First-Hand News and Second-Hand Books: My Trip to London

Tan Elaine (Major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics)

The summer school of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was pleasant. In the three weeks, Fudan students from different majors and us explored three major issues together: global economy, international politics and democracy. The course was very informative. But what impressed me most is that I found myself like an ancient at LSE after one year of study at Xinya College.

Of course, this is an exaggeration. In the past year at Xinya, I read a lot of classical works, from ancient Greek mythology, dramas and dialogues to philosophical, religious and political works in the period of Enlightenment. The courses for freshmen had very strong classical temperament — the books published in this century were almost not mentioned in class. At Xinya College, the first year of general education, in my opinion, emphasizes "concern for major issues". We thought in the "Ancient Greek Civilization" class about how war destroys civilized society, thought in the "Heritage of Western Intellectual Tradition and Modern Society" class about what free will and reason of humans are on earth, and thought in the "Sovereignty and Human Rights" class how a state and its people interact. These are definitely major issues about the life and thinking of everyone and seeking answers in classics is a way of learning that Xinya has taught us. To my surprise, LSE, a Western school with a profound social sciences tradition, analyzes the world in another way, which is very different from the classical orientation of Xinya.

The entire teaching policy of LSE emphasizes the great concern for the modern international community, and following closely current events and international politics may be a basic quality for every student of LSE. Through the LSE summer school, I can see the concern of the western society for contemporary international politics. They constantly reflect on the extent to which the free market, humanitarian aid and democratic politics they are pursuing are legitimate, feasible and worthy of practice, and they also try to use the influence of Western culture to change the world. LSE’s concern for contemporary society is significantly beyond my imagination. And they always analyze and reflect on today’s world by using the statistical methods of social sciences and the critical thinking regarded as “essence” in Western education. This attempt was very novel to me who had studied at Xinya College for one year. Although I am somewhat ashamed to say so, I am indeed not as sensitive to the news of contemporary society as other LSE students. I often devoted myself to classics and ignored the world I live in today.

When I thought about questions raised in LSE classes, I often followed my familiar thinking as a Xinya student. For example, when the teachers talked about the market, trade and deal, I thought of how Adam Smith transformed individual profit-seeking behavior into contribution to collective interest through the "invisible hand" theory, and how Hegel's "civil society" explains such transformation "from particularity to universality". The lessons about international politics and Model United Nations often reminded me that the city-states described by Thucydides fall into the Thucydides Trap out of fear, interest and glory. Although the teaching model of LSE — one lecture + one discussion + off-campus tour per day — was strange to me, I felt that different interdisciplinary models ran in parallel in my mind and reminded me of a lot of classics I had read. Anyway, the learning approach of LSE is equally effective. Although the discussion course where students frequently communicate with teachers was a little strange to Chinese students and we did not actively participate in the discussion for lingual or other reasons, the form of discussion is worthy to be affirmed. In the discussion class of LSE, discussing with classmates and exchanging views with the teacher before the teacher’s appropriate guidance was also an effective way of learning for me. The students sitting at the same table were from different majors, which made me feel the charm of interdisciplinary exchanges and broaden my vision. The two different interdisciplinary learning methods made me feel the difference in teaching methods between Xinya and LSE, and also brought me a lot of reflection. During this short-term study at LSE, I read little classics and relied more on today's news reports or articles by commentators. I dare not judge the pros and cons of this way of learning. The truth is that many complicated issues eventually return to one core universal issue, such as what is freedom, democracy, or the meaning of education. In this sense, I personally think that classics did me more favor because analyzing and thinking from the original problems make my thoughts clearer. My addiction to classics naturally made me an “ancient person” at LSE.

London itself is a very charming city. I felt both its profound tradition and its modernization. You can appreciate art, history, music and literature in London galleries, museums, concert halls and libraries. The study and life in London allowed us to explore the British cultural context in Western tradition. I devoted myself to exploring the relics in the city, such as the Fleet Street where publishers stood in great numbers previously, the sculptures of dragons indicating “City of London” and “City of Westminster”, and the remnants on London Bridge. A teacher told us that when Londoners did urban planning, they would specially make new houses in the style of the ancients to maintain the original appearance of the city and avoid modern buildings destroying the quaint atmosphere of the city. I was touched by that. In London, I could see the traces left by Wilde, Wolfe and the like. I had to marvel at the cultural charm of London. In this city, where culture and art are fused, culture itself shows unique beauty, whether it is the exquisite and gorgeous Westminster Abbey or the vast and splendid British Museum. Historical and cultural relics are preserved in a permanent way in the city and in people's memory. The city itself is a museum, showcasing its long history to people.

London is more than this. During my stay in the city, I also explored bookstores, big and small, including special ones related to art galleries, Blackstone well-known in the UK, and bookstores of LSE and the University of Cambridge. Bookstores reflect people's daily cultural accomplishment. An LSE second-hand bookstore I often visited was so narrow that it could just hold five or six people, but there were a lot of interesting books. The books included traces of LSE students, such as a note, a sentence, or a highlighted content. The bookstore is small and it sells old books, but it offers the best collation and classification, which makes readers feel warm and sweet. Also through the bookstore, I could see the interested fields and favorite readings of LSE students. At the door was put a mobile bookshelf. You could pick up a book at will and put it back after you finished. The store manager often updated the books there. Whenever I realized one book was opened and marked by different readers, I felt that knowledge and wisdom were spread in a visible way.

While visiting University of Cambridge, we also spent an hour exploring its bookstores. The retail bookstore of Cambridge University Press is one of the oldest bookstores in the UK. The leading position of the University of Cambridge in academia was evidenced by the bookstore. On the shelves were our familiar philosophical and political classics translated by Cambridge. That series is well-known in the English translation field. One book was Hegel'sElements of the Philosophy of Right, which I had been reading electronically for a long time. Finally, I was able to buy a physical book and take it back. How exciting! The whole bookstore is the most precious treasure left by the University of Cambridge and a group of scholars for the academia. Even in China, we also mentionThe Cambridge History of China, Cambridge English translations, etc. What is the responsibility of a university? I think this bookstore gave us an answer.

London and LSE were really informative, and the three weeks not only widened my horizon. London shows its long history and profound cultural deposits in a unique way, and LSE depicts a picture of the future world as a thinker and builder at the forefront of contemporary society. Both of them gave me a deeper understanding of the West, and I discovered my interest in international politics and international relations. The three weeks passed quickly. When I recall it today, I still feel it was too short.