European Humanities in the Perception of Chinese Students: A Reflection Based on A Personal Teaching Experience

• Authors: Ionut Untea
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

As a young teacher and researcher, the prospective of introducing western philosophical themes to a public of students from a non-western country, came in 2016 as a once-in-a lifetime opportunity, which I met with great enthusiasm. However, as in any situation involving pre-conceived expectations, facing and dealing with the real situation on the ground opens up a pathway for a closer understanding of both the new culture explored, a perception of one’s own limits and the willingness to overcome them. The following lines are intended to cover the way my approach to teaching to a Chinese public has evolved from pre-conceptions and empty enthusiasm to an attitude of pedagogical creativity in identifying and presenting the key topics that would attract my students’ attention. As I will show, students’ expectations were to approach the western ideas not directly, but via a more complex process of being acquainted with the major historical and cultural movements in Europe and the western world. This meant the involvement in the teaching process of a wider number of elements taken not only from philosophy but from other humanistic disciplines.

Keywords

EN

humanities; Chinese identity; European identity; personal teaching experience

• Publisher: Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
• Journal: Ethics in Progress
• Year: 2019
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 41-53

Dates

published

2019-05-30

Contributors

author

Ionut Untea

• Southeast University, Nanjing

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.14746/eip.2019.1.4