The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs

Kunming, Yunnan Province, China 

The Kunming IFP provides students a unique opportunity to explore environmental or minority issues in Yunnan Province, a region recognized for its rich ethnic and bio diversity.

The New School local partner in Kunming is the School for International Relations at Yunnan University (SIRYU), one of the oldest comprehensive universities in Southwest China. Like GPIA, SIRYU is a relatively new school (established in 2002) at Yunnan University and is considered a key national university that encompasses such disciplines as humanities, law, sciences, engineering, technology, management and arts. Currently there are 22,000 undergraduates, 5,160 graduates, 15,000 adult students, 320 international students, 1,400 teaching staff, 292 full professors, and 600 associate professors in 18 schools and 7 research institutes. SIRYU's primary purpose is "To cultivate it (SIRYU) into a training base for top-quality personnel in the field of international affairs and to make it a research base for first-class studies on international relations."SIRYU current consist of 98 graduate/PhD and 148 undergraduates.

Prof. Adriana Abdenur will be faculty coordinator for the 2009 Kunming IFP, and her spring course "Global and Gateway
Cities," which will include units on the urban environment and ethnicity in China, will be required for students going to Kunming.
Students should also take at least one semester of Mandarin Chinese. Prof. Abdenur will reside in Kunming for most of the summer, supervising student internships and leading seminars.

Proposed Outline of the Summer Program:

The program aims to provide the following learning opportunities, organized in three inter-connected phases:

1) Internships/Applied Research: In light of particular history and opportunities, GPIA and SIRYU have agreed to organize internship and applied research in two thematic areas: minority issues and the environment. SIRYU has extensive working arrangements with a wide range of local, national, and international organizations in Yunnan Province. Based on GPIA student backgrounds and interests, SIRYU will identify, arrange, and help supervise about 6 weeks of internships and applied research projects in Yunnan.

2) Basic Chinese Language Skills: Provide basic Chinese (Mandarin) language skills: 48 hours of intensive language classes (2 hours a day for four days a week)

3) Understanding Contemporary China: Selected Seminars: Organize eight carefully designed seminar-style lectures on contemporary China by prominent scholars and practitioners. This will be organized during the first two weeks. The following topics have been suggested: Contemporary Chinese History; Chinese Political System; Chinese Economic Development; Chinese Culture & Tradition; Chinese Nationalities/Minority Issues; Chinese Educational System; Chinese Foreign Policy/US Relations; and the Role of Emerging Civil Society.

Another important feature is to identify interested Chinese graduate students with knowledge of English from the SIRYU network in Yunnan University to pair up with New School students, especially to work on conducting research and internship projects involving minority and environmental issues. Such an arrangement would greatly help in addressing the communication challenge because most New School students will not have prior knowledge and skills in Chinese language and culture.

Housing and Food: Yunnan University offers very good housing facilities for international students. Each room has two beds, a desk, attached bath, television and telephone. On average, three meals a day in the university cafeteria would cost less than $5 per person. Plenty of western and international restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the campus.

Transportation: SIRYU will arrange for pick-up and drop-off at the Kunming International Airport. Local transporation - buses, bicyles, and taxis - is readily available and very affordable.

KUNMING 2009 GROUP PAGE