American Scholars Examine the State of American Studies in China: The report of a delegation of American scholars—predominantly historians—to the People’s Republic of China has been published by the National Academy Press. The delegation sponsored by the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People’s Republic of China (a creation of ACLS, NRC, and SSRC) and assisted by the United States Information Agency, was charged wtth investigating the state of American Studies in China. The report represents a bold step toward further cementing links between China and the US; it contains factual information and recommendations for further action that should prove useful to anyone interested in the Chinese educational system.
The report, American Studies in China, details a month-long fact-finding tour of Chinese universities and research institutions, outlining programs in history, literature, and political science, and offering specific recommendations for improving the quality of American Studies in China. One fundamental conclusion emerging from the tour was the fact that the very conception of what constitutes American Studies differs between the two countries, for whereas in the US it is essentially an interdisciplinary approach to the history and culture of the US, in China, American Studies denotes a more traditional, subject-by-subject analysis of the US.
However, Chinese educators appear to be attempting to restructure American Studies programs to reflect the American conception of the topics. The main stumbling blocks to developing an American-style curriculum in American Studies are therefore logistical rather than perceptual: library resources are slim and for the most part closed to undergraduates; the pool of experts remains somewhat limited; and, despite the revival and expansion of the Fulbright Program to China, exchanges of scholars and students between the two countries are still circumscribed. (In 1982-83, the AHA solicited donations of continuous runs of the American Historical Review for shipment to universities in the People’s Republic of China. Funded by the USIA, the AHA is again soliciting consecutive runs of the AHR for a second shipment to the People’s Republic of China in December 1985. For further information contact Ms. S.P. Banks, American Historical Association, 400 A St. SE, Washington, DC 20003.)
For further information, or for copies of the report, contact National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., Washington, DC 20418. Members of the delegation included: John William Ward (Chair), Kai T. Erikson, John Lewis Gaddis, Herbert G. Gutman, Mary Kelley, Lawrence Levine, Kenneth Lieberthol, Leo Marx, Nell Irvin Painter, Robert Salisbury, and Alan Trachtenberg.
Conferences Upcoming: The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Embassy in collaboration with the Temple-Balch Center for Migration Research will sponsor a conference on “Societies in Transition: Italians, Americans, and Italian-Americans in the 1980s,” to be held at the Balch Institute, October 11 and 12, 1985.
The purpose of the conference is to provide a forum for the discussion of recent changes in Italian, American, and Italian-American society and to consider evolving relationships among these groups. The conference will feature panels on comparative demographic trends in the US and Italy, the changing role of women, immigration, Italian community settlements in the US and Canada, and economic and ethnic business in the Italian-American community, with noted participants from Italy and the US.
New President of the Spencer Foundation: The Board of Directors of the Spencer Foundation of Illinois has announced the election of Lawrence A. Cremin as president of the Foundation. It was effective April 18, 1985. Lawrence Cremin will hold the presidency of the Foundation concurrently with his university position as the Frederick A.P. Barnard Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Former Foundation president H. Thomas James retired after serving fifteen years.
