Occidental College
Campus Conversations
Guest Lecture
Hi everybody! Yesterday was especially exciting for someone interested in Asian Studies. Jim and Deborah Fallows came to visit and speak at Oxy, and they came to my DWA class on Brazil, Russia, India, and China in addition to speaking in two other locations throughout the day. In case you don't know, Jim Fallows is a fairly prominent author for the Atlantic and wrote the book Postcards from Tomorrow Square, which I loved. Deborah Fallows has a PhD in linguistics and wrote the book Dreaming in Chinese, which I haven't read yet but intend to do so this summer when I have time. Anyway, the two of them came to speak. It took me about five minutes to realize that not only were these two speakers attention grabbing (at least for me), they can articulate how a lot of people from the United States feel about China and suggest intelligent ways to improve Chinese-American relations. When Jim Fallows spoke, he said that Americans should see China as a partner rather than fear them. In dealing with the world, he said, Americans should be confident but not defensive. He also brought up a GREAT point: whatever issues America has, China either has them worse or has other enormous issues. Although China is growing, America shouldn't fear China. Apparently a lot of Americans believe that China's economy has already surpassed ours; Mr. Fallows points out that China's economy not only hasn't surpassed ours, their per-capita income is significantly lower than ours. So guys, when you think about China, don't fear the rise of a giant superpower. How our generation approaches the challenge of China's rise will change the ways we interact with China in the future. ~Frances