The Advanced Asian Research and Language Institute, recruiting in cooperation
with California State University Monterey Bay, and the Ricci Institute of Macau
(assisting the University of San Francisco's Pacific Rim program), offers 100
DAYS OF STUDY IN ASIA, with cost-effective research opportunities for
undergraduate and graduate students, with the option of getting an MA degree in
select disciplines. Students who enroll in the AARLI program spend at
least 100 days -- one or more semesters -- of specialized study in select Asian
universities, including Beijing, Lhasa (Tibet), Xining (Amdo, North Tibet),
Macau, Hongkong, and, by special arrangement, can also choose independent
research opportunities in study-related locations.
1. MA, Religious Studies, with inter-disciplinary focus on East Asia,
including Buddhism, Taoism (Daoism), Shinto, and Altaic Shaman, with
demonstrated understanding of Islam, the Judaic-Christian traditions of
Europe-origin cultures, South and SE Asia, and religions of the Southern
continents. The reference guide for research is found in A New Handbook of
Living Religions, edited by John R. Hinnells, (Penguin: 1998). Candidates
for the MA degree must show teaching competence in "World
Religions" and expertise in one of the major areas of Asian religions, and
produce a written thesis.
2. MFA, Masters Degree in Fine Arts. Inter-disciplinary abilities in
computer & information technology, documentary movie or video production,
(dance, drama, scenario or documentary script writing), website creation and
maintenance, editing, advertising and public relations skills. Candidate must
demonstrate competency in teaching and working in at least one of the chosen
study fields. They will produce a video or a film documentary illustrating
research in the field, and write an MA thesis describing the goals and outcomes
of the completed MFA study program.
3. M.A.S.H., Masters Degree in Social Humanities, with
inter-disciplinary focus on cultural history, ethnography, language, literature,
festivals, and the philosophical assumptions behind chosen fields of
ethnographic research: East Asia, China, Japan, Tibet, SE Asia, the cultures of
the Philippines, SE Asia's Mienh-Yao, Hmong-Miao, Aini-Hani-Akka, Lisu, Lahu,
Wa, Muosuo, Bulang, Pumi, and related cultures on the China-Burma-Laos-Vietnam
borders; Mexico, Central, and South America's non-European cultures, festivals,
and languages; South Pacific-Hawaiian cultures, and Native American (Canada
& USA) cultures, with an emphasis on the languages and festivals of
California and the Southwest. To qualify for the IMA degree, candidates must be
able to teach elementary, high school, or university courses in the chosen
fields of research, prepare a video-documentary of research in the field, and
write an MA thesis to be used as an instructional tool in the chosen fields of
expertise,
AARLI also offers upper division undergraduate and beginning graduate
level courses in Asia during the 100 day study abroad program in Asia:
1. A Cultural History of China and Tibet. A 3-4 unit intensive
seminar, taught by Michael Saso, CSUMB professor of World Language &
Culture, and of The People's University, Beijing, chaired by Prof. Huilin Yang,
PhD, and conducted in English by Prof. Shen Wei (ABD). Students must
demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the 25 dynastic histories, and modern
China, the literary classics, the philosophical schools, and the "three
religions one culture" (Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist) system of China.
Content and structure of the course is based on the Harvard University textbook
of J.A.G. Roberts, A Concise History of China, (Harvard: 2000), and Dr.
Saso's Blue Dragon White Tiger: A Structural Study of Chinese Religion and
Culture, (Univ. Of Hawaii Press, Honolulu: 2000). Tests and grades for the
course are determined by essay and written examination.
2. The Ethnography of China. (Anthro 395) In China,
ethnography is considered a social science and a hard science: a social science
because it records the structure and function of cultural-ethnic groups within
the boundaries of greater China, and a hard science because it demands the proof
of a linguistic and cultural origin hypothesis, through an accurate and detailed
description in written and visual documentary form of one or more of China's 65
recognized minorities (with over 100 sub-divisions of official, state-recognized
ethnic groups), including Tibetan, Chinese Turkestani, Yunnan-Tibeto-Burmese and
Austronesian, Mongol, northeastern Altaic, and folk cultures of rural and urban
Han China.
The Study Abroad program run by AARLI (in collaboration with CSUMB's
Continuing Education, and the Study Abroad Office) allows students to take part
in Ethnography courses taught at the Beijing University of Ethnography, (Minzu
Daxue) and its research sites throughout China. Students who enroll in
Anthro/Ethnogr. 395 spend one semester studying with China's best known scholars
in fields of special interest. They do: a) intensive training in Beijing, to
learn ethnographic methods, and the specialized vocabulary of Ethnography in the
Chinese language; b) directed research in one or more of China's minority
cultures; and c) guided field experience recording the customs and festivals of
a chosen ethnic minority group. AARLI students will elect to study with one
of the following university professors of Ethnography in their specialized field
of interest:
Prof. Li Ziran, PhD, Ethnography; world renowned expert on Hani-Aini
linguistics and culture; Prof. Li is author of extensive books and articles on
The Hani-Aini-Akka culture, a cultural-linguistic group found along the
China-Laos-Burma border, with branches extending as far south as the golden
triangle in north Thailand. The Hani are linguistically of Tibeto-Burmese
origin, migrating from Mongolia in ancient times through Szechuan, Yunnan, into
a wide area which include the Yunnan Red River and Xishuangbanna areas, portions
of Thai, Burma, and Laos. Study of the Hani focuses on the Red River and the
Xishuangbanna areas within China, where the cultures are preserved in their more
primitive forms, with short trips to the Yao-Mienh, Miao- Hmong, Bulang, Wa,
Lisu, and/or Lahu tribal villages in SW Yunnan. Before enrolling in Anth 395,
CSUMB students are advised to have one semester of Chinese language study at
CSUMB/DLEE/USF, or an intensive summer session with AARLI in Beijing.
