The Office of China Programs and the Asian Studies Center will be hosting a forum for those of you with students in China this fall semester. It will be on August 25 (Tuesday) from 2:00-3:30 pm EDT. This forum will be a discussion, and the goal is to raise awareness about the context in China: considerations in regard to technology, state surveillance, and access, potential risks for our MSU students taking virtual classes, and the general political/cultural context. The goal is not to promote self-censorship or advise on content but rather to raise awareness and share perspectives. We hope to accomplish our goal through open dialogue - we do not expect to have all of the answers, but we do hope to facilitate productive discussions.
This forum will be facilitated by Dr. Aminda Smith from the MSU History Department. Dr. Smith is not only an expert on modern China, she also has years of practical experience teaching in China, at MSU with many students from China in her classes, and virtually (even pre-COVID) with students from China taking the classes.
Please review the forum agenda and registration information below.
Forum for Faculty with Students in China: Navigating Teaching Online
August 25, 2:00-3:30 pm EDT
Zoom Virtual Meeting
2:00-2:05 Welcome from Dr. Xinyu Wu, Office of China Programs (OCP)
2:05-2:10 Welcome from Dr. Siddharth Chandra, Asian Studies Center
2:10-2:20 Introductory Remarks, Dr. Aminda Smith
2:20-3:30 Open Discussion/Q&A, Moderated by Ms. Jennifer Wargo (OCP), Facilitated by Dr. Aminda Smith
If you are interested in attending this forum, please register here. After you register, we will send you the Zoom meeting link and password.
For some pre-reading to help understand the complexity of the situation, please consider reading some of these articles and statements:
- Association for Asian Studies, "AAS Statement Regarding Remote Teaching, Online Scholarship, Safety, and Academic Freedom", July 23 2020
- New York Times op-ed, "Why Is China Coming After Americans Like Me in the U.S.?", August 10, 2020
- The Sydney Morning Herald, "China 'exporting CCP speech controls to Australia' as second university caught in row", August 5, 2020
