This past summer, RWC English Professor Rita Kumar visited China, to teach at Xi’an International Studies University (XISU) as a part of a Faculty Exchange Program. XISU is located in Shaanxi, China. During her stay, Kumar taught a graduate level literature course on contemporary short fiction across cultures. For the month of June, Kumar stayed four weeks, while teaching at the university. In addition, Dr. Kumar visited many of China’s tourist attractions.
Professor Kumar presented a Culturalogue at RWC on October 23, in which she described her experiences in China. Kumar mentioned some obstacles she faced, as a result of the inability to speak Chinese. Kumar compared this sense of inadequacy to the experience of ESL students who visit this country.
But this experience strengthened Professor Kumar, helping her to better understand the native culture and language of ESL students as they are exposed to a new linguistic cultural environment.
Kumar saw her teaching experience as a tremendous opportunity to understand first hand the Chinese culture, the different ways non-native speakers of English learn in the context of their own culture and how that compares to being engrossed in a fundamentally English speaking culture. Moreover, Kumar said her background as a teacher of World Literature and other sophomore literature courses focusing on China and other Asian countries helped her further enhance class discussions with the incorporation of Chinese literary texts.
Some highlights of the tourist attractions Kumar visited included the terracotta warriors, discovered in 1976 at the excavated burial site of the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty. An entire army with chariots and horses made of life size terracotta figures was buried at the site when the king died.
She also discussed Chinese food. In her explanation, she gave the sense that authentic Chinese food is far superior to Chinese food found in the United States. Chinese cuisine is characterized by its careful choice of color, flavor, and balance. One particularly attractive dish was actually jelly fish piled high in shiny clusters. The Tang Paradise Park in Xi’an, a park based on the Tang Dynasty theme, provided a wonderful treat of Chinese folk dance music and acrobatic performances. There was even a water screen movie.
In conclusion, Kumar’s visit to Xi’an has assured RWC’s partner university that the College is committed to faculty exchange for the benefit of both institutions.
A faculty member from XISU, Hu Xiaohua is currently teaching at the RWC campus for the academic year 2007-2008.