I don't know that I could venture a guess as to how many students came to see my lecture (100? 200? More?). In any case, the lecture was a success. Travel advice and travel stories with a copious amount of pictorial evidence carried the day. I even managed to throw in a little bit of humor here and there. Quite a long way to come, for the boy who-- ( Read more... )

A word fatally re-purposed by its usage in feminism: chauvinism is due for a revamp.

When I was living in Turkey, my friends and I often saw examples of extreme patriotism (from Turks, Armenians, Cypriots, et al.) which served to hurt the Turks, Turkish neighboring countries,  and any chance to solve some of Turkey's most serious foreign policy ( Read more... )

I was quite interested to get a feel for the opinions of China's netizens about Osama's death. Chinasmack, as usual, obliged by providing a small sample. Some netizens celebrated the news (if not as ecstatically as the average American) or at least felt justice had been done on behalf of Al Qaeda's victims; others felt less happy.

Some fenqing ( ( Read more... )

For my fiancee and I, this weekend was not a time of rest. We had an important mission to accomplish: gathering proof of our (more than) three years spent together. Photos were Photoshopped to add time stamps--although why the US visa bureaucracy would accept time-stamped photos in the age of Photoshop is beyond my understanding. Receipts for ( Read more... )

One of my friends in Nanjing is an older American man--of nearly retirement age--with an amazing history. He formerly taught as a professor of Public Relations in Eastern Michigan University and Seton Hall. He worked for IBM for many years. He's done a little bit of many other things and had many successes, but never really found a place where he ( Read more... )

Of the many cultural gaps between China and the developed democracies, criticism may be the most difficult to bridge. I sometimes feel, however, that it should be among the first that we try to bridge. A conversation in which only positive strains are allowed is only half a conversation. The project of finding ways to unite humanity in solving its ( Read more... )

Ai Weiwei is quickly becoming the newest focal point in the war between the CCP and advocates of free speech for the Chinese people. Frankly, the actions of the government--destroying his art studio in Shanghai then shanghaiing him from a plane flight and drumming up fake accusations--have done more damage to their credibility as responsible ( Read more... )

I ran into a colleague from my university last weekend. One thing led to another --> I will be giving a lecture to several hundred students (she said as many as 400!) on a subject such as American university life or world travel. More information as it becomes available.

Conservatives, whether of the Chinese Communist or American Republican variations, can be strikingly alike. When I assigned my class to watch the film, Pleasantville, (as homework, what a kind teacher I am) I was not struck by the film's portrayal of a mythical, white, 1950's utopia which American conservatives work so hard to return the country to ( Read more... )

A topic that has come up again and again in Sinophile discussions is the question of whether China is an exceptional case (note: Americans also like to see themselves as exceptional, exempt from international norms), or whether the Chinese people also ascribe to "universal values". There are important questions to ask: Are "universal values" as ( Read more... )