WINTER PROGRAM 2011
Winter Field Research Project in Rural China, HCHANCE
Rationale
Our goal is to obtain a deeper understanding of the Chinese society beyond its urban centers. In order to achieve this goal, we are going to carry out our academic activity in the form of serious field research on-site in rural China. In order to be able to successfully carry out our research activities in a competent and fruitful manner, we will need to prepare ourselves in two ways: background knowledge of the field that we are going to work on in order to generate a research question, and methodological skills in order to answer the question we raised.
“There is nothing more important in the early twenty-first century than learning about China,” says the syllabus of Societies of the World 12 (“China: Traditions and Transformations”). Indeed, as we all know, China is a gigantic economy, a vast land rich in history and culture, a place where everything is made, and more than one-fifth of humanity. On this trip, we would like to bring Harvard students to the “other” side of China that is not normally represented on the covers of Time or the Economist, nor at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. It is the vast underdeveloped inland rural areas of China, home to three-fourths of the entire Chinese population, and home of almost all the factory workers on the East China Coast who made our shoes, jackets, and iPods. We would like you to get to know the real China beyond the fancy pictures of Beijing and Shanghai.
In order to do this, we have chosen the method of field research. Field research (or field work) refers to the collection of raw data/information in natural settings. It is a method of study widely used in the social sciences, natural sciences, and historical studies. Field work includes but is not limited to: the observation of human activities and habits, oral interviews with local residents, distribution of surveys and questionnaires, and the collection of local sources that are not archived or documented elsewhere. Field research helps to immerse the research participants in the locality so as to get a better understanding of the everyday experience of the local people, sharing local people’s concerns or even helping to make a difference. Field research is capable of discovering precious raw (and fresh!) materialswhich, in some cases, can revise or even completely re-write our previously assumed knowledge of a region, a people, or a culture.
Academic Procedures
- Training at Harvard: Early November to Early December, 3 times
Icebreaker, rationale, and methodological background
Discussion: What do you want to get out of this trip?
Introduction of the field
The structure of research: research topic—research question—research—research output
How do we obtain knowledge? What does it mean to do research?
How do we construct knowledge from sources?
Distributing readings for general field background introduction (TBA)
Selections from Keith Jenkins, Re-thinking History (tentative)
Methodology in detail
How do we do on-site research? Different modes of collecting data/sources
Preliminary discussion of research topics: feasibility
Selections from Paul Thompson, The Voice of the Past (tentative)
The field: China and rural China; guest lectures by Professors Szonyi and Robson
Discussion: knowledge, understanding, and experience of China; re-discuss expectations
Discussion of research questions and possible grouping of similar topics/questions
Presentation by Professor Szonyi and Professor Robson on fieldwork research in China
Preliminary one-page statement of research questions (including rationale and proposed methodology, recommended) and annotated bibliographies on respective research questions DUE 12/27/2011 (Merry Christmas!)
- Training in Guangzhou, China
Getting to know the country through experience
Guest lectures by invited speakers and logistic training
End of semester till start of trip: individual background reading on respective research topics
In Guangzhou: submit an elaborated one-page, single spaced final version of the statement of the research question
- Fieldwork Research
Conducting fieldwork research on-site. Each Harvard student will be paired up with two Guangzhou students and two local high school students to carry out the research project. Groups with similar topics can combine into larger groups. Daily research journals recommended.
Research workshops held every other evening to discuss issues related to research, in order to provide assistance and adjustments to each research group and to ensure productivity. Each research group is expected to submit a half-page, single-spaced research reflection at each research workshop session.
3.1 Timeline
Nov. 2 Harvard participants selected
Nov. 5-30: First Orientation sessions at Harvard University
Jan. 2: Harvard participants arrive in Guangzhou, China (from Hong Kong)
Jan 3-4: Second Orientation in Guangzhou, China
Jan. 5: Harvard participants and Chinese college students arrive in Chengbu or Majiang, China.
Jan. 6-16: Field research and social development projects in Chengbu or Majiang, China
Jan. 17: Project presentation to the local community in Chengbu or Majiang, China. Participants depart for Guangzhou.
Jan. 19: Closing Ceremony in Guangzhou
Jan. 20: All Harvard participants leave China (Hong Kong)
Feb/March: Panel presentation at the conference organized by the Committee on Regional Studies-East Asia in Harvard University
March/April: Recommend qualified research papers for consideration of publication in undergraduate academic journals both in and outside of Harvard University
3.2 Research Trip Schedule
- Presentation and Writing
There will be a presentation of research outcomes near the end of the trip at the local region to share preliminary research discoveries and arguments. It is expected that Harvard participants will develop their preliminary research outcomes into comprehensive research papers or documentary films. High-quality research papers or documentary films will be selected as a panel to be presented at the conference organized by the RSEA (Regional Studies-East Asia) program at Harvard University in the spring semester in 2012. The research paper will be due on March 20th, shortly after the spring break. Harvard participants can also submit their completed papers to academic journals both in and outside of Harvard for consideration of publication.
application link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform？formkey=dDV3NTJuQWdOSk05Ung0QU9pMXdiOXc6MQ
Contact: hchance.harvard@gmail.com