Faculty Perspective: Rachel Newcomb

September 4, 2007

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Rachel Newcomb Traveled to China in May 2006

In May 2006, I participated in the China trip for the professors. China was a country I never expected to visit, although I often teach about China in my classes on globalization. I have spent a lot of time in the Muslim world and Africa for my own academic research, but China surprised me by being nothing like my expectations of a developing country.

It is a place where seeming opposites, such as progress and tradition or communism and capitalism exist side by side. Many of the issues China confronts in its rapid growth were visibly apparent to us, such as the rise in the number of automobiles and the terrible pollution. But it was also an incredibly beautiful place whose carefully documented history and culture were constantly on display–in museums, in the fine cuisine, in the diverse people we met and in the traditional architecture of temples and royal palaces.

I would not have been able to visit China had it not been for the Petters International Initiative Grant, and my experiences there were unique. As an anthropology professor I have managed to incorporate these experiences into my teaching by offering a first-hand look at China's rising star as an economic superpower, by being able to teach about Chinese culture, and by encouraging my students to consider studying abroad in Asia to learn more about this dynamic country.

- Rachel Newcomb

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