ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR
As a joint endeavor of Sichuan University and Arizona State University, the Center for American
Culture (http://cac.asu.edu) draws upon the strategic partnership between the two universities.
Its core mission is greater and more focused cross-cultural understanding between China and the
United States. Drawing upon the intellectual expertise of research faculty at both universities,
the Center is designed to reach Chinese students—the next generation of leaders—at one of the
largest universities in the People’s Republic of China.
Creation of the Center The initial concept developed from a conversation between ASU
President Michael M. Crow and former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr.; SCU
President Xie Heping quickly endorsed the idea of the Center based in Sichuan. Going beyond
depictions of America in popular culture, the Center relies on literature, arts, history, philosophy,
religion and other academic disciplines to tell America’s story. It is envisioned as the model for
a network of university-to-university linkages that focus on American culture in its many
manifestations and complexities.
Center activities include, but are not limited to, the following:
 Symposia and lectures related to U.S. history, culture, and the arts
 A library of American books, periodicals, media, and online resources
 Weekly discussions of American media and literature
 Presentations by U.S. citizens from many walks of life, discussing business, law, history,
culture and ideals
 Videos and discussions of lectures by American and Chinese scholars on relevant topics
 Advice to students seeking advanced education in the United States
Key dates The initial agreement between ASU and SCU to develop the Center was signed in
June 2010; the formal Memorandum of Understanding was signed in December 2010. Three
delegations of ASU professors have visited Sichuan University to deliver lectures, meet with
Chinese professors, and interact with students, faculty, and administrators. The broad theme for
the inaugural year was “Place and Identity.”
In October 2010, SCU hosted “ASU Week at SCU” (the counterpart to “SCU Week at ASU” in
2009) involving the following formal presentations:
 Deborah Clarke, English
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o The Economics of Southern Modernity: Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying
o Automotive Maternity: Mothers and Cars in Contemporary American Culture
o Advertisements, Cars, and 20th Century American Fiction
Matthew Whitaker, History
o Hip Hop and American Culture
o Hurricane Katrina: America’s Unnatural Disaster
o Race, Class and Immigration in American History
Laura Tohe, English
o Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Ancestry, History, Land and Imagery (offered
twice)
The official launch of the Center for American Culture in December 2010 involved a formal
welcome by SCU president Xie Heping, a video on “What is America?” and presentations by
ASU, SCU and U.S. Embassy and Consulate General officials. In addition, ASU faculty
members gave a series of lectures:
 Joe Lockard, English
o Reading, Writing and Prisoners: Literature and Prisons in the U.S. Southwest
o History and Literature of Slavery in the United States
 Neal A. Lester, Professor of English and Dean of Humanities
o Nappy Edges and Goldy Locks: African Americans and the Politics of Hair
o African American Women Writing: Their Lives and Experiences
 Joe Cutter, Professor of Chinese and Director of the School of International Letters and
Cultures
o Applying for Postgraduate Study in the United States (with Kathryn Mohrman
and a staff member from the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu)
 Kathryn Mohrman, Professor of Public Affairs and Director of the University Design
Consortium
o Are Chinese Universities Globally Competitive?
o The American Higher Education System Today
In March 2011, a third delegation visited SCU to deliver lectures and to interact with students,
faculty, and administrators:
 Peter Lehman, Film Studies
o Blake Edwards, American Slapstick Comedy, and Screen Space
o John Ford, the American Western, and Visual Imagery
 Peter Goggin, English
o The New American University, the Humanities, and Environmental Sustainability
o Rhetorics of Environmentalism in the American Culture and Landscape
 Janelle Warren-Findley, History
o U.S. National Parks as Cultural Landscapes: Policy and Applications of Cultural
Resources Work
o Public History and Scholarly Publishing: Global Practice of Applied Learning
 Deborah Clarke, English
o To Kill a Mockingbird and American Culture
o Teaching American Literature
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In addition, the four ASU professors together conducted a panel session on humanities
pedagogy for SCU faculty.
Programs with these ASU visiting scholars were held on both the Wangjiang (old) campus and
the Jian’an (new undergraduate) campus, reaching an estimated 750-800 SCU students along
with dozens of faculty and administrators.
Summer 2011 involves an ASU graduate student in Chinese, Miles Campos, spending the two
months at SCU in support of both the Center and ASU’s summer intensive Chinese language
program.
Support structure Deborah N. Losse, former Dean of Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences, and Neal A. Lester, current Dean of Humanities, and Kathryn Mohrman, Director
of the University Design Consortium, provide leadership of the Center for ASU. Yang Guang,
Deputy Dean of the College of Foreign Languages and Cultures, does the same for SCU. In
addition, ASU has a planning committee composed of nearly 20 faculty and administrators with
an interest in improving Sino-American mutual understanding. Most of these human resources
are contributed to the project.
Financial support and infrastructure are provided by SCU (physical space, administrative
support, room and board for visiting scholars) and ASU (administrative support and faculty
expertise). In addition, the U.S. Department of State provided start-up funding for equipment,
books and periodicals, and faculty travel. It will be essential to indentify and secure other
sources of financial support to sustain and expand the academic interactions between ASU and
SCU.
Looking ahead The 2011-2012 academic year presents significant progress toward our longrange goals of richer and deeper cooperation. The U.S. Department of State has assigned one of
its English Language Fellows to Sichuan University to teach weekly classes in English, consult
on language pedagogy, and support the activities of the Center. She will provide continuity
when ASU professors are not in China; the expectation is that she will also lead weekly
discussions of American books and films as well as provide other cultural programming. Based
on the experiences of the first year of operation, ASU professors will spend two weeks in
residence rather than one in order to build a stronger relationship with SCU faculty and students.
Recently retired ASU history professor, Steve MacKinnon, will be in residence at SCU for the
spring 2012 semester under the auspices of the Center for American Culture. He will teach a
course on the history of Sino-American relations in addition to pursuing his own research
interests. Also, since SCU is creating a new International Studies Center, he will consult on
ways to develop that Center in collaboration with the Center for American Culture.
Longer-term goals include collaborative research projects between ASU and SCU professors,
student and faculty exchange, joint credit-bearing courses on American culture, outreach to
American businesses in Sichuan, and certificate programs for both SCU students and adult
continuing education.