Location:

Beijing, China

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

Arrive Date: 8/12/2013 End Date: 9/8/2013

COURSES
Art History 190F - Undergraduate Proseminar in Art History (4 units)
Study of a broad problem or theoretical issue. Intensive reading, discussion, research, writing. Topics (A) Mediterranean Antiquity; (B) Medieval; (C) Renaissance; (D) American Art; (E) Gendering of Culture; (F) Chinese Art and Material Culture, GE credit: AH, OL, VL, WC, WE.; (G) Japanese Art and Material Culture; (H) Late Modern Art and Theory.
AND
Art History 198 - Directed Group Study (4 units) (P/NP grading only.)

This fast-paced, intensive study and travel course focuses on early Buddhist art in sculpture, painting, and architecture. We examine sculptures and paintings at major cultural sites including the Yungang (in the northeast), Dunhuang (in the northwest on the Silk Road), and Longmen (in central-eastern China, with one of the more beautiful colossal sculptures in the world.) We will study the earliest surviving wooden structures in China, the Nanchan and Foguang Temples of Mt. Wutai--one of China's most sacred mountains--and some of China's earliest surviving pagodas and monasteries in Xian. We will learn about recent archaeological finds and meet Chinese university students. Where possible, we will catch up on current trends in contemporary Chinese art at artists' studios and galleries.

Upper-division units (open to freshmen through graduates). Taught in English. UC Davis courses taught by University of California, Davis faculty.

Please contact UC Davis Summer Abroad for the most up-to-date information concerning program costs. Programs start around $4,000.

All students enrolled in a Summer Abroad program (Davis and Non-Davis) will have the opportunity to apply for a Travel Award ($500 - $1,500.) Travel award deadline: March 5, 2013. Enrollment deadline is April 5, 2013.

Setting Description:

About China
From the Lonely Planet guide book:
Eagerly assuming its place among the world’s top travel destinations, even more so since Beijing took centre stage at the 2008Olympics, China is an epic adventure. From the wide open and empty panoramas of Tibet to the push and shove of Shànghai,from the volcanic dishes of Sìchuanto beer by the bag in seaside Qingdao,a journey through this colossus of a country is a mesmerizing encounter with the most populous and perhaps most culturally idiosyncratic nation on earth.
The sheer diversity of China’s terrain takes you from noisy cities fizzing with energy to isolated mountain-top Ming-Dynasty villages where you can hear a pin drop. Pudong’s ambitious skyline is a triumphant statement,but it couldn’t be further from the worldly renunciation acted out in Tibet’s distant monasteries.
Curator of the world’s oldest continuous civilization, China will have you bumping into history at every turn. But it’s not just a museum of im