Prof. Tudeng Puntsok, Ph.D., Tibetan Religion, Medicine, and Culture. Prof.
Puntsok is a world renowned expert on Tibetan medicine, and the
Cultural-religious history of Tibet. He is a native of the Kham (eastern)
province of Tibet, has studied as a Kagyupa monk in Derge, the Buddhist printing
press city of Kham, has written and published extensively on Tibetan medicine,
Tibetan Buddhism, and the relationship between Daoism and Tantric Buddhist
ritual meditation. He is a regular invitee to Buddhist Studies conferences in
the USA, and lectures in English, Chinese, and Tibetan language.
Course materials include: a) participation in the "Cultural History of
Tibet" seminar; b) basic principles of Tibetan medicine, herbal collection
and identification (with field work in Kham identifying and collecting herbal
remedies); c) a comparative study of the Daoist Yinyang, Five Element, 8 trigram
and 12 stems (months) system with the practice of Tibetan Tantric meditation and
healing, in Kham cultural area field work.
• One full length written paper with video or power-point presentation
are required for credit in either of these two courses, earning up to 4 upper
division or graduate units.
• Students with special interest in the Islamic areas of China, Uighur,
Tajik, Khirgiz, and Kazhak, OR the Mongol related cultural and linguistic areas
of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang (Daoba, Owenke, Olunchun areas) may also
arrange for analogous courses in these fields, with case-by-case permission from
specialized university professors of Ethnography.
3. Intensive Language Courses in Asia. AARLI students take intensive Chinese
Language courses while on the 100 days in Asia program. Languages include
Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Mandarin Chinese, Tibetan, Cantonese, and
the languages of Chinese minority cultures, taught at The Beijing University of
Ethnography. To enroll in these language courses, phone Dan Granger, (831)
582-4500, Ric Donovan, (831) 582-3512, Michael Saso, (831) 625-7635, or
www.aarli.com
4. PhD programs administered through AARLI: Upon completing an MA course of
studies, and being awarded the MA degree, successful MA candidates may opt for
the special research AARLI/BEIJING PhD degree, administered in the manner of the
European system. Candidates choose three "readers" or academic
specialists in the chosen field of doctoral research. Under their guidance,
after two years of intensive field and textual research, they write a
publishable (or published) PhD thesis, consisting of an original research
project, and a full length video documentary for teaching purposes. To be
awarded the interdisciplinary PhD, candidates must successfully defend the
thesis-and-documentary during their third year of doctoral work before a board
of examiners,
AARLI degree courses are offered at the AARLI Center in Beijing (11
North 3rd Circle Rd., the Shoudu Tiyu Daxue Campus) in conjunction with the
People's University (Renmin Daxue), and the Ethnography University (Minzu Daxue)
of Beijing, and the Macau Ricci Institute, in conjunction with the International
University of Macau (IUM). Students may enroll in IUM's MBA, MIT, and MAE
programs, after completing the AARLI 100 days in Asia courses.
TIBET PILGRIMS: each summer, from May through August, AARLI offers special
pilgrimages to the sacred sites and festivals of Tibet. The Pilgrims fly from LA
or San Francisco to Beijing, then visit Lhasa's Jhokang, Potala, Sera, and
Nechong monastery shrines, Shigatse's Tashilumpo, Gyantse's Kumbun Stupa and
Monastery, Neji Kangsa Snow Mtn pass, Yamtso Lakes, Ganden Khora, Zongkapa's
meditation cave, and the Ganden sky burial site. Finally, they visit Beijing's
Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and Silk Alley markets. See www.aarli.com for
dates.
SCHOOLS AND CLINICS IN TIBET: AARLI has raised funds and built five schools
and one clinic in greater Tibet. Pilgrims are invited to visit these sites and
participate in AARLI's cultural and educational preservation work in Tibet.
AARLI's economical courses are open to participating universities, and all
students who seek to do serious quality focused research and linguistic work in
China.
Michael Saso, a former California Province Jesuit with a PhD from the
University of London, and the author of more than a dozen books on Asian
spirituality, has been commuting between Carmel, California, and various parts
of China and Tibet for the past 15 years. For 20 years, he was a professor of
Religious Studies at the University of Hawaii and he is now on the faculty of
Beijing's Capital Wushu University and the California State University Monterey
Bay.
He is the founder of the Beijing-based AARLI, THE ADVANCED ASIAN RESEARCH AND
LANGUAGE INSTITUTE, designed to meet a growing, worldwide need for high-level,
cost-effective study in China under the supervision of a team of renowned
scholars.