Upcoming workshop in China!
So at the moment I am preparing for a trip. A big trip (for me anyway). I have been invited to attend a workshop in Changchun, China and I am really looking forward to it. I will also be spending some time in Beijing, but I will write about my experiences there another time. Today I want to talk about the upcoming workshop in China.
The workshop
The workshop is entitled “Future Developments of Digital Humanities and Didactics in Global Ancient Studies” and is organised by the Northeast Normal University of Changchun, China. The University of Cologne has a long tradition of cooperation with Changchun and has been invited several times, but other German universities are also taking part. Topics include digital methods, cultural heritage, archaeogaming and teaching.
My presentation
My own presentation will be about teaching archaeogaming. I have reported several times on the games I make with my students (see latest term). We are currently working on new games and they should be ready by the time I give my presentation at the workshop in China. This is pretty cool because I get to present brand new games to the audience. However, the presentation will not be about the games, but about how we can use archaeogaming to teach about archaeology.
I am quite excited to see how people at Northeast Normal University will react to my presentation. I know that video games are a big thing in China, even among students. However, I have no idea if the concept of archaeogaming exists in China, and if so, in what way. Presenting my work and that of my students will hopefully lead to some discussions on the subject. I would really like to talk to Chinese students about video games and archaeology.
Changchun
I have never been to China before. So it will be very exciting. I’ll be arriving a few days early and spending some time in Beijing before taking the train north to Changchun, which I don’t know much about to be honest, but that will change by the end of the month. I’m staying in a hotel near the university, but otherwise I don’t know much about the place, so I’m researching what to do in Changchun. The workshop days are pretty packed, so I don’t really have that much time.
I will probably visit some parks near my hotel and walk around the streets. In the evening I will attend a conference dinner on the first day and probably a farewell dinner on the second day. As there are so many participants from Cologne (some of whom I know), I predict that we will do something in the evening. They have been to Changchun before, so they probably know the best place to go after the workshop.
The following day I will travel back to Beijing for one last night and then take the plane back home…
