Connections: China and the West in the Making of History
Conveners: UK-China Humanities Alliance, Institute for World Literatures and Cultures (IWLC), University of Oxford China Centre
Speakers: Various
The Second China-UK Dialogue on the Humanities in Higher Education
Frontiers, or contact zones of cultural differences, imagined and real, are where the most interesting things happen, for people encounter each other and exchange ideas only along such frontiers. For centuries China and the West, and the United Kingdom in particular, have been engaged in exchanges across frontiers, material as well as mental. It is thus with the intention of promoting our exchanges in a concentrated and intensified way that this forum is organized.
During this day-long dialogue, scholars from both sides will come together, and researchers from a wide range of disciplines will have the rare opportunity to hear about work done in neighbouring fields. Despite the diversity of the subjects treated during the sessions, there is a unifying theme and a common goal: the discovery of convergences in our varying experiences in art, literature, language, history, social organization, and historical development. As part of the current Sino-British dialogue in the humanities, this forum aims to discuss the various connections between Chinese and British researchers and to explore opportunities for innovation and further connections in the coming years.
Universities represented at the forum include Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Wuhan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai International Studies University, Peking University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Oxford, the University of Exeter, Loughborough University, the University of Reading, and SOAS, University of London.
The proceedings will be concluded by a few words from Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of the British Council, and Ms Chen Xu, Chair of University Council, Party Committee Secretary, Tsinghua University.
PROGRAMME
0845: Opening
0855: Panel 1 – On Multi-lingualism
0945: Panel 2 – On the Early Modern
1035: Coffee break
1050: Panel 3 – Humanisms Reconsidered
1205: lunch
1250: Panel 3 – On Civilizations
1410: Round Table
1455‒1525: Concluding remarks
