Mark Kramer: Teach with a rational attitude and educate people with a scholar’s temperament

Reporter Li Qiuyu Photography Yujun

Mark Kramer (Mark Kramer), Professor and Director of the Department of Cold War Studies at Harvard University, Director of the Organizing Committee of the Shaharov Human Rights Award at Harvard University, Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies-Senior Research Fellow at Davis Research Center. He studied mathematics at Stanford and Harvard during his undergraduate and graduate studies, and later studied international relations at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He was also an academician of the Institute of International and Area Studies at Harvard University. He has written numerous books and papers, and now teaches international relations and comparative politics at Harvard University.

This is the third time Professor Mark Kramer has come to the International w88 casino Summer w88 casino. Although the course he taught this time was "U.S. Foreign Policy and its International System: The Cold War and its Post-Cold War Legacy," what he most expected students to learn was not the dusty historical facts of that turbulent era or the political trends across the ocean.

“What I hope most is that they can read and think critically, improve their writing skills, and learn to use scientific or academic methods to analyze problems.”

To this end, Professor Kramer will send relevant materials or papers before each class, requiring students to read the preview first; in class, the knowledge will be sorted out by describing the courseware content in detail; after class, the courseware will be uploaded for students to review.

Students taking this courseJunetold reporters that he thought the content of this course would focus on history, but in fact, the content of the course was more related to the current situation. He believes this makes the course more enlightening and relevant. "Professor Kramer did not lower his standards and teach simple content just because he was dealing with students from non-English speaking countries. Instead, he used factual statements and case analysis to connect the courses objectively and rationally, with a scholarly style."

Grown up in an immigrant familyProfessor Kramer of 11803_11903|Ting has a deep understanding of the difficulty of conducting classroom activities in non-native languages, but he has not lowered the requirements for students' language ability because of this. He said that when he lectures in English, he will inadvertently reveal more knowledge beyond the main body of the course, which requires students to have a solid English foundation.

Although due to the high difficulty of the course and language problems, it is not easy for students to fully digest and understand the knowledge taught by professors; but there is no doubt that the professor’s enthusiastic and patient teaching has benefited students a lot in the formation of an international perspective and the improvement of English listening and speaking skills. There are many traces of circles in the students' reading materials. Professor Kramer also often stays in the classroom after class to continue communicating with students. When students cannot fully understand the professor's English expressions, he will even search for some Chinese materials and show them to them. The students interviewed all expressed the hope to continue inviting professors to w88 casino to teach. studentMassimosaid that through studying this course, he learned about the comment methods and evaluation systems of Western scholars on the Cold War, which was of great help in further understanding Western culture and improving international communication capabilities.

On the other hand, Professor Kramer also spoke highly of our students. He was deeply impressed by the good questions asked by some students; and those students who came to him with good questions often scored very high in their exams.

On one side are professors who are knowledgeable and broad-minded, and on the other are students who are in their prime and eager for knowledge. In Huiyuan under the scorching sun in July, this calm collision of ideas will continue every year.