Current Affairs in China
From February to April, six outstanding international scholars will share their insights into intriguing issues on the pulse of current developments of Chinese society.
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The Chinese Study Program at UiB (Department of Foreign Languages) invites everybody to join its Digital Lecture Series on Current Affairs in China this spring semester.
China is a country of great contradictions. Therefore, both in its past and present, it engendered projections that hovered between idealization and demonization. Today, while some praise China’s presumed efficiency in implementing political priorities, others criticize its authoritarian political system that fiercely suppresses dissent.
With its recent rise as a global economic and political power, these deep antagonistic views further aggravated. The current Joint Communication of the European Commission is indicative. Defining China as both a strategic partner and systemic rival reveals Europe’s dilemma over the question of how to deal with a risen China both economically and politically.
To find answers to this and other pressing matters of our time, make sense of the contradictions that characterize Chinese politics, society, and economy, and find ways of cooperation, it is necessary to enhance our understanding of China and learn to communicate with the Chinese people
Contemporary China Studies play an essential role in this endeavor. As a highly interdisciplinary field, scholars delve into topics that range from climate change mitigation to social protests to the digital economy and many more. Questioning prevailing China images transported via mainstream media, they thrive not only to account for but also to explain the complexities that characterize past and present China.
The Digital Lecture Series on Current Affairs in China at the Department of Foreign Languages brings a small selection of these scholars and their works to Bergen. It invites students, staff, and the broader public to learn more about current matters that are stirring today’s Chinese society and engage in discussions. In doing so, we hope to connect China research at UiB with that other international research institutions.
Schedule:
| 3 February (12–13.30) | Combating Covid-19 |
| 24 February (12–13.30) | Aspirations and China’s Modernization |
| 17 March (12–13.30) | Building State Capacity |
| 24 March (12–13.30) | Accountability of Corporate Actors |
| 14 April (12–13.30) | Grappling with the Crisis |
| 21 April (12–13.30) | Claiming Labor Rights |
open digital lectures
The Department of Foreign Languages invites students, staff, and the broader public to learn more about current matters that are stirring today’s Chinese society and engage in discussions.
If you have questions regarding the lectures, please contact Julia Marinaccio: Julia.Marinaccio@uib.no
