In addition to aforementioned business-oriented language instruction and cultural activities, our Confucius Institute will also organize various activities to promote the Chinese culture that target the general public. We are fully aware that such activities are a big focus area for most Confucius Institutes and that the two other Confucius Institutes in our area will obviously organize many such events. For this reason, we will focus on two special considerations for our cultural events. One is that we will work with these two Confucius Institutes and avoid activities that will be redundant with their events. The other is that we will focus more on the international scope of such events to increase their influence. Our planned events in this category includes the following:
Our Confucius Institute will utilize the strengths of many programs in GSU's School of Music and offer concerts that feature Chinese works of music. We will also invite Chinese musicians to perform on our campus. GSU has two professional concert venues, and we plan to take advantage of them in furthering the mission of our Confucius Institute.
Periodically, we will invite Chinese artists to showcase their works of art, such as paintings, calligraphy, and sculptures. We will work with our School of Art and Design and our Center for Collaborative and International Arts to hold exhibits at the Welch Gallery on campus.
GSU has a Center for International Media, and the Confucius Institute is in a good position to work with this center as well as the Digital Art and Entertainment Laboratory to showcase various forms of media art.
Appropriate film festivals will be held, most likely once a year, to feature those Chinese films that best reflect our culture. Chinese films have always been the favorite art form for many Americans.
In conjunction with the Literature program in the English Department, Confucius Institute will organize Chinese literature appreciation events. The Department of English offers a course in World Literature, which is popular with many GSU students. Our Chinese literature appreciation will be a nice complement to the World Literature course and are likely to draw many students.
GSU plans to cooperate with seven urban research universities in several different countries, including one or two universities in China, and form an international consortium with these universities of similar stature. One of the activities that would directly support the mission of the Confucius Institute is to host an annual arts and culture festival that would showcase the cultures of the countries represented, including China.
The Confucius Institute will facilitate and coordinate faculty exchange and research collaboration in various disciplines between GSU and BLCU.