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KALAMAZOO, Mich.-- �鶹��ý’s Haenicke Institute for Global Education announces the 2024 recipients of the Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies Research Grants. Funds this year will support global art, a book translation project and tourism and development research.  

Patrick D. Wilson, associate professor and area coordinator of sculpture at the Gwen Frostic School of Art, joins Dr. Shu Yang, associate professor of Chinese in the Department of World Languages and Literatures, and Dr. Li Yang, associate professor in the School of Environment, Geography and Sustainability, as recipients of this year’s awards.  

Global Art

Wilson will use the funds to travel to Taiwan this summer, where he will be an artist in residence at the . He plans to create a series of digital collage works set in the urban and industrial settings of Taipei and Kaohsiung.  

The series, which combines 3-D modeling and photography, will deal with technology, urbanization and notions of progress, he says. It will create an artistic dialogue between viewers and these unique and changing environments. The exhibit will be displayed for the public in Taiwan.  

“A lot of my research since about 2010 has focused on development in China. Taiwan has moved along a somewhat different trajectory,” Wilson says.  

“I am interested in photographing contemporary industrial and technologically-developed locations in both of these cities as a comparative exercise to my previous study, and because it exhibits a great number of hypermodern environments.”  

Book Translation 

Dr. Shu Yang’s award will support the Russian translation of her book, “” for the Central Asian, Russian and Ukrainian book markets.  

“Untamed Shrews” was first published by Cornell University Press in July 2023, she says. It has since garnered the attention of publishers worldwide, including Academic Studies Press, which hopes to translate and market the work in Central Asian countries like Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. 

Academic Studies Press launched a contemporary eastern studies book series in 2019 to make Asian history and culture more understandable and accessible to the Russian-speaking world.  

Shu Yang says the translation of her book into languages other than English will enhance the international scholarly profile of WMU. 

“The experience would open the door for me to explore how a contemporary English scholarship in Chinese studies bridges interests across linguistic, cultural, social and political boundaries, and how we, as literary critics, could add and stimulate voices to join ongoing cross-genre and inter-border discussions on language, words, fiction, history and reality.” 

Tourism Development Research 

Dr. Li Yang used grant funds this summer to explore the role of heritage tourism as an economic development tool in China.  

Heritage tourism has grown globally over the past two decades, and the Chinese government often actively promotes historic towns for tourism purposes, she says. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of the impacts of this development on historic sites and their residents. 

Li Yang surveyed residents of Yunnan, China, in May and June to assess the ways in which local livelihoods are affected by tourism development. She will present her findings at a national conference in April.  

Her hope is that the research will contribute to the understanding of the benefits and risks associated with promoting heritage tourism as a development strategy. It could also aid in the sustainable development of heritage tourism programs worldwide, she says. 

“This fund enabled me to travel to China to conduct field research and explore the impacts of heritage tourism on a local community,” Li Yang says. “The research results could help heritage protection and reduce the negative impacts of tourism in the town.” 

Timothy Light Center Research Grants

A unit of the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, WMU’s Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies was established in 2010 to enhance the work of faculty and graduate researchers with expertise in Sinology, or those with teaching or research interests in China.  

The Center encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and global partnerships to enrich international curriculum, art and culture on campus. It also provides annual support to WMU faculty for research and creative activities. 

Timothy Light Center Research Grants are valued up to $4,000 each. The deadline for submitting proposals is Feb. 28 and Sep. 30 each year. 

�鶹��ý The Haenicke Institute for Global Education 

The Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education, established in 1998, fosters an environment that supports the global engagement of the �鶹��ý community. Its offices assist more than 1,170 international �鶹��ýs on campus and nearly 1,000 WMU degree-seeking �鶹��ýs studying at partner institutions in China and Taiwan.  

The Institute facilitates short- and long-term study abroad programs for �鶹��ýs, faculty and staff in 30 countries. It also hosts a variety of global learning activities to encourage a more globally engaged Southwest Michigan. These initiatives include designing and promoting scholarship and academic �鶹��ý at WMU; providing outreach to area K-12 schools; hosting lectures, panels and events; and showcasing arts, entertainment and culture from around the world. 

Learn more at wmich.edu/international.