Reforms instituted since the early 1980s have changed the face of
China's socioeconomic landscape. Communal farms have given way to
Special Economic Zones, bond yields have supplanted grain yields at the
top of the daily news, and iphones have replaced Little Red Books as
the accessory of choice. The Chinese economy has more than quadrupled
in size in the last fifteen years, and the International Monetary Fund
predicts that it will quadruple again in the next twenty.
The implications for global business are enormous. Foreign firms
increasingly see China as being important, and businesses from T. Rowe
Price to Taco Bell have sought to make inroads in the domestic market.
Multinationals continue to shift production to China to gain access to
low wages and pro-business policies, and the content of this production
is increasingly high-tech. Joint ventures now produce 27% of China's
industrial output, and China's membership in the World Trade
Organization will foster further global integration.
China's rapid growth has not been costless, however. Economic
opportunities have disproportionately benefited coastal provinces, and
China now has greater income inequality than Canada and the United
Kingdom. Labor migration has stressed the social fabric in urban and
rural areas. Social safety nets are disintegrating, leaving large
segments of the population vulnerable. Protests are increasingly
common. And economic growth has come at the cost of serious
environmental degradation.
These developments beg the question - Is China's economic miracle
socially, politically, and environmentally sustainable? And what are
the implications of rapid economic growth for ordinary Chinese citizens?
To answer these questions, we will travel approximately 2000 miles
along the Yangtze River to visit state-owned and foreign-invested
factories, two shipyards, the world's largest container port, China's
massive South-North Water Diversion Project, and a hydroelectric power
station that will produce more electricity than 6.5 Hoover Dams
combined (this isn't referring to the Three Gorges Dam, although we'll
be visiting that, too). We will also visit a resettlement village that
houses some of the millions of people displaced by the Three Gorges
Project and one of the thousands of ordinary villages that depends on
the Yangtze River for drinking water and agricultural production.
Travel will be conducted by plane, bus, ferry, cruise ship, and
magnetic levitation train.
Students will also have the opportunity to visit numerous sites of
historical, economic, and cultural significance, including Shanghai's
iconic Bund, Sun Yatsen's mausoleum, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, the
Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, one of four sacred Buddhist
mountains in China, the Leshan Giant Buddha, and the Lantern Festival
at Zigong. Students will also experience Chinese New Year in Shanghai.
EC133 Principles of Microeconomics is a prerequisite for this course.
The course also requires completion of a one-credit seminar during the
fall semester, as detailed below.
Familiarity with Chinese history, culture, language, politics,
environment, and/or economics is helpful, but not necessary. Knowledge
of river systems/hydrology, ecology, and/or electrical engineering will
also be beneficial.
The course fee for 2009 is $3650. This fee includes international air
travel from Boston, all domestic travel within China, all lodging, all
meals, all entry fees, and all tips/service fees for our guides. The
fee does not include the cost of passports, visas, immunizations,
insurance, student ID cards, personal excursions, personal items, or
travel to and from Boston Logan International Airport.
Colby does not extend financial aid to Jan Plan courses taken
abroad. However, a Colby alumnus has generously offered limited
financial assistance for students who are on financial aid and who
otherwise would not able to afford to participate in the course. See
the application form for additional details.
In addition, students who have applied for financial aid and who
have not borrowed their full loan eligibility may be able to take a
loan to cover the cost of the course. Please refer questions to Liz
Bowen in Student Financial Services.
Minimum enrollment for the course is 10 students. Maximum enrollment is
12. The deadline for submitting an application is 5:00 PM on Friday,
September 26. Admission decisions will be announced on Tuesday,
September 30, 2008.
Enrollment is by permission of instructor. Priority in enrollment will
be given to students who have taken social science courses pertaining
to China. Other considerations may include GPA, academic and personal
background, previous international experience, and specialized
training.
Students who are accepted into the course must have a $500 credit
posted to their student accounts by noon on Friday, October 10. Please
note that payments made on student accounts go first towards any unpaid
charges. Applicants should thus confirm their student account balances
by checking
http://www.colby.edu/sfs/. Student Financial Services asks that deposits be made by check, and that the applicant notes "EC215 China" in the memo.
If a credit is not posted by the due date, the applicant's slot will be awarded to another student.
Deposits are non-refundable. Participants who withdraw from the course after the deposit deadline will be charged for the forfeited deposit.
Payment for the balance of the course fee is due by noon on December 1, 2008.
This course is experiential in nature, so students are expected to
embrace experiential learning and to participate fully. Final grades
will thus be a weighted average of class participation (as assessed by
both the instructor and the student's peers, one-third), an exam taken
in the one-credit seminar held during the fall semester (one-third),
and a short paper written during the course (one third).
Students are expected to adhere to Colby's policies on academic
honesty; students who fail to do so will be dismissed from the course.
The instructor also reserves the right to send students back to the
U.S. at their own expense if students engage in illegal activity or if
the instructor deems their behavior inappropriate or disruptive. In
both cases, students will be dismissed from the class with an F and
reported to the Dean of Students. In no case will course fees be
refunded.
Travel conditions in China will sometimes be difficult. Lodging will
often be basic. Vegan, halal, and kosher diets will be extremely
difficult to maintain, and vegetarian and other restrictive diets only
marginally easier. At least a few days will include strenuous physical
activity. Air quality is often poor in winter, cigarette smoking is
ubiquitous, and hygiene and heating standards are likely to differ from
those to which you are accustomed. Finally, you can expect cool, damp
weather during our entire stay in China.
