The opening course of this year's CIV program, taught by Professor Paola Iovene, drew to a close after three intensive weeks. Focusing on the interplay between literature, film, and urban change, the course guided students through Beijing's modern history as seen through the novel and the screen. By closely examining Lao She's Rickshaw Boy alongside films such as In the Heat of the Sun, students considered how the city's shifting landscapes and stories reflect wider transformations in Chinese history and society.
The course made ample use of Beijing as a living classroom. Students traveled to sites that figure prominently in the works they studied - the former residence of Lao She, the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, and the China National Film Museum - gaining a richer sense of the city's layered past. The course wrapped up with a creative assignment, in which students developed their own multimedia presentations and short essay films, offering personal perspectives on life in Beijing.
