Claire Duquennois teaches economic courses for the ICB program in Beijing. She gradated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she doubled-majored in Economics and International Affairs. Having earned a Master’s in Urbanization and Development from the London School of Economics, she pursues an active research agenda in urban economic development policy and economic geography. In addition, Claire Duquennois has a multicultural background and abundant international experiences she gained while working and learning in diverse countries.
Q: Tell us something about yourself.
A: My background is that my father is French and my mother is American. I grew up in France, not very far from Paris where I lived until I was 16. Then I moved to Boulder, Colorado where I finished high school, went to the university and got a double major in Economics and International Relations. My hobbies are mostly painting and reading. One of the best books I read was “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote; I just recently re-watched "The Life Aquatic" which is a great movie. When I have time, I like to travel. Mostly to see family but occasionally John, my husband, and I go on adventures such as biking around Beijing or driving a scooter along the east coast of Taiwan.
Q: Which place to eat or thing to do in Beijing would you recommend most highly?
A: One of my favorite things to do here is find a good place to eat. My favorite Chinese dish is ganbiandoujiao(干煸豆角), spicy fried green beans. And in the summer I enjoy sitting outside and enjoying some chuan（烤串), (roasted meat on a stick), with friends, which is enough to keep me happy and busy.
Two Chinese cuisines Professor Claire Duquennois recommends. |
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Ganbiandoujiao |
Chuan |
Photos from Google Images |
Q: How do you bring diversity into your course planning and into your day-to-day teaching?
A: This year I have mostly been teaching introductory economics classes. Some of my classes are fairly big, so it is a challenge to get everyone involved. Recently I have been designing and adapting class activities and simulations to explore the lecture topics from a different angle. We might create miniature markets in classroom and think about how our individual behaviors match economic theory. Last week, we split into groups and calculated each group’s Candy Price Index (CaPI) based on the basket of candy each group liked buying.
Q: Which of your own professors did you most remember and why? And how has that person influenced your own pedagogy?
A: I would say my high school World History teacher. He just loved teaching and perhaps drew me into the social sciences. Liking what you are doing is the most important. If you figured that out (which isn't always easy), the rest will fall into place. I can see this in my students and it is something I try and help them with. I encourage students to come and introduce themselves to me during office hours so that we can get to know each other better. I can help them think about and develop their interests.
Q: What one thing do you want your students to take away from their educational experience?
A: I want them to think carefully about what they enjoy doing and what they want to do. These can be very hard questions. But there is no point in forging ahead if you don't know where you’re going. University studies are a wonderful opportunity but to get the most out of them you cannot just be going through the motions. University studies can make it easy to put off thinking about these questions, or university studies can be a great time to try and think carefully about these questions, which is what I hope my students are doing.
Thanks to Professor Claire Duquennois for taking the interview. The ICB Newsletter looks forward to hearing more interesting stories from other faculty members next time.
(Editor: Lichao Sun)