LAISS (Liberal Arts Initiative Summer Seminars) is a program run by Amherst College students, recognized and sponsored by Amherst College, MA, and taught by professors from Amherst College. LAISS offers a variety of liberal arts classes on multiple disciplines to Chinese students who are interested in liberal arts education in the U.S. In addition to curricular offerings, LAISS also fosters cross-cultural dialogues by hosting academic panels among U.S. professors and international students.
We aim to:
- Provide first-hand experience of liberal arts education to students in China.
- Promote a better understanding of liberal arts education among future Chinese intellectuals and current Chinese educational institutions.
- Incite intellectual exchanges, which in turn might lead to research in various disciplines among students and professors.
- Serve as an affordable and rigorous platform for intellectual exchanges among professors and outstanding students.
The year 2021 marks the tenth year of the, now extremely sought-after, Liberal Arts Initiative. In the past three years, the dialogues that had taken place between American professors and Chinese students have initiated and promoted a reciprocal learning process beyond the classrooms. Among the 400 global LAISS alumni, most are continuing their pursuit of the liberal arts tradition at top US colleges with an inquisitive and resilient habit of mind gained through the LAISS program. The 2021 Curriculum consists of three academic courses. The students will participate in two courses according to their indicated preference and the writing workshop. All of the courses include lectures and liberal-arts-style small group discussions. The students will work closely with the professors to better understand the provided academic topics and improve their writing. Please go to “Archive” for more information on professors and course offerings in previous years.
LAISS team continues to innovate the curriculum to meet student’s diverse needs. In 2022, LAISS will offer a series of panels, inviting three Amherst-tenured professors to share their perspectives on one theme: The National Myth. These panels will be free and open to all aspiring students, researchers, and educators.
Press inquiries should be directed to laiss.application (at) gmail (dot) com or Office of Global Education at Amherst College. LAISS program is not designed to be a for-credit summer school. Completion of LAISS courses does not translate to college credits.
LAISS 