Good Academic Standing
Good Judicial Standing

Preference will be given to students enrolled in the Chinese courses offered in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008.

Ethnobotany is an investigation of past and present human dependence on plants, emphasizing plants used as foods and medicines. This course is an on site exploration of the diverse ways in which plants form an integral part of modern China and its history. By studying how plants have been or are used in human societies, ethnobotany also gains insight into the complex relationship between plant uses and cultures. A growing interest in ethnobotany is seen since the 1990's because of pharmaceutical applications. Although chemically-synthesized drugs replaced plants as the main medicinal source in the recent history of human civilization, especially in industrialized countries, plants are again considered as a significant source of new pharmaceuticals. Industries are now interested in exploring parts of the world where plant medicine remains the predominant form of dealing with illness.

China has a rich and well documented tradition and diverse usage of plants. China provides a classic example of the incorporation of plant derived drugs in all aspects of medicine. The diverse usage of plants is also reflected in the many kinds of Chinese food that are consumed by people of various cultures around the world. China is one of the "cradles" of agriculture, the birth place of the cultivation of many important crops, including rice, millet, soybeans, and water chestnuts, and is the only undisrupted major ancient civilization in the world. Some plants find use in almost every aspect of Chinese life, such as the bamboo, a woody grass, which provides material for many uses, from construction to furniture, tools, crafts, paper, and food. Thus China is an outstanding location for the study of ethnobotany, allowing close examination of the diversity of human usages of plants, past and present, and its implications on humanity in the near future.

China’s recent emergence as a fast growing economic power provides numerous opportunities for American companies. Increasingly close ties have formed between China and the US in economic, political, and academic fields since China opened its doors to the western world two and half decades ago. This means for the university and its students tremendous opportunities, as well as a serious challenge because of the cultural differences between the two countries. The proposed course will help the students to gain an understanding of China and its people by surveying a core theme of everyday life, use of plants, and other related cultural phenomena.

Tentative Itinerary

April  1 - General introduction to ethnobotany, plant use, and civilization; Introduction to Ethnobotany in China and Chinese culture;

April 8 - Contemporary issues related to plant use in China:  food, medicine, and conservation biology; History of China in the eyes of a biologist: agriculture, diverse food sources, and population growth           

April 15 - Introduction to Chinese food; Introduction to Chinese medicine

April 22 - An old tradition and a new trend: medicine as food and food as medicine; Future of Chinese medicine: a lost tradition or new directions? WeiJi: Risks and Opportunities -- dilemma of an ancient culture in a new era

April 29 - General orientation for course, including customs, safety, logistics

May     9-10     Travel to China

May 11 - Great Wall (Reaction Paper)

May 12 - Forbidden City and Institute of Botany

May 13 - Experience cultural change from the north to the south by riding a train from Beijing to Changsha

May 14 - Seminar: Medicinal plant resources in Hunan, presented by professor of Chinese medicine of Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Reaction Paper)

May 15 - Seminar: Medicinal use of plants in Chinese traditional Medicine - collecting, processing, and brewing, presented by professor of Chinese medicine of Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Quiz 1)

May 16 - Seminar: Use of plants as food and medicine, presented by professor of Chinese medicine of Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine; visit arboretum of  Hunan Agricultural University

May 17 - Philosophy of Chinese Traditional Medicine, presented by professor of Chinese medicine of Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Discussion with college students studying Chinese medicine: future of Chinese Traditional Medicine

May 18 - Visit to clinic administering Chinese medicine (Quiz 2)

May 19 - Lecture: origins of Chinese medicinal plants; Visiting drug store of Chinese Traditional Medicine

May 20 - Plant diversity in the garden setting
a. visit to typical farmer’s vegetable garden (Reaction Paper)
b. visit to experimental vegetable farm of Hunan Agricultural University

May 21 - Seminar: wild plants as food: bamboo shoots, kudzu starch, and fern sprouts, presented by professor from Hunan Agricultural University; Tea tasting with experts at Hunan Agricultural University

May 22 - Plant diversity in farmer's markets; Seminar: woody plant resources: tong oil, gallnuts, and camellia oil, presented by professor from Central South University of Forestry Science and Technology  (Quiz 3)

May 23 - Preparation of Chinese food: visiting cooking school

May 24 to 26 - Visit to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
a. lecture by conservation biologists
b. interviewing local people living in the preserve
c. meeting preserve management personnel

May 27 - One day in Tu village: how the ethnic minority people live in modern times; visiting ethnic minority market: tools and crafts made from plants; lecture on use of bamboo and other woody plants.

May 28 - Air travel from Changsha to Beijing  (Quiz 4)

May 29 - Air travel from Beijing back to U.S.  (Reaction Paper)

July 15 - Term paper due.

Make your course/substitution selections on your EIU Program Application. The credit hours associated with your selections may not exceed the credit hours allocated for this program: 4

Below are the choices available for this program:

Approved Substitute: None

These arrangements are tentative, but the plan is for students to stay in the guesthouse of the International Education Institute, Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha during their stay in Changsha; to stay in the guesthouse of the International Education Institute, Jishou University, Jishou during their stay in Jishou and Fenghuang; and to stay in a hotel during their stay in Beijing and Zhangjiajie.

At least two pre-departure orientations will be provided and are required for all participants.

Your faculty leader will hold one of these orientations, where he/she will cover information on safety, health, legal, environmental, political, cultural, and religious conditions in the host country(ies), as well as planning logistics.

The Office of Study Aborad (OSA) will hold the other orientation. They will cover general information about traveling abroad to different areas of the world and facilitate a panel discussion composed of students who have already participated in faculty-led study abroad programs.

You are strongly encouraged to read the U.S. State Department's Consular Information Sheet on your host countries. It will provide you with a great deal of information to help you prepare for your trip.

**Please be aware that you are responsible for obtaining the most up-to-date information on foreign entry requirements. The Office of Study Abroad only provides general information, as regulations and procedures are always changing. Please consult the Consulate for more information. **