A group of five Chinese exchange students from Xiamen University in Southern China, attended a series of summer classes, workshops and social events on campus. They participated in two History workshops, one in African American History and in Native American History. Professor Bernard Powers led the group as they examined issues of race in America in the early twentieth century. They examined slavery, antislavery and abolitionism, emancipation, the Civil War and Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow and white supremacy.
The group also met with Christophe Boucher, Associate Professor of History for a series of lectures addressing events in Native American History to 1945.
The workshop focused on the following questions: How did pre-columbian cultural and historical trends in North America affect indigenous responses to contact with Europeans?
What impact did contact have on Native American communities?
What strategies did Native Americans deploy to survive in colonial North America?
What have been general characteristics of U.S policies towards Native Americans from 1783 to 1945?
This week-long introduction to Native American History gave students important background information to make the most of their upcoming trip to Cherokee, North Carolina.
From July 20-26, the group continue their travels and take a field trip to Washington DC and North Carolina where they will visit relevant sites.
Students from Xiamen University: HE, Bojie, ZHONG, Qixian (front row)
LI, Shengnan, MU, Rong, WU, Xuan and Dr. Christophe Boucher