UNews - Shanghai

Field study illuminates modern-day China for U of L students

caroline.zentner — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:20:04 +0000

This past summer, a group of nine ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students began to understand the wisdom behind the Chinese saying ‘Better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books.’

They spent two weeks in China as part of Dr. Bonnie Lee’s China Field Study course. Before the field study, the students completed a course in global mental health with Lee, a professor in the Health Sciences, Addictions Counselling program. The course covered the political history of modern China, its cultural beliefs and practices, and global mental health concepts.

“A lot of people think mental health is something that resides in people’s heads but mental health is really a product of how people interact with their environment. So the context does matter,” says Lee.

The forces at play today in China include mass internal migration, globalization and a breakdown of families similar to what has occurred in the West. China is also undergoing a sexual revolution marked by freer sexual expression, divorce being seen as more acceptable, and an imbalance in the ratio of men to women that has resulted from the country’s one-child policy. Those factors increase the risk of addiction in Chinese society.

Once they gained an understanding of China’s current context, the students got a few lessons in Mandarin before their departure. The students were billeted with host families who had some knowledge of English during their stay in Shanghai.

“This is definitely a class I’d recommend to everybody. It was literally one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was like landing on an alien planet,” says Aaron Eelhart, a student who participated in the field study and winner of the inaugural $1,000 Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies. Michael Wing-Cheung Chan (1952-2001) was a Chinese Canadian scientist and humanitarian known for his passion in promoting Canada-Asia understanding.

“It really was a life-changing experience for me. It opened my eyes to how other areas of the world operate and live and how much I appreciate living in Canada,” says Chantella Friesen, a fourth-year nursing student.

Chantella Friesen's blonde hair was the object of much attention in China. People often asked her and her fellow U of L students to pose for a photo like this one at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing

“We hear a lot about China in Western media but to experience it firsthand is completely different,” says Brian Bohn, currently in his final year of studies in neuroscience.

While in China, the students delivered presentations on addictions and global mental health to two groups of students at Fudan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Shanghai and to professionals at two counseling centres, one in Nanjing and one in Shanghai.

“There was such enthusiasm in the audience. They really wanted to participate and the best part was when we had these small groups where people could share. That really built friendships,” says Lee.

The students also noticed a difference in how addiction is viewed in China. Lee says addiction is often seen as involving illegal drugs associated with the seamy side of society.

“Seldom do people worry about addiction that can occur with legal substances, such as tobacco and alcohol. Use of alcohol has become much more widespread. Even less concern is given to addictive behaviours, such as use of gambling, food, money or sex to regulate moods and create euphoria,” says Lee.

“I’m glad I went for the cultural experience and it’s always nice to see how the other half lives, so to speak,” says Bohn. “I found China to be a very safe place. I never felt threatened. Everyone I came into contact with was, at least from what I could tell, friendly.”

The students also found some of the presumptions they held about China were challenged. Eelhart imagined the country to be a totalitarian state where people live in an oppressive environment. Instead, he found a nation too large and varied to be narrowly defined.

“When we view China we tend to view their problems or issues the same way that we view our own,” says Eelhart. “That doesn’t always work because there’s so many different confounding factors. All of a sudden you realize that your assumptions are just in

Aaron Eelhart poses next to a statue of Confucious at the Shanghai Confucious Temple

accurate and not relevant.”

Eelhart says he also left China with a new respect for traditional Chinese medicine after the group toured a

hospital where it was practiced. In addition, some of the students visited Beijing after the field study.

“It’s just so eye-opening to see how this whole civilization operates. It’s completely different and it’s a real cultural and learning experience,” he says. “I had an incredible time.”

The next Global Mental Health and China Field Study courses will be held in 2017.

Participation in the course isn’t restricted to full-time students and anyone interested can contact Lee at bonnie.lee@uleth.ca for more information.

Flohr uses U of L foundation as a springboard

trevor.kenney — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:45:56 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus Lee Flohr (BSc '07) took what he called the trip of a lifetime recently to Shanghai, China, rubbing elbows with world-class science journalists and high-profile, Nobel prize winning scientists from Britain and China.

