Continuing a commitment to creating opportunities for diversity and inclusion, a faculty member at Indiana University of Pennsylvania has created a year-long bilingual forum for students, faculty, and the Indiana community.
Shijuan (Laurel) Liu, a faculty member teaching Chinese in the IUP Department of Foreign Languages, has organized eight dual language speakers to discuss their experiences in China and America.
Liu said that the goal of the programming, which began October 14, is to expose the IUP and Indiana community to Mandarin Chinese language and culture.
Eight different IUP professors from various disciplines will present for 90 minutes on topics of their choice. Content could range from their experiences in America to traveling and studying in China to their research projects.
All programs are free and open to all.
The remaining lectures for the fall 2019 semester are:
Seeyin Lo, Department of Music, October 27, 6:30–8:00 p.m., G41 Stephenson Hall
Xi Wang, Department of History, November 3, 6:00–8:30 p.m., G41 Stephenson Hall. Wang will present a bilingual forum talk from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. followed at 7:30 p.m. by a lecture presented in English on “McCarthyism: History and its Implications.”
Yongtao Cao, Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, November 10, 6:30–8:00 p.m., G98 Wallwork Hall
Francis Allard, Department of Anthropology, November 11, 6:00–7:30 p.m., G41 Stephenson Hall
Xinwen Wu, Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, November 17, 6:30–8:00 p.m., G98 Wallwork Hall
The fall semester programming concludes on December 8 with Shujie Sun, a visiting scholar from Hebei University, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in G98 Wallwork Hall.
Hao Tang, Department of Chemistry, and Lei Hao, Department of Food and Nutrition, presented the first and second programs for the fall semester.
Programs for the spring semester will be announced as events are finalized.
During spring 2020, the IUP Department of Foreign Languages is offering an elementary Chinese language course for beginners and a course for intermediate learners, “Travel in Chinese.”
Liu was motivated to organize the speakers, “because I want students to have more opportunities to connect with other Chinese people and learn the culture. Chinese children living in the area don't have a wealth of chances to be exposed to the language and to folks from their culture and heritage. This venue provides that opportunity to all levels of students, from kindergarten through college.”