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The fourth annual Chinese Culture Festival is under way this week at the University of Arizona.
The UA Confucius Institute is sponsoring the week of arts, culture and linguistic events. Anthropology Professor John Olsen guides the Confucius Institute at the U of A. He thinks making a cultural and educational connection with China can present a unique challenge.
"We have lots of good ideas about providing an environment in which Americans can develop a more subtle and nuanced understanding of Chinese culture and civilization, but inadequate resources," Olsen said.
"So the Confucius Institute, funded by an organization called the Han Ban in China, part of the ministry of education there, gives us resources that we would not otherwise have to deliver cultural programs, language training for students and teachers, and a variety of opportunities that compliment things that are already ongoing at the University of Arizona.”
Universities and colleges around the world have set up Confucius institutes to bring a better understanding of China to their home countries. Similar to Britain's British Council and France's Alliance Française, Confucius institutes promote knowledge about Chinese language and culture.
Olsen said he considers China a key subject for study by students interested in international relations, but won't predict what the future holds for China's emerging role as Asia's dominant political and cultural force.
“I wouldn’t dream of making a prediction like that," he said. "There are so many moving parts that any kind of prediction really amounts to nothing more than a thought exercise.
"But the academic community, the university, the academy of sciences, the people I deal with most frequently have a great deal of optimism, and I think it’s justifiable optimism, about the nature of governmental support for their work, the state’s encouragement for them to reach out to an international community to collaborate with.
"So I think in that slice of Chinese culture anyway, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.”
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