Administration
Santa Fe Career Services
St. John's College Summer Session in China
Study Chinese language and culture for eight weeks at Shanxi University
The community of St. John’s College is being offered a unique opportunity for Chinese immersion in a program specially designed for Johnnies, involving intensive classes in Chinese conversation, literature, calligraphy, and painting – and field trips to some extraordinary places.
The program is run, organized and hosted by Shanxi University; participants who have satisfactorily completed course requirements will receive a certificate of completion from Shanxi University. To learn more about Shanxi University please visit their website: http://www.sxu.edu.cn/english/. You will not receive any credit hours from St. John’s College nor can you use your Financial Aid awarded to SJC to pay for Shanxi University’s tuition. The program at Shanxi University is in no way affiliated with St. John’s College.
Founded in 1902, Shanxi University is one of the three oldest universities in China, located about 320 miles southwest of Beijing in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province. Taiyuan, birthplace of the Tang Dynasty, is an ancient but bustling city that is relatively off the beaten path, making it less expensive and with fewer tourists than Beijing, Shanghai, or Xian. Yet Shanxi holds 80% of China’s cultural relics and for much of its history was a crossroad for trade and cultural exchange between the north and south, and east and west. Modern Taiyuan is something of a boomtown, a large exciting city with some of the best restaurants in the world, every conceivable industry, and many fascinating and historical unexploited places to discover. The people tend to be warm, friendly, and idealistic – not at all like the aggressive money-makers that are prevalent in the commercialized, coastal cities.
Shanxi University is eager to cultivate a long-term relationship with the St. John’s community, and is open to designing follow-up courses in the future. The program being offered for summer 2009 has been tailored for Johnnies, with an emphasis on intensive study of modern Chinese and an orientation towards literary, philosophical, and cultural interests (in contrast to standard Chinese courses that tend to be more pragmatic). The program includes simple, dormitory-style accommodations with western amenities and Internet connection. No previous knowledge of Chinese language is necessary.
The overall fee for tuition, accommodation, field trips, and service is an astonishingly low 15,060 Yuan per person (which translates to approximately $2,200 US); payment to be made directly to Shanxi University. Students are expected to purchase their own meals (expect an additional $300-500), travel medical insurance (~ $150), and airfare. The program dates are June 15th-August 23rd, 2009.
At least 16 students are needed for the program to run. The program is open to St. John’s students, tutors, staff, and alumni as well as families of students and alumni. If you are interested, please contact Clare Davitt on the Santa Fe campus (cdavitt@sjcsf.edu) before February 28, 2009. If you are seriously intending to enroll in this program, a deposit of $300 should be sent to Shanxi University by March 31, 2009, to ensure your place.