For the past three years, Professor of Political Management Dennis Johnson was studying Chinese “for fun.” Little did he know how quickly it would come in handy. Dr. Johnson is currently spending the 2010-11 academic year in China on a Fulbright Distinguished Lectureship, one of 19 China lectureships handed out by the Fulbright scholarship program this year.
Dr. Johnson is teaching courses on American domestic public policy and national political institutions at Jinan University in Guangzhou, a city of more than 12 million people near Hong Kong, and is giving lectures throughout China on current American politics and policy.
“I feel very honored and grateful to be chosen by the Fulbright program,” he says.
Dr. Johnson is one of seven GW faculty and administrators to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year.
When he arrived in China for the fall semester, Dr. Johnson taught two undergraduate courses on Western government institutions and American domestic public policy. This spring, he is teaching a graduate course on U.S. and China relations.
Dr. Johnson teaches his courses in English, which he says comes as a relief. “Jinan University prides itself as being a university with many international students and conducts many of its courses in English,” he says. “My Chinese is still rudimentary, but I keep working at it. Can you imagine courses at GW, taught by a visiting Chinese professor and conducted in Chinese?”
Class participation is the most noticeable difference Dr. Johnson has found between American and Chinese students, saying it was difficult at first to get Jinan University students to “open up and discuss.”
“It is not a part of the Chinese students’ experience to be asked questions by their professors,” says Dr. Johnson, who also attributes students’ reticence to shyness and difficulty speaking English.
“The students have very good memorization skills and often work in teams, but they unfortunately do not have the same level of give-and-take that you would find in a typical GW classroom.”
“Students have said they very much enjoyed learning about America, particularly the similarities and differences between American and Chinese public policy,” he adds. “We also have had some good discussions about the friction points, challenges and opportunities facing our two countries. I've made good friends with some of the graduate students, particularly my teaching assistant.”
Dr. Johnson is also lecturing around the country as part of his Fulbright, with presentations at the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Xiamen University, Xiamen Polytechnic University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the Guangdong University of International Studies.
He has also lectured for the U.S. State Department through its consulate offices in Guangzhou on topics ranging from the 2010 congressional elections and Chinese- American relations to life on American campuses.
“Everywhere I lecture, there have been large, enthusiastic and appreciative crowds of students and faculty,” says Dr. Johnson. “Students are very much interested in how America works, what it is like living in America, how Chinese students could come to the United States to study and how the Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives will affect relations between our two countries.”
“One thing for sure—Chinese students have a strong interest in American policy and politics,” he adds. “I only wish the typical American college student had the same interest in China and its impact on the world.”
Although his Fulbright responsibilities have kept Dr. Johnson busy, he has still found time to play tourist with his wife, Pat. So far, they’ve traveled to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guilin, Kunming and Huangzhou, as well as to Vietnam and Thailand. Before they return to D.C. in July, they hope to see Tibet and more of China’s countryside.
Living in China has also been an adjustment for Dr. Johnson. He says he and his wife have been able to get by using “rudimentary Chinese, hand signs, gestures and laughing a lot and not taking ourselves too seriously.”
“Many locals who work in banks, restaurants or other places where Westerners congregate have basic English skills, so somehow we manage,” he says.
Other major challenges: breathing polluted air, drinking only bottled water, and enduring “horrendous” traffic jams. Internet access is restricted—Dr. Johnson and his wife can’t access many websites, including Facebook or YouTube, but stay entertained by listening to podcasts on their iPhones,reading the New York Times and Washington Post every day and watching American DVDs on their laptop.
“Life here is much simpler: we walk everywhere or take the subway or bus,” he says. “Usually we are the only Westerners.”
While Dr. Johnson says working and living in China has been “a wonderful experience,” he is looking forward to returning to GW next fall and sharing his story with students.
“I am not a China scholar; my fields are domestic public policy and the professionalization of campaigns and elections. But my knowledge and my insights, hopefully, have grown considerably,” he says. “I’ve taken away a much better understanding of this complex, dynamic country, and I plan to continue my study of China and especially to work on my Chinese language skills.”
“It has been quite challenging to teach students in an international setting,” he adds. “I think I will come away from this experience a much better professor.”