Flohr is a former Lethbridge resident who recently graduated from Humber College's post-graduate broadcast journalism program. He now lives and works in Toronto as a freelance journalist. His work has appeared on Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, where he contributed to the Science News and Weird Planet program segments.

Flohr was one of two North American science writers to attend a conference on climate change and environmental issues supported by the British Council, a not-for profit organization that promotes the United Kingdom's cultural relations and educational opportunities to a worldwide audience.

Alumnus Lee Flohr in Shanghai, China, while attending a climate change conference.

Through a competition promoted by the Canadian Science Writers' Association, Flohr and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary PhD alumnus Alyson Kenward, were able to meet colleagues from more than 20 countries, spend time at the British pavilion in Shanghai and take a number of trips to nearby cities to see examples of green urban planning.

Flohr says the one theme that cut across the groups in attendance was perception.

"We all have a really bad perception of what other countries are doing. China, for example, is generally painted by North American media as thwarting climate change," he says. "But when you speak to the researchers and see what they are concerned about and working on, they are doing a lot."

Flohr comes by his curiosity honestly, and refined it in Hepler Hall as a student researcher.

"I did three independent studies projects with Dr. Olga Kovalchuk – and learned from Dr. Igor Kovalcuk too – and because they are doing such current research, the work I did with them is directly applicable to what I am doing now," says Flohr. "It was a fantastic opportunity, and really helped set the stage for working in the science journalism field."

Among the projects Flohr worked on in Kovalchuk's lab was the testing of a common weed, plantago major, for its reputed medicinal properties.

Flohr uses U of L foundation as a springboard

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:46:27 +0000

Flohr says the one theme that cut across the groups in attendance was perception.

Flohr comes by his curiosity honestly, and refined it in Hepler Hall as a student researcher.

Among the projects Flohr worked on in Kovalchuk's lab was the testing of a common weed, plantago major, for its reputed medicinal properties.

Students earn Roloff Beny awards

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:12:17 +0000

The Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Awards in Fine Arts provides outstanding students in photo-arts with an opportunity for travel in relation to their photographic activity. Any new or continuing students enrolled full-time in any BFA degree program who have a focused interest in photo-arts are eligible to apply for this competitive award.

The Roloff Beny Awards Committee met in January, and after considering a very high quality and competitive group of applications, made the decision to give out three scholarships of equal value in the amount of $3,333 to Jason Jessen (Art), Evan Van Reekum (New Media) and Yan Luo (Art).

Jessen is in his fourth year of study in a BFA in Art Studio program and has proposed to travel to northern Alberta to investigate the Cree aspect of his Yugoslavian/Cree hybrid identity. He will visit his home band, the Big Stone Band at Wabasca near Slave Lake, and do a photographic investigation of his indigenous identity.

Van Reekum is in his third year of study in a BFA in New Media program. His goal is to travel to Ireland with the aim of producing photographic essays concentrating on ideas of history and abandonment.

Luo is finishing his final year in a BFA in Art Studio program. He will endeavour to return to his home city of Shanghai to document issues of surveillance and authority with a new vision altered through his experiences living in North America.

In 2005, the Roloff Beny Foundation endowed $860,000 to the Department of Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, to generate ongoing funding for student scholarships and infrastructure costs in traditional and digital photo-arts.

In recognition of excellence in art instruction and research, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was one of five institutions across Canada selected for such an endowment. Since then $50,000 in scholarships have been awarded to students studying fine arts at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, providing them with a research-based travel opportunity in conjunction with their studies in photo-arts.

Delegation tours campus

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:56:41 +0000

A group of officials from Zhejiang Sci-Tech ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hangzhou, China visited the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in December as part of a whirlwind tour of Alberta.

The Lethbridge visit was spearheaded by U of L grad Winston Chow (BASc '80) and organized by Laurel Corbiere and the International Centre for Students.

Representatives from the U of L and Zhejiang ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to promote further cooperation should each university see the opportunity to do so. The group's tour of campus included the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience and the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building, among other locations.

Zhejiang Sci-Tech ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is located in Hangzhou, China, a city near Shanghai known for its beautiful West Lake, a famous landmark in China.

UNews - Shanghai

Field study illuminates modern-day China for U of L students

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