October 2018 Newsletter

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Welcome to our New Affiliates

Welcome to our new affiliates for the 2018-2019 academic year! This year we are pleased to welcome four Postdoctoral Fellows, fourteen Visiting Scholars, ten Graduate Student Associates, and nine new Associates in Research to our community of China scholars.

• Arunabh Ghosh (Assistant Professor of History), researching Trans-Himalayan Science in Mid-Twentieth-Century China and India.
• Sakura Christmas (Assistant Professor, History Department and Asian Studies Program, Bowdoin College; Fairbank Center Alumna), researching Asian nomadic borderlands.
• Miya Qiong Xie (Assistant Professor of Chinese, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures, Dartmouth College; Fairbank Center Alumna), researching Manchurian literature.

Publications

Announcing two new publications from the Harvard University Asia Center Publications Program:
Shen Gua’s Empiricism
Ya Zuo presents the first book-length study of Shen Gua (1031–1095) in English.

In the Wake of the Mongols: The Making of a New Social Order in North China, 1200–1600
Jinping Wang’s monograph explores the aftermath of the Mongol conquest of North China.

From our Podcast

Catch up with recordings of events that you may have missed:

• Stephen Owen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University, presents the Fairbank Center’s 2018 Annual Reischauer Lectures

1. Part 1: Flavors of Truth and Claims of Authority
   Discussant: Michael Puett
2. Part 2: How can one say the Unprecedented in Pre-Modern East Asia: Su Dongpo and Ink Bamboo
   Discussant: Stephen H. West

• Recent Developments in Xinjiang, with Adrian Zenz

Adrian Zenz, Lecturer in social research methods, European School of Culture & Theology, speaks about his research on China’s political re-education campaign in Xinjiang. Moderated by Mark Elliott, Vice Provost of International Affairs at Harvard University.

• The End of Concern: Maoist China, Activism, and Asian Studies Panel Discussion

Fabio Lanza, Ellen Schrecker, Andrew Gordon, Joseph Esherick, Sugata Bose, Lien-Hang Nguyen, and Bruce Cumings discuss Fabio Lanza’s new book on student activism in the Global Sixites. Moderated by Karen Thornber, Harvard University Asia Center, organized by Arunabh Ghosh, Harvard University

• Strongman Politics in the 21st Century

This panel discussion examines the role of politically-strong male leaders in authoritarian countries in a comparative context. Panelists: Elsa Clavé, Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Joseph Fewsmith, and Valerie Sperling, moderated by Thomas Vallely.

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From our Blog

Uyghur Poetry in Translation: Perhat Tursun’s “Elegy”: Joshua L. Freeman, Ph.D. Candidate in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies at Harvard University, introduces and presents a translation of Uyghur poet Perhat Tursun’s “Elegy.”

Recognizing Taiwan’s Sovereignty? The U.S. Response to China’s Diplomatic Pressure: Steven Goldstein, Fairbank Center Associate, examines Taiwan’s reaction to increasing diplomatic pressure from Beijing, and the United States’ response to the decline in states who recognize the Republic of China’s sovereignty.

In the Media

China finally admits it is building a new archipelago of concentration camps. Will the world respond?: The Washington Post Editorial Board discusses our recent event on Xinjiang with Adrian Zenz, moderated by Mark C. Elliott.