C C Consultants has created a unique comparative culture course now entitled Comparing Civilizations: China and the West (CCCW). This course was originally developed specifically for the School of English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University originally under the title Western Civilization with Chinese Comparisons. Since 2003 this course has been required for all graduate students in English, whose programs concentrate in specializations as varied as linguistics, translation, literature, diplomacy, or area studies (American, British, Australian, Canadian, or Irish).
Experience has confirmed that the best way to learn about an unfamiliar culture is by putting it side by side with a culture that one knows from the inside. The sourcebook brings together carefully balanced texts to represent the ideas and practices that have been dominant in both China and the West, both traditionally and in modern times.
Because comparative culture studies can work in either direction, the co-authors are now testing their materials for use in the West as Comparing Civilizations: China and the West. They have given demonstration lectures in China, Ireland, Switzerland, and the USA, including teaching a model semester course there in the context of general education. Thinking through China is their book aimed at helping Western readers make sense of China today. The readings in WCwCC and CCCW provide basic evidence to support their observations.