Events

China Humanities Seminar featuring Tamara Chin — How to Do Things with Loanwords: Premodern Sino-Xenic Language Contact in Modern Philology, Linguistics, and Politics, 1870-1970

Common Room, 2 Divinity Ave. 2 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Speaker: Tamara Chin, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Brown University The study of ancient language contact traditionally lacked prestige in both Confucian classical studies and European philology.  This changed somewhat in the early twentieth century.  The discovery of multilingual manuscript archives in and around Dunhuang coincided with the internationalization of Western-style linguistics, prompting both scientific and political interest […]

Urban China Lecture Series Featuring Cecilia Chu — Building Colonial Hong Kong: The Production of Space in a Speculative City

Presented via Zoom

Speaker: Cecilia Chu, Associate Professor in Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong This talk will explore three central aspects of urban development in colonial Hong Kong: the advent of modern planning closely entwined with early British segregation policies; the role of property investment in the shaping of building forms; and the emergence of a […]

Indigenous Narrative: The Dynamic Biographies of gShen-rab Mi-bo, Founder of the Tibetan Bon Religion

Common Room, 2 Divinity Ave. 2 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Speaker: Konchok Tsering, Assistant Professor, School for Tibetan Studies, Minzu University of China; HYI Visiting Scholar, 2024-25 Chair/Discussant: Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, Harvard University This talk delves into the transformation of gShen-rab Mi-bo’s life stories within the Tibetan Bon religion, examining three significant texts: mDo ‘dus, mdo gzer mig, and mdo dri med gzi brjid. Each […]

Critical Issues Confronting China Series featuring Li Zhang — Anxious China: Rethinking Therapeutic Governing Before and After the Pandemic

CGIS South S020, Belfer Case Study Room 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA, United States

Speaker: Li Zhang, Professor of Anthropology, University of California-Davis Discussant: Arthur Kleinman, Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology; Professor of Medical Anthropology in Social Medicine; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard University Li Zhang (Ph.D. Cornell 1998) is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California-Davis. She is the author of three award-winning books: Strangers in […]

Rethinking Taiwan Workshop – New Interpretations of Taiwan History and Identity

CGIS South, Room S153 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Speakers:Chia-Chiun Shih Chen (陳嘉君), 2024-25 Visiting Fellow of Practice; Chairperson, Shih Ming-Te Cultural FoundationSarah Plovnick, 2024-25 Hou Family Post-Doctoral Fellow in Taiwan Studies, Fairbank Center for Chinese StudiesHardy Stewart, 2024-25 Hou Family Pre-Doctoral Fellow in Taiwan Studies, Fairbank Center for Chinese StudiesModerator: David Der-wei Wang, Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard UniversityJoin us […]

What is China? New Perspectives in New Eras — An International Symposium 

Yenching Auditorium 2 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Keynote Speaker: Ge Zhaoguang 葛兆光, Fudan UniversitySpeakers:April 18, 2-5:30pm, Yenching AuditoriumMark C. Elliot, Harvard UniversityJames Robson, Harvard UniversityPeter K. Bol, Harvard UniversityRonald C. Po, London University of Economics Kung Ling-wei, Academia Sinica David Der-wei Wang, Harvard UniversityApril 19, 9:30 am - 5:30pm, The Yenching Common RoomLi Yuyang, Beijing Normal UniversityYing Lei, Amherst College Tu Hang, National University of […]

Visiting Scholar Presentation featuring Shih-Diing Liu — Who’s Afraid of Gender? Revisiting Engendering China 31 Years On

Room K354, CGIS Knafel 1737 Cambridge St, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Speaker: Shih-Diing Liu (刘世鼎), Professor of Communication and Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of MacauDiscussant: Susan Greenhalgh, Professor of Anthropology; John King and Wilma Cannon Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society, Harvard UniversityThis presentation has two intertwined goals: to highlight the significance of gender in understanding Chinese society and to underscore the role […]

Modern China Lecture featuring Joseph Ho — Developing Mission: Photography, Filmmaking, and American Missionaries in Modern China

CGIS Knafel K262 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, United States

Speaker: Joseph Ho, Associate Professor of History, Albion College, Michigan; Center Associate, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan Developing Mission is a transnational cultural history of US and Chinese communities framed by missionary lenses through time and space – tracing the lives and afterlives of images, cameras, and visual imaginations from before the […]

Economic Conjunctures: Planners, Residents, and Chinese-Led Urban Development in Nairobi

CGIS South, Room S153 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Speaker: Elisa Tamburo, Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Anthropology Department, Harvard University; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford Moderator: Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology; Harvard College Professor; Director, Harvard University Asia Center Since the early 2000s, the rise of Chinese businesses in the construction sector of Nairobi has transformed […]

Critical Issues Confronting China Series featuring Suisheng Zhao — The Dragon Roars Back: Xi’s Power Concentration and Foreign Policy Implications

CGIS South S020, Belfer Case Study Room 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA, United States

Speaker: Suisheng Zhao, Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Director, Center for China-US Cooperation, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver Discussant: Robert Ross, Professor of Political Science, Boston College; Fairbank Center Associate Suisheng Zhao is Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. […]

JFK Jr. Forum — The Long Game and What Comes Next: Where U.S.-China Competition Has Come From and Where It’s Going

JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School 79 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge, MA, United States

Speaker: Rush Doshi, Deputy Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs on National Security Council (2021-2024)Moderator: Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School The 2025 S.T. Lee Lecture will give attendees insight and guidance on how to view U.S.-China completion and how grand strategy may play a role here. The S.T. […]