A Blog on McConnell Center Life

By Gary Gregg, PhD McConnell Center Director What does it mean to be human? In one way or another almost every great piece of literature–from Homer's Odyssey to Shakespeare's Hamlet to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings– asks this basic question. Few authors are as overt in their raising this question than is Bernard Beckett in his 2006 novel Genesis (Mariner Books) . I recently picked up this slim volume because a friend suggested it as a modern companion to Plato's Republic .  Though what I found in the pages was not at all what I had expected from the description given, I did find a good read that raises profound questions for our age of the machine and the growing science of genetics. And, the final twists of the plot were worth every moment. The book takes place in a post-apocalyptic age. A plague has decimated the population of the planet except for a small island-nation led by a man who calls himself Plato. Plato builds a sea wall to protect his pe...

By Janna Imel, Class of 2014 Oftentimes, I look at my experience in China and I feel like I signed up for the "Biggest Loser."  Between eating healthy and going on various adventures with my class, I think I am getting in the best shape of my life.  We are currently in Beijing and today we climbed up a section of the Great Wall.  Pictures do not do the Great Wall justice.  Once you begin the trek up the wall, you immediately question how the soldiers could stand to climb to their posts each day.  The wall is much steeper than I imagined. Before Beijing, we visited Xian.  So far, Xian has been my favorite place we have stayed during our trip.  On our second day in Xian, we biked the 9 mile perimeter of the Xian City Wall.  The city wall provides an excellent view of Xian.  As we rode our bikes around the wall, many random people took our photos or flagged us down to be in photos with them.  It is becoming a normal daily occurrence to ...

By Sarah Stovall, Class of 2014 I would just like to start off with this sidebar: Mom and Dad, I know that you are reading this and I just want you to know that I am alive and well. I know that I have not really been in touch for the last three weeks, but that is only because I have been too busy exploring and adventuring. I have so many stories that I cannot wait to share with all the folks back home, but there are way too many to fit into one blog post. That being said, I have included several photos below that show some of the awesome experiences we have had over the last three weeks in Shanghai and Xi'an. I will add some photos from Beijing soon! A picture with our student guides from Shanghai Jiao Tong University at the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower on the Bund in Shanghai. It may be difficult to tell, but this is a picture of us playing an intense game of ultimate frisbee with our student guides from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Fuxing Park.  Before bik...

Juniors in Shanghai, April is 4th from the left. By Abeer Sikder, Class of 2014 Being in Shanghai has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. The city was extravagant, and full of modern culture. I really became used to living there and felt like I could stay my whole life. There are so many awesome things I miss about it already. But what I miss the most are the friends we made. Our guides and classmates have been so kind and caring. Although I only got to know them for a few days, they mean so much to me. They did everything for us and made our time very  enjoyable. While our group faced a number of cultural and linguistic barriers with our Shanghai pals, we found that they were a lot like us. They get bored in class (and even skip sometimes), text all the time, get flirty, and like to have fun. Even though we are from different parts of the world and have been brought up in very distinct environments, we really are all the same (as cheesy as it sounds). I wrot...

Meghan's picture of the pollution By Meghan Waters, Class of 2014 Most everyone has heard about the pollution problem in China.  Well my skin and lungs can attest to the fact that China has a terrible pollution problem.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not hunched over gasping for breath, but I can definitely notice a difference between our air quality and China’s. Our text for this trip (Susan Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower) talks a little bit about this issue, and we’ve discussed it in class with Dr. Hua and students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.  Here are a few facts that Susan Shirk shares: “According to environmental officials… acid rain is falling in one-third of the country, half of the water in its seven largest rivers is ‘completely useless,’ a quarter of China’s citizens lack access to clean drinking water, one-third of the urban population is breathing polluted air, and less than a fifth of the rubbish in cities is treated and processed in an ...

oSha Shireman By oSha Shireman, Class of 2014 On May 30th, we traveled to the Shanghai Museum. Here, we discovered the symbols and artwork of many centuries in China. One of the most interesting exhibits displayed was the clothing and attire of the ethnic minorities of China. A huge map of the geographical dispersion of the various groups revealed a large number of different ethnic groups. It was interesting to see the different clothing of groups based upon their geography. Groups with similar natural resources and similar climates produced similar cultural wear. This applies outside of China, as well. For example, clothing from a colder region in Tibetan provinces closely resembles that of the Laplander peoples in Northern Finland. During a break at the museum, a couple of us sat down for some tea. We tried both Pu'er Tea and MoLiChunHao Tea. Our new friend, Xia, a student guide, spent some time explaining examples of Chinese slang to us. After a few days with the student...

Jaymar Bonet By Jaymar Bonet, Class of 2014 This has only been the first week and I must say it has been an experience already. I am enjoying myself. We have already had class and gone to visit some places. Classes are intriguing. One of the books we are using is about how China is powerful but fragile. In the eyes of foreigners, China is powerful. We always hear about the Chinese, how smart they are and how they are on the rise overall. They are powerful internationally but fragile domestically. This concept has been one that has many factors and makes a lot of sense but I find the discussions most interesting. Dr. Hua has taught our first 3 classes and has left time at the end of lecture for us to have discussions with the Chinese students. We actually also have a student from Hungary, one from Japan and one from Taiwan so it is offering great insight. A topic that has come up was Chinese nationalism. Traditionally, Chinese nationalism is cultural and not political. It is more ...

Gary L. Gregg, PhD By Gary L. Gregg, PhD Director of the McConnell Center If you are going to be a leader in any society, circumstance or institution, it is crucial to understand the culture within which you and your followers will operate.   There are many aspects to culture which must be considered for effective leadership, but one the McConnell Scholars wrestled most closely with this spring semester was the division between those who believe in some kind of transcendent and objective moral order and those who do not.  Whatever your position on this great divide, if you are going to provide effective leadership you must understand where your followers fall and what arguments might move them your way. In our class this spring, we saw the position of moral relativism argued most strongly by Willie Stark, the Governor in Robert Penn Warren’s classic All the King’s Men .  We saw the opposite position in the natural law arguments of Martin Luther King, ...

Hunter Pittman By Hunter Pittman, Class of 2014 This morning I sat down at breakfast, which is large and delicious in Shanghai by the way, and since it was still very early only Dr. Hua and myself were present.  This was a very good opportunity to discuss a variety of topics with him.  One topic, which came up multiple times, was the value to be had from the varying experiences and locales we will visit in China.  So far we have only been in Shanghai, and as Dr. Hua pointed out it seems to be one of the most technologically advanced and cosmopolitan cities in the entire world, but this is not the real China.  While all 3 cities we will visit are relatively industrialized and include large urban areas, we will also see the countryside briefly during our trip.  Many would say that this is the real China.  Despite recent trends of urbanization and migrant workers moving to the cities from the countryside, nearly 60% of China’s population still lives in r...