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UM Students to Join Chinese Peers in Cultural Exchange July 11 to Aug. 10
June 29, 2007
OXFORD, Miss. - The son of American missionaries, Graham Purcell grew up in Russia. Now the University of Mississippi student looks forward to visiting communist China.
"It will be interesting for me to see and compare the effects communism had on Russia and continues to have on China," said the 21-year-old political science student from Louisville.
Purcell is one of 11 UM students scheduled to participate in the Trent Lott Leadership Institute's Young Leaders International Exchange Program to China, July 11 to Aug. 10. The students join 11 of their counterparts from Nanjing University in Nanjing, China, for a cultural exchange aimed at promoting greater international understanding for students at both universities.
"I am thrilled about this opportunity," Purcell said. "It's an excellent opportunity for all of us to broaden our horizons. Being able to see the Chinese culture, geography and religion and how it plays in their everyday lives is priceless."
The two university groups gather first on the Ole Miss campus for orientation, discussions and lectures on the current political, economic and social situation in the world. The group then embarks on a two-and-half week excursion across the South before arriving in Washington, D.C., where they plan to visit significant historic sites. Participants spend the second half of their cultural exchange overseas.
"Similar trips are organized by the partner institutions in their own country," said Bill Gottshall, executive director of the Lott Institute. "The tour in China includes tours of the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. By making visits to key cultural, political and industrial centers, it is our hope to create more well-rounded leaders in the future."
China is included in the bilateral international exchange program as it emerges as a world political, diplomatic and economic power. While the media often describes China as a rising global power that threatens the security interests of the U.S., UM history professor Joshua Howard hopes the trip may broaden that perspective. Howard has extensively researched the history of China.
"I don't want to make our students become panda huggers, but at the very least they may come to see China more as a challenge than a threat," Howard said. "I'm excited that Ole Miss students will be learning about China and forging lifelong friendships with their Chinese counterparts in the process of becoming global citizens."
Organized around the twin themes of civic globalization and multiculturalism, the exchange program is intended to do just that - establish lifelong friendships that stand to enhance a student's understanding of the world, said Bill Gottshall, executive director of the Lott Institute.
"Bringing students from other parts of the world to interact with our students at Ole Miss provides a tremendous learning opportunity," said UM Chancellor Robert Khayat. "Then to have our students travel abroad to raise their awareness of global issues will certainly help prepare them to become tomorrow's world leaders."
Other participants include Lott Leadership scholars Shellie Bailey and Melissa Cole of Jackson, Vincent Chamblee of Fulton, Joshua Cox of Bogue Chitto, James McGraw of Oxford and McDaniel Wicker of Tupelo. Rounding out the Ole Miss group are Erin Callahan of Ocean Springs, Melissa Green of Oxford, Daniel Jackson of Brookhaven and Thomas Weldy of Brandon.
For more information, call 662-915-3189. To learn more about the Lott Leadership Institute, visit
http://www.lottinst.olemiss.edu
by Tobie Baker
Newsdesk Story #6278 |
