Living in Beijing

Grant Details

Amount: $10,817

Project Start Date: 05/26/07

Status: In Progress (under development)

Project Type:
Campus Based

Languages: Chinese

Project Level:
Advanced

Project Skills:
Cultural Awareness
Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing

Institutions Involved:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Primary Contact:
Jin Zhang (jinzhang@mit.edu)

14N-305
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge , MA 02319
Phone: 617-258-8564

Living in Beijing is an interactive hypermedia project that integrates the study of Chinese language and culture. The project, built on the Metamedia platform, attempts to showcase Beijing's current transformation in the context of urbanization, globalization, and the transition to capitalism. To this end, the socio-economic and cultural aspects of ordinary people's lives in the Asian Games Village (AGV) community, located in the northeast of the city, have been chosen as the focus of the hypermedia archive. To present life in Beijing in action, the project contains footage of recreational programs and street scenes, in addition to one-on-one interviews. Students will therefore be exposed to the Chinese language as used in various culturally authentic settings. When finished, Living in Beijing will have two main components: a Metamedia archive and a web site with interactive maps and links to external web sites. The archival materials will provide the students with an authentic picture of contemporary life in Beijing, whereas the web site will guide the students to the wealth of on-line resources related to these topics. Living in Beijing is geared towards high-intermediate-level and advanced-level Chinese learners, including heritage learners. The classes will have theme-based units that focus on Beijing's current socio-economic and cultural transformation.