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LIST OF RESPONDENTS
Johanna Armstrong
Dr. Patrick Henry
Dr. Pat Welter
Karen Jentz
Jim McNelly
Dr. Steve Philion
Dr. Malcolm Nazareth
Johanna Armstrong
Johanna Armstrong, at 15, began to study Chinese at St. John's Prep in 2006. The
next year, she went to China for a language-intensive study-abroad experience
for seven weeks living with a host family. Now a 17-year-old junior, she writes
monthly for the St. Cloud Times. She was recently featured in the news during
hunting season when a bullet mysteriously found its way into her bedroom in her
Clearwater home missing her by only half an hour.
Presentation summary: I picked up the Chinese language in late 2006 at my school, St. John's Prep,
with Eastern culture in mind, not really paying attention to the impact the
Chinese language was having on world politics and the future. Really, I just
wanted to know more about the people and the customs, so when the opportunity
for a Chinese language-intensive study-abroad came along, I jumped at the
chance. I guess I didn't fully consider the minute amount of Chinese I knew, or
the amount of everyday Chinese customs I was familiar with (which was next to
nothing), but I was certainly made aware of it upon meeting my Chinese host
family. It was brought to my attention that, when faced with a situation I
wasn't accustomed to (such as eating squid on a stick), I could just say that it
wasn't my custom to eat it. Of course, I didn't realize the connotations "not
accustomed to" had with "not comfortable with," and the similarities it had with
"not liking," so my attempts at getting out of undesired situations were only
made extremely awkward by my inability to express gentle negations.
Which brings
me to my point: Subtle cultural differences, such as how we phrase things, how
we eat, what we watch on TV, how the family unit functions, and how education
functions, while difficult to find online when you don't know what you're
looking for, ultimately has a profound difference in your experience in China or
with Chinese people when you understand. The language barrier isn't what's
difficult, it's getting past cultural nuances, which extend beyond traditional
customs we hear about in History class, and into modern day Chinese TV shows,
home kitchens, and schools. I was sixteen years old trying to function alone in
Beijing with a host family that relied heavily on crazy electronic dictionary
translations, while struggling through a rigorous seven week Chinese course that
often sent us into the city to find our way without maps. With this experience,
I hope to offer a unique look at modern China and Chinese, something, I learned,
you can't just Google.
Dr. Patrick Henry
Presentation summary:
Dr. Pat Welter
Presentation summary:
Karen Jentz
Karen is a member of the Baha'i Community of St. Cloud. She, her husband Jeff, and their three then teenagers lived, taught English, and studied in southeastern China from 1998-2000.
Presentation summary:
Jim McNelly
Presentation summary: "The Tao of Modern China, a Foot in the Past while Stepping into the Future".
As a Religious Studies Major who has read many of the works of Kung
Fu Tzu , Lao Tzu and practiced the I-Ching for many years, my 14
trips to China since 1999 have given me perhaps a unique perspective
on the transition of religion in China from the old order of "six
boys and six girls" in a "proper family structure" to "one child -
one family." I can share examples how my modest understanding of
Chinese religious traditions have given me valuable insight into
modern Chinese cultural business practices. Of particular interest
to me is how the issue of population control contrasts with the old
order and is a challenge to the Western World, singularly exemplified
women's reproductive rights at the UN Women's Conference in Beijing
at Tiananmen Square was fully about? The political spin I am
regularly told by many intellectuals in China is that the protest
traditional ways of unlimited childbirths, and that the Chinese
people understand that their population must be brought under control
if their culture is to survive".
I believe that we in the West should be aware that our media and
political interests can generate propaganda concerning the "Human
Rights" issues in China just as certainly as the closed political
system in China can spin twists and perspectives on the "Religious
Rights" issue in their media. More importantly, what can we learn in
the West from China regarding the largely taboo western subject of
population control? This impacts the question of my environmental
consulting business, "What can be done as China's overpopulation
crisis potentially devastates their culture with resulting
environmental pollution problems, particularly water shortages and
desertification?" What service can environmentalists in the USA
provide China to help keep their civilization intact as the world
deals with the impact of the great global quality of life equilibrium
caused by modern trade practices. Must the quality of life in the
West decline as we become increasingly "One World" or can the quality
of life in China be improved in a way that is sustainable for future
generations?
What exactly might a "sustainable civilization" look like?
As one might say, "Water on the mountain brings good
fortune. Perseverance favors our undertakings."
Dr. Steve Philion
Stephen Philion, assistant professor of sociology at SCSU, lived for a period
of 5 years in Taiwan and almost 2 years in Mainland China researching the impact
of privatization (and more broadly globalization) on workers across the Taiwan
Straits. He has spent much time interviewing laid-off workers and labnor
movement organizers-supporters throughout Mainland China. He is currently
writing a book, titled, Workers Democracy and China's Transition from State
Socialism, which will be published by Routledge in 2008.
His webpage can be found at http://stephenphilion.efoliomn2.com
Presentation summary: Dr. Philion will make a response to Dr. Zheng's presentation
Dr. Malcolm Nazareth
Presentation summary: The executive director of UNIITE will respond to Dr. Zheng's
presentation.
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