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Welcome to Contemporary Chinese Societies: Continuity and Change, the companion site to the CD-ROM of the same title under distribution by Columbia University Press. The CD-ROM and this website are written, produced, and owned by the University of Pittsburgh’s Chinese Studies Faculty. The award winning CD (Franklin Buchanan Prize for Outstanding Curriculum Development by the Association of Asian Studies, 2002-03) is an interdisciplinary, interactive curriculum project intended as a full semesters’ coursework on modern China. Each of the 6 thematic Units may be used separately to introduce a particular subject or together to cover a wide range of thoughts on Chinese society. Units are arranged either around themes (such as Unity in Diversity) that allow the user to explore the material through the theme or through disciplinary Pathways that link up all the material in the CD around a particular field (like economics or politics). Also available are topic-based interactive quizzes, bibliographic sources and essay questions for further exploration of the subject. Interactive maps, hyper-linked websites, cross references within the CD to relevant material and a searchable database take the CD from curriculum to research tool. Altogether the CD-ROM has 600 pages of linear text, over 3,000 digital photos, 81 reference maps, 200 hyperlinked glossary terms, and over an hour of digital video. This site is intended to introduce you to the basic structure of the CD-ROM and allow you to view a small portion of the material from the web. It should be noted that the site works very differently from the CD in that most of the interactive features available on the CD are not available here. However, one section from each of the interdisciplinary units is available, along with expanded text, access to most photos, and access to some video. Under development for future reference are the Forum, where we hope to hear from you regarding the material as you use it in your classes or explore it on your own, and the interactive Chat Room, where an area expert will come on-line at a particular date and time to explore your questions regarding both content and pedagogy. Of Interest on this website:
We are in the process of creating this website as a fully interactive curricular site. We hope you enjoy exploring the material we have here on the web and look forward to hearing your comments, suggestions, and input. For more information, questions or comments or to copy any material from this site please contact the Project Manager: Michele Ferrier Heryford at ferrier@ucis.pitt.edu |