UH Manoa's Soc 356 class hopes to create a better understanding of modern-day China
By Melissa Chua
University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s sociology department is now offering an upper division course on China this fall semester after a two-year hiatus.
A professor who started the course four years ago left for the mainland in 2005, but Soc 356 titled “Sociology of China,” is making a comeback with newly-hired sociology professor Seio Nakajima, who is teaching the three-unit class. Sociology graduate student Qian Song, who just moved to Hawai’i from China, is also assisting Nakajima with the class.
The course provides an overview of the contemporary Chinese society with a particular focus on social changes in the Reform-era of China.
“It’s important to study or learn about China because (it) has the fastest growing economy in the world at the moment,” said Cynthia Ning, associate director of the Center for Chinese Studies. “So much of U.S. trade is done with China.”
Nakajima echoed Ning. “Whether we like it or not, American life and society already depends on the existence of China,” said Nakajima. “The future of the United States, in some sense, depends on the future of China.”
The course is quickly regaining popularity for many reasons. It’s a full class of 39 students.
Many people with a Chinese background like to learn about China through the eyes of a Chinese person and see how their country is explained in an American context, said D. William Wood, chair of the sociology department .
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| A diverse group of Soc 356 students listen to Nakajima go over the assigned readings about China's international relations wth countries such as the U.S. The class meets three days a week for 50 minutes each in Webster Hall 113. |
“(The class) brings me back to my (Chinese) heritage,” said social work junior Dave Yuen, who is a Soc 356 student.
But having Chinese roots is not the only attraction to the course because many of the students are not Chinese.
There’s an element that attracts people to learning about China that’s probably shown in TV shows, said Song.
“China is an important country to know about,” she said.
Wood said he thinks of the Asian-focused sociology classes as a set.
“We (have) sociology of Japan and Korea, so we better have China,” he said.
The seats for the class filled up pretty fast, so there’s definitely a spark for China, said Wood.
“Students are taking this (class) because (they) have an interest in the culture or a curiosity to learn about the culture,” Nakajima said.
Nada Mcclellan said she likes the class and hopes to learn more about how philosophy and religion impact the current society, culture, and politics.
“I want to learn about current-day China," said Mcclellan, who is an Asian studies major with a focus on China.
On the other hand, Rodney Despain, an architecture major and history minor, married a Chinese woman, so he said he’s taking the class to know more about his in-laws.
“China is the most interesting to study because it (has) the most diverse culture,” said Despain.
Since China is becoming more popular in the media, political, industrial and corporate worlds, studying China would help citizens be more informed and aware, Nakajima said.
“I hope this is a good place to start to acquire basic, necessary tools to analyze the society (through) theories and methods,” Nakajima said. “I want students to realize that China is a very complex society.
The Center for Chinese Studies focuses on making Chinese-centered courses available in each department, so the renewed sociology of China course was simply achieving the center’s purpose to expand Chinese studies education, said Ning.
The sociology department plans to offer two more Chinese courses within the next year or so, said Wood.
One of the courses will center on contemporary China and another will be a graduate-level course comparing Asian societies, mainly Japan, Korea and China, he added. |
The Department of Sociology welcomed a new assistant professor, Seio Nakajima, this fall semester.
There were many people to choose from for the position, but Nakajima stood out because he had a “spark to learn,” said chair of the sociology department D. William Wood.
Nakajima currently teaches two upper division sociology courses, Soc 356 titled “Sociology of China” and 413, which is called “An Analysis in Economy and Society.”
Soc 356 focuses on analyzing the contemporary Chinese society along with social changes during the Reform-era.
“Nakajima looks at China differently, in a more sociological way (rather than) how economically miraculous it is,” Wood said.
Nakajima’s teaching method made him a more likely candidate for the job, said Wood.
The newly-hired professor uses films to illustrate the political, social and economical changes in the Chinese society.
Nakajima’s other class, Soc 413, introduces students to the emerging sub-field in sociology known as economic sociology.
Nakajima always had an interest in the Chinese society and culture probably because he was born in Hong Kong, but was raised in Japan, he said.
He taught in a liberal arts college in Japan as well as in University of California, Berkeley as a graduate student instructor and part-time lecturer. However, this is Nakajima’s first full-time teaching experience as a faculty of a university.
“My long-term goal is to make UH one of the best places to pursue sociological study on Chinese society, where students both undergraduates and graduates (can) come (to) because they want to study China sociologically,” Nakajima said.
He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in sociology at UC Berkeley. He also studied at University of Tokyo for his undergraduate work in sociology and received a bachelor’s degree in area studies.
This is Nakajima’s first long-term stay in Hawai’i because he’s always been a visitor in the past. He resides on the island with his wife and 6-year-old son.
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| Nakajima explains the geography of China to his Soc 356 students using Google maps. Nakajima discusses the regional difference between northern and southern China. |
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