Dear Colleagues,
May I echo Mathew Kapstein's recommendation of Marshall
Sahlins's article on
Confucius Institutes.
http://www.thenation.com/article/176888/china-u
As you
will see from the article, McMaster University closed its Confucius
Institute
because of a human rights issue. As far as I know, we are the
only
university in North America to have severed its connection with a
Confucius
Institute.
McMaster has a strong graduate program in Buddhist Studies.
Our program
never had any connection with the Confucius Institute at
McMaster, which was
sponsored by the Faculties of Business and Humanities. We
are located in the
Faculty of Social Sciences. Aside from any other issues,
the level of
Chinese language instruction offered was too low to have been of
any use to
students in Buddhist Studies.
I'm happy to talk to any of
you off-list about our experiences. McMaster
University's President and
Provost are willing to share their insights and
knowledge with any senior
administrators from institutions considering a
contractual relationship with
a Confucius Institute or currently engaged in
one.
Like Matthew, I
think there are some important issues in Sahlins's article
that we in
Buddhist Studies must consider.
Thank you for your attention.
Best
wishes,
James A. Benn
Chair
Department of Religious Studies,
McMaster University University Hall, Room
105, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1,
CANADA
Phone: 905 525 9140, ext 24210/ 24734 (Chair's office)
Fax: 905 525
8161
URL: jamesabenn.ca
[please use relsch@mcmaster.ca for all departmental
business]
