Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Dr. Sandra Webster, a professor of psychology at Westminster College, will present "A Psychological Investigation of the Silk Road: Western China, Summer 2004" at the Faculty Forum Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 11:45 a.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater located in the McKelvey Campus Center.
"Western China is the home of minority peoples who are not considered to be ethnically Chinese. As a minority people, they share some of the historic oppressions from the dominant Han Chinese that were also experienced by the Korean people over the last three millennia," Webster said. "It may be possible that these minority groups have experienced the same social and historical antecedents that contribute to the Korean national trait of Han. This forum explores similarities and differences in the psychological context for emotion based on a nine-day study tour of Western China."
This current research is an extension of Webster's previous cross-cultural research comparing the emotional reactions of Koreans and Americans to prolonged uncontrollable stress. Webster will conclude the forum with her observations of the Chinese psychologist reactions to the Han research that she presented at the International Congress of Psychology in Beijing.
Faculty forum, established in 1990, serves as a venue for the exchange of ideas and information among Westminster College faculty. Speakers present their research, teaching ideas, lectures, performances, special programs, and uses of technology to keep faculty informed about the work of colleagues from many disciplines.
Webster earned her undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She is the McCandless Scholar for the 2004-2005 academic year. This award, designed to honor Dr. J. Bardarah McCandless and to encourage scholarly activity on Westminster's campus, is given to one full-time tenure track faculty member each year. The McCandless Scholar receives eight credit hours of reassigned time and monetary support for research and scholarship expenses.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Webster at (724) 946-7238 or e-mail websters@westminster.edu.
