-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Nishan Confucian Studies Summer Institute
Resent-Date: 	Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:34:36 +0000 (GMT)
Resent-From: 	<[log in to unmask]>
Date: 	Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:34:13 +0000
From: 	Beiwai Cewr <[log in to unmask]>
To: 	Beiwai Cewr <[log in to unmask]>

Dear friends and colleagues,


Please consider the following opportunity and help us distribute this
information to any of your colleagues who may benefit from it.


*****


We are please to introduce the Second Annual Confucian Studies Summer
Institute at the Nishan Birthplace of the Sage Academy in Shandong,
China, June 9 to July 7, 2012.



This month-long training program for teachers of Chinese culture (and
select graduate students) will be led by professors Roger T. Ames
(University of Hawaii), Sor-hoon Tan (National University of Singapore)
and Tian Chenshan (Beijing Foreign Studies University), with a special
series of lectures by Henry Rosemont, Jr. (Brown University). Our time
together will revolve around careful and critical readings of classical
texts and contemporary commentaries, seminars, discussion groups,
cultural events and activities, and a number of field trips.



Given China’s rapid political and economic rise, anticipating the weight
and measure of China’s growing influence has become a serious academic
concern. To meet this urgent situation effectively, scholars must not
only be aware of current affairs, but must also be sensitized through
exposure to canonical texts and their interpretive contexts to take
Chinese culture on its own terms. The purpose of this program is to read
such texts carefully and make them our own.



Because Chinese works have so often been read through the lens of
western presuppositions, careful attention to the linguistic, cultural,
and philosophic context in which the classics were written is key to
understanding what makes these works distinctively Chinese. The
challenge is to develop an interpretive approach which allows western
scholars and students to recognize the common sense of ancient China,
and yet does not subsume Chinese thinking within the familiar categories
of western discourse. Beyond the technical questions of scholarly
engagement, gaining familiarity with the deep cultural background
enables us to better comprehend contemporary China and its social and
political ambitions.



Our unique location beside Mt. Nishan, the birthplace of Confucius,
affords us a great opportunity to immerse ourselves in the study of
ancient Chinese thought. At the forefront of the burgeoning revival of
traditional culture, the newly built Nishan Birthplace of the Sage
Academy sits just one thousand meters from the ancient Confucian Academy
where over the centuries scholars, officials, and emperors came to
pursue knowledge and wisdom and pay respects to the Great Sage. This
area has been known as a holy place of learning for many generations,
and we are pleased to carry on this educational tradition.



Following the success of the First Annual Confucian Studies Summer
Institute last year, we are excited about extending and deepening the
opportunity to pursue a close reading of these rich materials and share
them with scholars who will in turn share them with their own students.
We welcome and encourage teachers of Chinese culture to join us this
Summer for a unique and enriching educational experience right at the
heart of traditional Chinese culture.



For more information please contact us at:


*Phone*: 86-10-8881-5305



*Email*:  [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or  [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>__

_
_

*Address*:           Center for East-West Relations

Beijing Foreign Studies University

2 Xisanhuan Beilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100089

China



*Website*: http://cewren.user.d-jet.com/list.aspx?cid=12



Sponsors of this event include:

Center for East-West Relations, Beijing Foreign Studies University

Nishan Birthplace of the Sage Academy

Beijing Sihai Confucian Academy

School of Chinese Classics, Wuhan University

Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies, Shandong University School of
English

Beijing Foreign Studies University

Middlesex Community College









-- 
Dr Sarah Dauncey

Chinese Language Programme Director & Chinese Degree Tutor
Careers Officer & Alumni Liaison
School of East Asian Studies
University of Sheffield (Times Higher Education University of the Year)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/seas/

Honorary Secretary
British Association of Chinese Studies
http://www.bacsuk.org.uk/

6-8 Shearwood Road
Sheffield, S10 2TD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)114 22 28436
Fax: +44 (0)114 22 28432