Peking University, April 15, 2017: The Faculty of Social Sciences of Peking University opened “The Classics and Frontier of Social Science” course in spring semester, 2017, in the purpose of cooperating with the undergraduate education reform policy and emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary education at undergraduate level. The course teaches the basic theories and methodologies of social science, bridges the bidirectional interpretation between frontier issues and classical literature, and is intended to enhance liberal education and serve the core vision of “cultivating talents to lead the future” in Peking University.
This course is offered by Faculty of Social Sciences, and taught by professors from Law School, School of International Studies, School of Journalism and Communication, Department of Sociology, Department of Information Management, and School of Government. Professor Yang He, director of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Professor Guan Haiting, vice director of the Faculty of Social Sciences, chaired the course.
The course became a hotspot since it was offered. The maximum number of enrollment was risen twice and finally settled down on around 90 places. The course was scheduled at the 7th to 9th class on Friday, in Lijiao Building. Seven discussion classes were arranged to improve the interactions between teaching and learning, this not only manifests the openness and freedom of classes in Peking University, but also attracts sit in students from PKU and students from other universities.
The teachers of this course are all pioneers in their research field. In order to offer students diverse point of views, each department invites two professors to deliver a lecture on each topic. In addition to in-class teaching and discussion, the teaching group emphasizes on the application of new media, such as ”TEACHING AND LEARNING @ PKU”, public email and Wechat groups, to meet the needs of self-studying. The Teaching and Learning website gives students access to course materials and notifications, also provides a platform for discussion. Online discussion serves as a supplement for in-class discussion and a more objective method to assess the performance of students.
The set up of thiscourse isa valuable attempt in both undergraduate education reform and interdisciplinary education at undergraduate level. The faculty will reflect its strength and flaws to improve the teaching quality in recent meetings. It is hoped that the course will improve as it goes forward and becomes one of the top interdisciplinary courses in Peking University.
Written by: Pan Xuru
Edited by: Wang Chengsiou
