Sustainability in Asia
Among the most pressing issues for the 21 st century are water security and scarcity, and conflicts over land’s purpose, management, and access.
Addressing these issues requires knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines, and experience applying these in real-world settings.
The Landscapes in Transition program provides opportunities for students to explore issues related to water and land in China, Japan, and the American Midwest in courses across the disciplines.
In August 2023, students who have completed Landscapes courses traveled to Japan. Prior field studies courses took place in China in 2017 and 2019, and in Japan in 2018.
Students participating in 2023 Japan course explored the Oga Peninsula as they saught to understand the role that cultural and natural heritage can play in promoting rural sustainability in the face of stark depopulation and aging problems.
Landscapes in Transition is supported by the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment and is undertaken in partnership with Henan University and its Yellow River Institute (Kaifeng, China) and Akita International University (Akita, Japan).
Landscapes in Transition builds on a variety of initiatives that have allowed Beloit College to strengthen teaching about Asia, build strong partnerships with Chinese and Japanese universities, and advance experiential and interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
