WCU Stories      August 27, 2024

By Bill Studenc

The 2024 fall semester may have just begun at Western Carolina University, but that hasn’t stopped two faculty members in the College of Business from turning some of their attention toward next summer when they will team-teach a special immersive travel course to China.

Yue Hillon, professor of management who holds WCU’s Elingburg Distinguished Professorship in Business Innovation, and Gary Curnutt, assistant professor of finance, will lead the four-week course, titled “Bridging Worlds: Navigating Cultural Markets and Economic Development Journeys in Tourism Economies – A Comparative Exploration.”

Students can earn six credit hours by participating in the summer course – Finance 493 and Management 493. The opportunity will be open to all WCU students regardless of major or college affiliation.

Scheduled for May 19 through June 16, the course will provide students with the opportunity to explore cross-sections of China's financial, economic and cultural landscapes, Hillon said.

“From the historic corridors of Beijing to the scenic mountains of Yunnan, which is much like Western North Carolina, and to the vibrant streets of Shanghai, students will delve into the intricacies of applying finance, driving economic development and facilitating transformation from diverse cultural perspectives,” she said.

During the trip, participants will hear from experts, visit businesses, explore notable landmarks, connect with university students, engage with locals and examine key economic drivers –  experiences all designed to broaden students’ global insights and deepen cultural understanding by fully immersing themselves in a different environment, Hillon said.

“What excites me most about this course is exploring economic development from multiple cultural lenses,” Curnutt said. “Yunnan is a mountainous region that is now exploring an economic realignment to a tourist economy. I believe students may be able to draw parallels to our region here in Western North Carolina and Yunnan but also explore intercultural differences.”

Students will study economic development in the financial hub of China in Shanghai and the political hub of China in Beijing, he said.

Throughout the course, students will be expected to periodically write about their experiences in a journal to reflect on their individual experiences, thoughts and opinions. The exercise is designed to facilitate self-reflection and critical analysis.

The course will culminate with a comprehensive paper that integrates each students’ overarching experience based on insights from the daily journal entries, and a comparative study exploring parallels and distinctions between American and Chinese strategies for fostering economic prosperity, with a particular focus on tourism-based economies.

Through this process, students will not only deepen their understanding of finance, economic development, and economic diversification and transformation within various Chinese cultural contexts, but they also will develop skills in reflection, analysis, communication and critical reasoning abilities.

Hillon and Curnutt recently received a $20,000 intentional learning grant from the Division of Academic Affairs that will provide financial support in the amount of $1,250 per student for up to 16 people. They also are actively seeking additional scholarships to help reduce the cost of the trip.

Four information sessions about the trip are scheduled for the fall semester, all of them to begin at 5 p.m. in Room 225 of the Forsyth Building on the campus in Cullowhee. Dates are Monday, Sept. 16; Tuesday, Oct. 8; Wednesday, Oct. 23; and Thursday, Nov. 21. Distance learning students may attend virtually at https://wcu.zoom.us/my/yuecaihillon.