The University of Scranton took its student body and the local community on a tour of Asia during the 2010-11 academic year. Marketing its newest program, the Asian Studies Concentration, the University’s faculty organized a yearlong “Tour of Asia” — a series of activities focusing on educating the community about the political, economic, historical and cultural issues of Asian nations. Without ever leaving the campus, students and community members of Northeast Pennsylvania were given a taste of Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Philippines. The tour raised student and faculty awareness of the new concentration and benefited the community by providing cultural activities for local residents while including various cultural groups in the planning and performances. This year’s events have been all-inclusive: it has been University, community and world created, driven and attended.

Why Tour Asia?

In response to Asia’s emergence as a prominent actor on the world stage, the University created the Asian Studies Concentration. Ann Pang-White, Ph.D., program director of the University’s Asian Studies, expresses that the development of the concentration is both a natural and critical function of a vital liberal arts program seeking to prepare its students to interact in the global village. She passionately believes that the new concentration is necessary to the role of the University “to carry out the ideal of cura personalis and the magis by providing an educational environment that mirrors the real world so that it can prepare our students to be better world citizens and leaders of tomorrow.”

Sightseeing,Culture & History

Films, a photo exhibit, lectures, ethnic dance performances, calligraphy classes, martial arts classes and a Chinese New Year Party were a few of the activities that drew hundreds of participants. A Taiwanese Film Festival was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the University and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. University faculty members presented many of the lectures during the yearlong tour. Susan Trussler, Ph.D., and David Black, Ph.D., lectured on China, while William Parente, Ph.D., Kouji Kimura, Kihoon Kwon, Mary Anne Foley, Ph.D., Dr. Pang-White and Shushua Fan, Ph.D., gave presentations on post-World War II Japan and Korea. Abhijit Roy, Ph.D., gave a presentation on the Indian Festival of Color, Holi, a spring religious festival celebrated by Hindus. Culminating the India, Nepal and Bhutan month, the Asian Studies Concentration helped promote the University’s Education for Justice lecture “Building Bridges to Peace,” presented by Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, which drew an audience of more than 600 students and community members.

Food & Understanding

Food plays an important role in any culture as a converging point of the multifaceted cultural elements. During the Indian tour directed by Dr. Roy, fellow “travelers” had the opportunity to sample Indian cuisine such as jamun, mint chutney, samosa, rosogolla, gulab paneer pakora and vegetable pakora — foods consistent with vegetarian life style, which is based on the spiritual expression fulfilling Vedic law of non-injury.

April’s “Tour of Asia: The Philippines” was arranged with the cooperation of ARA, the University’s food service, to present a history of the Philippines through food. George Gomez, Ph.D., provided students with diverse Filipino food while explaining the historical influences on the cuisine. Dr. Gomez also teaches a travel course in the Philippines, Biology 295: Philippines Organisms and Eco-systems. He finds that “the island‘s varied geographical and cultural qualities provide students experiences with the eco-diversity, as well as the cultural diversity of the island.” Filipinos are of Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Arab descent. His contribution to the tour was a natural extension of his teaching and research in the Philippines.

Arts & Entertainment: Taiwan BangZi Opera

Another phase of the “Tour of Asia” was a cooperative effort between the University, community sponsors and the Taiwanese government. In April, the internationally renowned Taiwan BangZi Opera presented a hands-on demonstration and workshop entitled “Carnival of Chinese Opera” on campus. During three Chinese arias, the performers demonstrated the Chinese art of waving 2.7-meter sleeves while dancing, performing martial arts, walking and acting on stilts, and the use of a traditional 18- meter silk band to simulate flight. The carnival also provided the audience with traditional opera dance and martial art lessons and Chinese opera face painting. The workshop generated an enthusiastic response from the community. On the day of the carnival, the DeNaples Center was packed with hundreds of community members, children and students from the University, as well as several local, middle and high schools. The next day the opera company performed “Bond,” an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” from a Chinese perspective. The performance was presented free of charge at the Scranton Cultural Center and featured 40 performers, led by famed Hai-ling Wang, diva of Taiwan BangZi Opera, and a live Chinese orchestra.

Local Community: Nepalese/Bhutanese

Few people in Scranton are aware of the area’s growing Nepalese/Bhutanese community. More than 80 families have moved here from Bhutan, which could no longer sustain the Nepalese refugees, many of whom lived in Bhutan for more than 20 years. Members of the faculty and staff reached out to this new community to participate in the March tour. This Scranton group of Nepalese/Bhutanese brought an artifact display and gave a presentation about their countries and their cultures. Later that evening they performed a traditional dance. Their contribution provided those in attendance with a better understanding of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s newest community members. Their participation has opened a dialogue between the immigrant community and the University about how each can continue to reach out to the other.

Gifts:  Something to Bring Home

In addition to presenting educational and cultural programs, the Asian Studies Concentration has generated several community outreach programs. Among them is a Chinese language school under the direction of Dr. Fan of the University’s History Department. The Chinese school currently has 51 students from age 3 to 60 years old in five classes. There are two classes for children from Chinese-speaking families and three classes for children and adults from non-Chinese-speaking families. According to Dr. Fan, “this Chinese school is quite different from many of the weekend Chinese language schools across the United States because most other Chinese language schools are for children from Chinese-speaking families.”

Through funding by China’s Ministry of Education, Henan College sent two Chinese teachers to the University. One is taught Mandarin in the World Languages and Cultures Department and the other was assigned to the Abington Heights School District, a local school district in Clarks Summit. This collaboration allowed the University to share its resources with the greater community.

The Map for Touring Asia

University curricula evolve in order to reflect the changes in the world and to prepare students to deal with that world which technology has brought directly into our daily lives. We live in a global village where communication may be face-to-face, or perhaps it will be screen-to-screen. Whatever the means through which we interact, we must be able to understand and respect cultural differences in order to work together as agents of change. Globalization and interdependence are as ubiquitous to education as they are to economies and politics. The goal of learning is to empower individuals and prepare students “to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal education helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.”¹

The Asian Studies Concentration benefits “any student with an interest in fields such as government service, law, business, education, journalism, medicine, human resources and counseling.”² It also benefits everyone who wants to make the journey.

¹"What is Liberal Education?" Association of American Colleges and Universities. www.aacu.org/leap/what_is_liberal_education.cfm

²University of Scranton Undergrad catalog 2010-11