui muslims in Lanzhou. While in Dunhuang, we visited the Mogao Grottoes,a series of manmade caves preserved by the arid climate of the Gobi desert, which house one of the largest collections of Buddhist art in the world. The grottoes were breathtaking and unlike anything I had ever seen in person before. Moreover, climbing the massive dunes of the Gobi was an experience unlike any I had prior. The desert was vast and the dunes were high beyond belief.The entire experience was surreal; it was also fully funded by the University. Attending the global seminar in China is one of the best choices I have made so far in my undergraduate career, and I strongly advise anyone interested in China to apply.
The Global Seminar in China was an unforgettable opportunity that allowed me to learn about and immerse myself in Chinese culture. From Professor Xie's insightful lectures to traveling around the country with Peking University students, this Global seminar was such a great summer experience.
My eye-opening experiences through the Global Seminar in Beijing broadened my perspectives and understanding of China and Chinese society. Leaving Beijing in August 2016, after making many friends at Peking University and through many excursions with throughout mainland China was not an end, but the beginning of a life long commitment to learn and engage China here at Princeton and in my future career as a diplomat.
The seminar lets you experience China in a way you'll never be able to in any other way. You go to class every day with some of China's brightest students and learn how they view their country. I found this more helpful in understanding how Chinese think and act than any reading or lecture on China I've attended at Princeton.
Global sem was by far my favorite summer during my Princeton years - we took lessons inside the classroom but the real learning was done through interacting with local students and absorbing the surrounding atmosphere. You get to spend six weeks bonding with a group of strangers who will become your family by the end of the trip. Given the opportunity, I would 100% do it again.