Bulldogs at Beida: An Interview with Charles Laughlin

Photo Courtesy of Karen Zhang. Charles Laughlin is the resident director of the Yale Joint Undergraduate Program in Beijing.

KZ: How important do you think Yale students' communication with their roommates is to their understanding of China?

CL: To tell you the truth, I couldn't imagine how well they would get on with their Chinese friends until I saw their intense interactions, whether hanging out or just sitting around and chatting in the dorm. Yuanpei students not only helped them adapt to the new environment, but also they became their best friends. We did a very "superficial" thing, actually-we asked Yuanpei students not to take many subjects, so that they would have more time for our students. It was a little unfair, but it worked out excellently. Because they shared rooms together, the students from Yale and Beida were quite familiar with each other. Through everyday contact, our students had a better understanding of what Chinese students are thinking about, how they value their lives and the world, etc. They got to know the real China. It was far better than taking lectures given by Chinese professors; life experience is always the best stuff for knowledge.

KZ: Have students gotten involved in the associations that Beida is famous for?

CL: Yes, they did. We had Yuanpei students recommend suitable associations for them in advance and quite a lot of them joined one or two of these, as a way of improving their campus lives. To make them more comfortable, we buy them memberships to the gym so that they can work out, as well as take martial art classes if they want.

KZ: Besides extracurricular activities, such as travel and associations, what are their studies in Beida like? What courses do they take, and are there any requirements?

CL: They all take Chinese Language classes, but only for an hour or so a day. The language classes are working better than last semester, since the students who have already learned Chinese before coming to Beida have made significant progress in their language skills, perhaps a result of their daily practice with their roommates. As for their other classes, we gave them no requirements-they could choose what they want from among the courses in the program. Although most of them chose classes taught by Yale professors, they also had options such as "Traditional Chinese Philosophy" and "Introduction to Chinese Economy," both of which are taught by Peking professors. But they were never required to take certain subjects. In fact, fewer students this time took classes by Yale professors than did last year.

KZ: I audited your class, which was about modern art in Beijing, last semester, and I have discovered that many other courses are more or less related to Beijing, China, or the mutual relations of China and America, which are quite common subject matters in cross-cultural programs. What do you want to achieve in these classes?

CL: We do often have comparative themes and topics in our classes, but the courses are rarely defined as bicultural. We did try to incorporate material about China in courses about Europe and America last semester, but I have to say that only works well when the professor is a China scholar. This program between two universities is unique because it's far from just a language learning program. At Yale, we have plenty of opportunities funded by alumni to help students study Chinese language in China. Rather, the program serves the mission of presenting the real China, not only what China offers our students. In that way, we can organize students to watch American culture exhibitions in the Chinese Art Museum as a way for them to perceive what America is like through Chinese eyes. Very often, people cannot understand why they are regarded this way but not that way, which is partly due to their over-confidence about themselves and insufficient attention to others.

KZ: Is that why students do not only take Chinese language lessons, but also have a variety of other subject matters to choose from?

CL: Absolutely right. There is no need to sit there and study only about China. Next semester, the 2008 spring one, we will have three more Yale faculty members coming to Beida, who are devoted to music, sociology and modern history of Chinese, and we are trying to engage more professors from hard science fields such as physics, chemistry etc. to teach here. This way, our students can take lectures as they do at Yale, but the only difference will be that they have changed their environment, they are in China.

This is the major difference compared with other similar programs, which are all about China. We emphasize experiential learning to complement academic or book learning. The students are in China, in Beida, and among Yuanpei students, which educates them about China subconsciously in many ways. We do want to make the learning natural, rather than simply teaching them what books said, what teachers said about China. I remembered one of them went to an activity for teaching in poor areas and sending gifts to kids. After he came back, he told me, "Now I've seen the real China". So they have their own ways to see the real China, and that is our ultimate goal. Each of them tried their best to have a comprehensive understanding of China as soon as they arrived by traveling to other cities or talking with the populace, if they could.

KZ: To summarize, what would you say is the purpose of the program?

CL: I would say that it is to open the door of China. Because of China's amazing, growing economy, many people, including Yalies, are crazy about China. Americans simply associate China with making lucrative, profitable careers, sometimes akin to prospecting for gold. This opportunity to live in Beida, to live with Beida students, feeds their curiosities and provides them with a real image of China.