ACLS Shares Reflections on 2022 Summer Institute in China Studies

From June 24 to 26, 2022, ACLS hosted its first Summer Institute in China Studies in New York, with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation. More than 40 Luce/ACLS Fellows in China Studies, scholars, experts, and practitioners convened for the event. They offered recommendations on areas of scholarship most in need of support, and identified how ACLS might help bridge the gap between academic research, teaching, and public knowledge about China.

Still luxuriating on the ideas I heard & learned from today. Starstruck by the many scholars I've long admired & finally met in person. Super honored to be part of the panel @ACLS1919 on public scholarship with @mauracunningham & @NeysunM, moderated by @emilybaumUCI @Yangguobin. https://t.co/eItkgY8XyO
— Yangyang Cheng (@yangyang_cheng) June 26, 2022

We need to approach "China" capaciously. It's no longer sufficient (or practical) to research China only within the boundaries of the PRC. China is a global actor, and we can (& should) research China transnationally. Time to "deprovincialize" Beijing.
— Emily Baum (@emilybaumUCI) June 27, 2022

The Summer Institute featured a compelling reading by award-winning poet Jenny Xie and a presentation by William Kirby, ACLS Board Chair, T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University, and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who gave attendees an exciting preview of his new book, Empire of Ideas.

.@BillKirbyHBS gave an excellent, informative talk about his forthcoming @Harvard_Press book—a triple comparative study of the university in Germany, the United States, and China—last night at our @HLuceFdn @ACLS1919 summer institute. An important title to look out for soon! https://t.co/sRqVRorI9O
— Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 马丽娜 (@mauracunningham) June 26, 2022

The event also included a series of roundtables sessions and panels on important directions in China Studies research and scholarship, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; securitization; public-facing scholarship; valuable and at-risk subfields; and mentorship.

A million thanks to @ACLS1919 @HLuceFdn @Joyhumanist for the wonderful #ACLS_summer_institute. I finally got a chance to meet some my most beloved heroes in academia, esp. @DocKBrown85 & Don J. Wyatt.

In the semester that just ended … 1/8
— Guangtian Ha (@HaGuangtian) June 26, 2022

Excellent thread on future of China studies from recent @ACLS1919 workshop: sustainability, definition, methods. A takeaway: resource-sharing & institution-building are vital, but we haven't done enough of it. Current gen has good ideas & positive orientation, but needs support. https://t.co/BEGOfk5bsZ
— Eric T. Schluessel 許臨君 (@EricTSchluessel) June 27, 2022

The meeting was a great success thanks to the guidance of the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies advisors, Emily Baum, Associate Professor of History, UC Irvine, and Yingyi Ma, Associate Professor of Sociology, Syracuse University, as well as the Steering Committee: Ryan Hass, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution; Michael Gibbs Hill, Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, Modern Languages & Literatures, William & Mary; Tobie Meyer-Fong, Professor of History, History, Johns Hopkins University; Shellen Xiao Wu, Associate Professor of History, History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Guobin Yang, Professor of Communication and Sociology, Sociology; Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania; Emily Yeh, Professor of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder.

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Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies

In cooperation with the Henry Luce Foundation, ACLS is in the second year of a three-year bridging initiative to reassess and reconfigure the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies. We are convening scholars at all ranks, higher education leaders, journalists, and other readers of research and writing on China to re-imagine and transform our program to meet the needs of China studies in the 21^st century.

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