On Friday, December 4th, undergraduate Global Learning Semester students at Duke Kunshan paid a visit to the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, to discuss global public opinions on China. The trip represents a growing partnership between the two universities. Last year, the Fudan-Duke Center for Global Attitudes about Politics and Society was established to conduct research on China’s globalization and cultural trends.
The event was organized by Dr. Kang Liu, Professor of Chinese Cultural Studies at Duke Kunshan University and Duke University, and Dr. Guo Dingping, Professor of political science at Fudan University on behalf of the Fudan-Duke Center.
After a data-driven keynote speech by Dr Li Shoushi on how different countries view China, students from both universities gave brief presentations. Fudan University graduate students presented on topics ranging from Koreans’ views on China, Sino-European relations, to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) interactions with China. Duke Kunshan undergraduate Kang Yu presented the public opinion survey conducted on campus by students of Dr. Liu’s course. The survey was completed by the international student community at Duke Kunshan and showed interesting results, for example, the majority of the students believe that the Chinese government has become more democratic and plays an important part in enhancing people’s living standards. Meanwhile, the students also show their worry about many problems that may hinder China’s further development, such as the severe air pollution.
Students Presenting their research projects
‘I was honored to present our research project on behalf of our class at Fudan University. I am glad that our research, which aims to find out global public opinions on China, was well received by Fudan’s faculty and students. Similarly, they also reported their research results with focuses on European Unions, South Korea and so on,’ said Kang Yu, ‘Though the field trip lasted only half a day, it gave us a great opportunity to experience scholarly exchange across different institutions. And as a part of our course, the trip has brought us very valuable experiences that can only happen outside the classroom.’
Following the presentations was an open forum, which allowed both sides to engage and ask questions. Undoubtedly, the event proved to be a wonderful opportunity for Duke Kunshan and Fudan students to interact.
