The Oscher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will offer a fascinating course this winter called “What the United States and China Can Learn from Each Other.” The course will take place on Hilton Head in Pineland Station, Suite 304 A. There will be three sessions: Mondays, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, and Feb. 11, from 1 – 3 pm.
With different histories and cultures both the United States and China have their own unique set of values, which they see as exceptional and setting them apart from other countries and each other. This class will explore these differences and consider what each country can learn from the other in their respective approaches to economic, educational, and environmental issues. The course will also examine the implications of this emerging “Giant” for the United States.
The instructor, Edwin Williams, is a retired college professor, a former director of international studies, and former president of TraveLearn. He has traveled to China 18 times since the early 1980s.
In 1999, Williams was honored as an Ambassador for International and Cultural Understanding as a guest of The Peoples Republic of China at the 2,500th Anniversary of Confucius birth in Qufu.
Williams says, “My 18th trip to China in October took me and the group of Lifelong Learners to Beijing, Xian (home of the Terra Cotta Soldiers), Qufu (the birthplace of Confucius), Suzhou (the Venice of China), and Shanghai (to see once again the emerging future of the 21st century). I also visited Chongqing (the Chicago of China) before embarking on a four day trip on the Yangtze River to visit the Great Gorges and also the Three Gorges Dam (the biggest hydroelectric project in the world and considered China’s modern “Great Wall.”). In addition to the usual site visits we had several “people-to-people” experiences including a visit to a Seniors Center and special lectures.”
This course, along with 220 other intellectually stimulating classes, are offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. OLLI is devoted to providing quality, intellectually stimulating not-for-credit educational opportunities and experiences specifically developed for adults of the Lowcountry who are age 50 and older. OLLI classes are held in Bluffton, Beaufort, Hilton Head Island and the Jasper region. For more information go to www.uscb.edu/OLLI or call 843-208-8247.
