The Beijing Center for China Studies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies (also known as TBC), originally The Beijing Center for Language and Culture, established by Fr. Ron Anton, S.J., Ph.D. in 1998. TBC aims at educating the academic community about China. Currently, it offers programs for undergraduate students, faculty members, and administrators, plus tailor-made programs for special academic groups.
The initial focus of TBC was on undergraduate study-abroad in China. TBC introduced a unique mix of (a) language training, (b) extensive content courses, (c) immersion experience with Chinese students which included host students, language tutors, roommates and home-stay opportunities, plus (d) extensive educational travel to the far corners of China.
The Center itself is set up to show Chinese culture and the history of East-West relations. When one first enters its Beijing location at the University of International Business and Economics, one is in a replica of an old Beijing alleyway or “hutong”. There is a water garden featuring 4,000 years of Chinese water jars, the conference room displays original copies western maps of China from 1584 to 1745, and the director’s office replicates an old Ming scholar’s studio.
Other TBC programs include:
The summer undergraduate program has a unique structure of three weeks in the classroom, two to three weeks in field study, and a week for an integration project. TBC also recently conducts its Center for the Study of Tibetan Culture. Four to six courses are offered each summer following the classroom-field research-integration model. All classes are taught by Tibetans.
The ChinaContact division runs short-term, non-credit programs all year long. Several times a year there are programs for faculty members and for university administrators including special programs for university presidents. There are also tailor-made workshops and courses for special undergraduate classes, MBA groups, and graduate humanities classes.
TBC Research Center specializes in supporting primary source research and helping young Chinese scholars in the doctoral or post-doc years. The Center’s scholar-in-residence helps TBC students with academic projects during their stay in Beijing.
The TBC Library of Chinese Studies houses a main collection of over 12,000 English-language volumes about all aspects of Chinese life and society. Special collections include a small rare book collection of 17 th century volumes that first revealed China to the West, a collection of approximately 500 older books from 1800 to 1940, and a multi-lingual collection on the history of the Catholic Church in China.
