Based in Beijing
Dr. Simon Koo joined TBC in 2017, bringing over a decade of teaching, research, and administration experience in higher education. He is currently the Executive Director of TBC.
The purpose of the Yunnan Excursion is to afford the student an in-depth experience of the ethnological background of the “Minority Peoples” of China. At the same time the excursion provides a general survey of the history and culture of Yunnan.
The Yunnan Excursion course is comprised of:
Preliminary lectures / presentations will introduce the student to the history and peoples of China. The Excursion itself is a physical validation of what has been read and heard. Prior to arriving in China the student will be given the option to chose from our master list a research topic about Yunnan. S/he will have additional time in our library to study. During the travel, at an appropriate site, each student offers an in-progress report on, for example, the “Strategies of Rice farming”. Staff and faculty will comment on the presentation in private. Further research and physical resources will be supplied. The student will photograph interview, document and record data to corroborate the substance of their research. During travel a “reflection dinner” will aid students to digest the myriad images and experiences they will have had. At the conclusion of the trip two presentations will help gather up what has been learned. A written exam will be undertaken. A final draught of the research will be presented in academic form. If a student chooses to work on a Team Ethnographic study, s/he will investigate the social, economic, cultural, artistic and religious dimensions of a minority group. S/he will come to a richer understanding of the subject people.
