Bathing in Chinese language and culture
In the wake of expanding globalization, the new director of Harvard’s Chinese Language Program is prepping the University’s next generation of students to compete in an international arena increasingly dominated by the growing economic and military power of China. That road to competitiveness, she says, requires both linguistic and cultural expertise. “America’s well-being is tied to the role that China plays in today’s world, and so learning its language — but also its culture — is so important,” said Jennifer Li-Chia Liu, who is focusing on those topics to help develop an increasingly integrated pedagogy within Harvard’s curriculum. “I want to break the boundaries to see how language instruction can be part of the foundational tools of all pursuits.” Liu’s innovative approach builds on the efforts of Diana Sorensen, Harvard’s dean of arts and humanities, who has expanded the language curriculum in recent years to include bridge courses that connect Harvard’s language offerings...