Thanks to funding from the Freeman Foundation, Lawrence faculty and students will be able to participate in a variety of trips to eastern Asia over the next four years. The purpose of these trips is to increase campus-wide interest in and knowledge of Asia, especially of East and Southeast Asia.
Some of these trips will be planned to provide large groups of non-specialists with basic exposure to contemporary Asian countries and their rich cultural heritages. Led by faculty familiar with the area to be visited, they will feature visits to places of current and historical interest where participants can interact with local experts in academia, the arts, business, and government. Their goal will be to encourage more interest in Asia on campus and promote additional coverage of the area in the curriculum.
Other trips will be smaller, more informal affairs devised by faculty and students with some knowledge of the region who wish to conduct on-site course work or engage in research and scholarly collaboration. Trips of this sort, which may be scheduled in during term breaks and summers, will largely supplement existing courses and offer a means of expanding study beyond the traditional classroom into the field.
As Brian Rosenberg, the Dean of the Faculty, has explained: "In effect, we will be strengthening the study of East Asia at Lawrence by bringing the campus, at least temporarily, to East Asia itself."
Kathy Isaacson has put together some pages about the Spring 2003 Freeman Trip. Japan - Beijing Trip Spring 2003