The Colegio de México will teach a course on China for all audiences

The region of China, day after day, continues to become a major player in the international, economic and cultural arena. Therefore, for the first time, El Colegio de México (Colmex), through the Center for Asian and African Studies and with the support of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), have designed the course China: Civilization and Modernity. The idea is to offer a general overview of the history, philosophy, literature, political system, economy and current situation in order to generate interest and motivation to continue learning about and understanding China.

Regarding this open invitation to the public, The Economist interviewed Dr. Liljana Arsovska, professor of language, linguistics, and translation at the Center for Asian and African Studies, as well as a translator of contemporary Chinese literature into Spanish. She shares that thanks to the vision of the president of El Colegio de México, Dr. Silvia Giorguli, they have had “the privilege” of offering this course that is like “a treasure.”

He explains that today there is a lot of information but not very systematic, that is why what is intended in this new situation of the country and the world is to generate massive knowledge and not only focus on classrooms and students who have the privilege of having scholarships and studying in a formal institution. “This course precisely attends to a great call of the time, to popularize knowledge. As a public institution we owe these efforts to society,” he said.

What does China mean to the world?

Liljana Arsovska has a doctorate in Comparative Literature and World Literature from the Beijing University of Languages. She assures that China is here to stay, “whether we like it or not, China It is in Latin America always as the first or second commercial partner of almost all the countries of the region, including Mexico; it is in the markets, in trade, in investment and in all international scenarios as an unavoidable factor”.

He said that this is a process that started about 40 years ago and even though China has been present for many years throughout Latin America, with increasingly sophisticated products and integrated technology, it has not managed to raise the level of interest of the general public.

“As much as China is present, it has not aroused interest, we continue to ignore the size of the importance that this country occupies in the world,” he said.

In this context it is The College of Mexicohaving the tools and specialists, relying on extensive cooperation networks with colleagues from all over Latin America and Spanish, English and Chinese speakers, took on the task of generating knowledge for all audiences.

“What is sought with this project is simple and enjoyable knowledge, suitable for high school students, high school students and for anyone who is interested in knowing a little more, led by people who have dedicated many years to working on the subject. ”.

The program

Arsovska shares that it is about general knowledge that will provide in 8 short modules, from 5 to 20 minutes, very broad summaries of topics. “Although it is a challenge, since it is about a continuous history of 3,000 to 4,000 years and that is taught at the College for two full semesters, the professors did it with great spirit and with the perspective of generating knowledge for a wide audience, a great effort to achieve it”.

The first module will be dedicated to China’s economic position in the world today; then there will be another seven that will deal with ancient history, Chinese philosophy, modern history, language and literature, family and society and, finally, contemporary China and tomorrow.

We have Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism itself as a philosophical current, with a little taste to arouse the interest of the broad public towards these topics”. In this space there are specialists such as the current director of the Center for Asian and African Studies, José Antonio Cervera.

In the language and literature module, in which Dr. Arsovska participates, the objective is “to get people interested and to know how many languages ​​there are in China and what is the difference between them, to propose literature,” she says.

About contemporary China and its political system, it is interesting to know “who is this economic giant whose central idea is communism, how is the government, the communist party and its relationship with the people constituted”.

The Chinese economy continues, “on this topic we will have to think of a way to bring more information because time is short and information is a lot, explaining what public-private company is, a key concept in contemporary economy, could help get rid of many prejudices and understand China more easily”.

In the family and society module, they will learn about ethnic minorities, the role of the family, the historical basis of Chinese society, and the process of women in the Asian giant will be summarized.

Finally, there is Eugenio Anguiano, twice Mexico’s ambassador to China, who with great knowledge of diplomacy, foreign policy and the relationship between Mexico and China, will address the China of today and tomorrow module. “It is first-hand information from a specialist who has been trained in this regard,” says the course coordinator.

Arsovska leaves on the table the intention of making a second, third, or more parts. “We hope that this exercise will be a huge success, that it will be the guideline for later access to more funds, which could come, for example, from the Ministry of Public Education or other government agencies, including private ones, so that the course grows.”

He assures that one of the benefits of the College is that specialists from all over the world come and all of them could participate in these spaces, “that every time something happens in the contemporary history of China, both in economy, technology, culture, among other spaces, generate capsules, maybe two to three minutes, that can be added to the China, Civilization and Modernity course”.

Course details:

This course is open, massive and online: It is at your own pace, it can be done in an open schedule, it is self-managed, sequential and totally free.

The registration link is through the México X platform. Agenda and more information at: https://mexicox.gob.mx/courses/course-v1:COLMEX+CPPY22101X+2022_10/about

nelly.toche@eleconomista.mx

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