“Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.”
-Taoist sage, Chuang Tzu, Circa 250 B.C.
For centuries, Western critics and scholars have kept their eyes on the East, but China’s ever-increasing scale of urbanism and size of economy has focused the world’s lenses on China. In this regard, it is the intention of American Academy in China (AAC) to provide the platform for academic programs, including research studios, exhibitions, lectures, and travel enrichment courses to examine and explore the country’s new urban paradigm.
For the past three years, several international universities have joined University of Southern California to participate in AAC programs in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, Nanjing, Xi’an, Lijiang, and Shenzhen fostering academic exchange in the disciplines of arts and architecture in China. Visits to each city were marked by academic tours, discussion forums, and intense workshops with leading creative minds in Chinese urban design and planning, art, and architecture. With this accomplishment, AAC recognizes the need to facilitate academic agendas, maximize local resources, map research fields, and most importantly, to enable communication and collaboration between institutions and scholars of diverse disciplines. For this reason, we have strategically established a five year plan for the expansion of the USC AAC programs that allows the program to accumulate knowledge gained with each subsequent year. This will be the full realization of an ever-expanding program, providing endless possibilities for students, scholars, academicians, and patrons of the arts and architecture to examine China’s culture. In this regard, I cordially invite you to participate with us in the AAC to advance the scholarship and visions of the AAC to its full potential.
Qingyun Ma
Founder, USC American Academy in China
Dean, Della and Harry MacDonald Chair
USC School of Architecture