Last week, my colleague Ben Van Overmeire and I were pleased to welcome a dazzling array of visitors to the beautiful campus of Duke Kunshan University to talk about all things space. We timed the conference to coincide with China’s Dragon Boat Festival, which commemorates the hero Qu Yuan who, among other things, wrote one of China’s most famous poems, Li Sao, which describes his ascent into space to meet with goddesses and immortals. It was also the time in which China’s space program completed its journey to the far side of the moon, the long-awaited Boeing Starliner successfully launched its mission to the International Space Station, and SpaceX launched its fourth Starship test. Continue reading “Top Takeaways from The Spirit of Space Conference”
Inaugural DKU Kunqu Festival Highlights the Role of Premodern Drama in the Chinese Liberal Arts Tradition
From May 10th to 12th, 2024, Prof. Kim Hunter Gordon from Arts & Humanities and Prof. YAO Hui from the Languages & Cultures Center hosted the inaugural DKU Kunqu Festival, exploring how universities can integrate Kunqu into liberal arts curricula and campus life. Co-funded by the DKU Humanities Research Center and Center for Research into Contemporary China, the event celebrated the launch of both the Yang Shousong Exhibition of Kunqu Artifacts, on display in the university library until the end of June, and DKU’s partnership with the Chinese Theatre Collaborative (CTC), an online portal for teaching premodern Chinese drama and its contemporary afterlives hosted by The Ohio State University. Introductory remarks were delivered by Prof. Wu Xinlei of Nanjing University and Prof. Ye Changhai of Shanghai Theatre Academy. Continue reading “Inaugural DKU Kunqu Festival Highlights the Role of Premodern Drama in the Chinese Liberal Arts Tradition”
Call for Proposals for 2024-2025
The DKU Humanities Research Center (HRC) invites proposals from all DKU/Duke faculty and affiliates working on humanities-related projects. Projects should be based at DKU and/or connect Duke and DKU faculty. Proposals should be sent to Fei Xu at fx20@duke.edu by June 30, 2024.
All approved projects should be completed by June 30, 2025.
- Small Events
- Large Events
- Book Manuscript Workshops
Small Events
The HRC will fund a number of small-scale events, which could take the form of workshops, reading groups, film screenings and discussions, excursions, and so forth. Experimentation and innovation is encouraged, and applications may be submitted by either individuals or by groups of collaborators. All DKU and Duke faculty affiliates may apply.
A complete proposal (max 5 pages single-spaced) should include a title, a description of the research question, a summary of the activities to be undertaken, a list of the applicants and collaborators to be invited (with brief bios), a description of anticipated outcomes, and a budget. The maximum contribution from the HRC for each small event is $5,000.
Large Events
The HRC will also fund at least one larger-scale event, which could take the form of a workshop, a lecture series, a curatorial project, etc. Experimentation and innovation is encouraged, and applications may be submitted by either individuals or by groups of collaborators. All DKU and Duke faculty affiliates may apply.
A complete proposal (max 5 pages single-spaced) should include a title, a description of the topic/research question, a summary of the activities to be undertaken, a list of the applicants and collaborators to be invited (with brief bios), a description of anticipated outcomes, and a budget. The maximum contribution from the HRC for a large event is $15,000.
Manuscript Workshops
The HRC will fund one or more faculty book manuscript workshops, which provide a structure for generating constructive, informed criticism on near-final book manuscripts. The goal is to transform already excellent scholarly projects into superior published works, and the Center will provide funding (generally up to $5,000) for faculty to invite two experts in their field and an acquisitions editor from a major scholarly press to DKU or Duke. During a half-day workshop, these guests present their thoughts on the manuscript, followed by a response from the author and a general discussion.
All DKU faculty who will complete a book manuscript by Spring 2025 may apply.
A complete proposal should include a title, a synopsis of the book project, a draft of the introduction, a short CV of the applicant, a list of suggested invitees (including both outside scholars and local participants), and specification of which press the applicant would like to invite.
