Confucius Institute

I don't know how many students are aware of the small Chinese treasure we have on the first floor of Cavanaugh, the Confucius Institute at IUPUI. I knew it existed, but had no idea the extent to which it adds to the diversity here on campus. I have recently got to know this place due to my work on our upcoming exhibit, and I just felt I should give it the exposure it deserves. Walking in you are immediately met with cultural artifacts and books galore representing Chinese culture and life. You are drawn in by the friendly staff waiting to help you in any way possible. They have resources galore on study abroad opportunities, language and culture classes offered, and performances going on in the surrounding community. In just two weeks they are sponsoring the "Jiangsu Silk & Bamboo Arts Troupe Performance" at Clowes Hall of Butler University. The show will feature traditional Chinese song and dance, acrobats, and all kinds of other cool things. I definitely suggest anyone interested in Chinese culture or simply just cultural immersion to attend this event. They hope to sponsor many more Chinese cultural events throughout the year.

Also in honor of this event we have decided to bump up our exhibit grand opening. We will officially be presenting our exhibit on September 12, the afternoon before the performance at Clowes hall. We are very excited and hope you all come out to see it!

Oh, and you can find more info about the Confucius Institute at http://www.iupui.edu/~china/events/confucius-institute-inauguration/.

Alise

First Post

Hello! My name is Alise Cool, and I am one of the two new diversity fellows for this year. I'm a sophomore, majoring in Journalism and Spanish, and am absolutely excited for this opportunity. I grew up right here on the East side of Indy and graduated from Warren Central High School. Learning about other cultures has always been my passion and going into this fellowship that's exactly what I hope to do. I've only been working here a week and already I have learned a lot about China (and India, thanks to Sindhu!) that I would have never known and I'm so grateful for that.

One of our jobs as fellows is to create a cultural display every two or three months. We have decided on a topic for our first display, which we hope to have out in about three weeks: China! Since the Olympics were just there and therefore everyone's focus is already on that region, we decided to hop on that bandwagon and help the IUPUI community get to know a little bit more about Chinese culture. We are working with the CCC (Chinese Culture Club), the Confucius Institute and many other campus organizations to try and bring you the most accurate, educational and interesting display we can. We will also be developing an internet exhibit to coincide with the project, so keep your eyes open!