This is a group blog established for scholars – students, faculty, researchers – involved in the World Class University (WCU) project initiated at Yeungnam University in the Republic of Korea. The principle investigator is Han Woo Park and the two continuously participating international scholars are Greg Elmer and Maurice Vergeer. Several other international scholars will be, during the three-year period of the project, taking part in seminars and workshops. Yeungnam faculty, students, and post-docs will also be involved.
All of these persons are invited to contribute to this blog, as the ‘spirit’ moves them. Postings can be as varied as the diverse interests of this group and need not be directly related to WCU research projects. For example, I will be sharing postings related to my preparation for a short visit in September 2009 and my tourist-related activities during that two-week period. I am personally interested in the overall rationale of the WCU initiative by the Korean government and how the initiative is ‘taken up’ by universities, and will occasionally post items related to that interest. I am, of course, interested in the ‘meaning’ given to ‘e-research’ and ‘e-science’ in Korea and how disciplines in the social sciences and humanities become involved in utilizing the various features of this approach to scholarship. A long-term scholarly involvement with alternative media makes it ‘natural’ that I explore initiatives like OhmyNews during the project. I also have more than a passing interest in Confucianism and Korean cuisine, and will ‘use’ this blog to share those fascinations.
In short, please use this blog to muse on the project, on Korean society, on personal ‘clashes’ with Korean culture. The WCU project is a scholarly adventure and this blog allows those taking part to share some of our experiences during the coming years. Welcome and … blog on!
Nick Jankowski
p.s. The blog design will evolve across time and any persons interested in those aspects should let me know and I will arrange administrative status within the blog management system.
