Cross-Cultural Dialogue (Issue 19)

Author: Le Daiyun, Qian Lin, et al. (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: What is the essence of university education in the 21st century? What are the development trends of higher education in the era of globalization? How is the comprehensive quality of Harvard University students cultivated? How can systemic institutional crises in universities be resolved? What are the correlations and differences between academic freedom, university autonomy, and professorial governance? What is the current state of Western perceptions of China: utopia or ideology? Is the emergence of post-primalism in modern Indian painting the birth of a tribal tradition? What is Yu Hua's "Alvíd Falker-like life"? This book is divided into several major topics: University Education and University Spirit, "Two-Way Cognition" New Thinking, New Works Overview, China vs. Sweden – the Stirlingberg International Symposium, Academic Interviews, New Perspectives in Comparative Literature, Cultural Commentaries, Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Studies, and Re-examining Eurasian Relations. Several review articles not only analyze the current situation and raise questions but also achieve theoretical breakthroughs, making them worth reading. University education and university spirit are fundamental to mitigating human crises and building a harmonious society today, as the representatives of tomorrow's world are produced from today's universities. This issue further introduces Morin's educational philosophy. Morin believes that the focus of educational reform is the reform of thinking methods, specifically establishing a complex thinking model, and based on this, conducting comprehensive social transformation. This is because the increasing fragmentation of knowledge and the growing imbalance and isolation between regions make it difficult for people to unite to address major crises. Calame's article further proposes that the primary duty of universities is not to educate students on how to adapt to future society—as if history has already been written in advance—but to cultivate students' ability to engage with the world and create it, handle various relationships, and make necessary changes. Chen Lichuan further argues that the unconditional nature of universities lies in the right to question everything, including the value and truth of the questions themselves, that is, to ask questions without any restrictions. This is the reason for the existence of universities and an unavoidable responsibility. Luo Gang's article reinterprets Cai Yuanpei's educational philosophy in the current context, delving into the paradox between "the ideal of the university" and "the ideal of the nation." Other discussions on current university education issues are also equally impressive.