Future of the Humanities: Keynote Speakers

Duke Kunshan University Humanities Research Center is pleased to announce four outstanding keynote speakers at its conference, “Future of the Humanities: The Gender/Sex Turn 人文学的未来:性/别转向” on September 20-21, 2019.

  • Josephine HO 何春蕤, scholar-activist in gender/sexuality studies
  • Yingying HUANG 黄盈盈, China’s leading sociologist of sex work and HIV/AIDS
  • Yin-bin NING 甯应斌, Taiwan’s leading philosopher and theorist of modernity
  • Yueyue WENREN 闻人悦阅, award-winning author of Amber, a top-ten Chinese novel of 2018

Continue reading “Future of the Humanities: Keynote Speakers”

Undergraduate Humanities Research Conference

On April 19-21, 2019 at Duke Kunshan University, DKU undergraduate students were joined by seniors from top Chinese universities for the very first DKU undergraduate humanities research conference. Envisaged by the humanities research center to provide an open platform for junior college students to learn how to do research when DKU just started its undergraduate program in 2018, the DKU undergraduate humanities research conference ended up bringing more than 40 students together for academic presentations and discussions. Continue reading “Undergraduate Humanities Research Conference”

人文学科是人类未来发展的显学

万睿涵 (DKU’22)

Wan Ruihan, a freshman at Duke Kunshan University, describes the experience of participating in the launch of the Humanities Research Center. She writes that because of the strong pressure to study sciences in high school, “I feel that I was never able to express my love for the humanities. However, when I came to Duke Kunshan University, I was surprised to find such an emphasis on the humanities. Over two days, the university carried out a large scale official event focussed on the humanities, which would be unimaginable in a traditional [Chinese] university. All kinds of wisdom collided with each other, producing gorgeous sparks.”

作为一名中国的大学生,我很荣幸能够参加人文研究中心举办的主题为“人文未来”的活动。在这短短的两天里,我对“人文”这一个词语有了一个全新的认识。

在高中我是一名文科学生,因此我对中国高中教育中的人文学科有一些思考和了解。在中国的高中阶段的教育里,实事求是地说,人文学科是不受重视和欢迎的。中国高中教育实行分科教育,即文科和理科。在我的高中一个年级340个同学里,学习文科的同学只有40个人,占比为11.8%左右。也就是说,在我的高中里学习人文学科的同学只有12%左右。真正热爱人文学科的同学则会更少。中国高中阶段的分科教育,没能给人文学科的学习和发展提供一个良好的环境。 Continue reading “人文学科是人类未来发展的显学”

A Step into the Future of the Humanities

By Anisha Joshi (DKU’22)

An indefatigable feeling of enthusiasm pervaded the atmosphere of Duke Kunshan University over the weekend of September 15–16, as faculty and students alike geared for two days full of seminars and discussions exploring the future of humanities. The campus experienced a flurry of activity and intellectual stimulation as ideas and perspectives were exchanged among guest speakers, the faculty and the students.

DKU freshman Nathan Cao asks a question

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Call for HRC Launch Event Seminar Fellows

Duke Kunshan University will formally launch its Humanities Research Center on September 14-15, 2018, featuring two days of lectures, discussions, and arts events on The Future of the Humanities.

The launch event features keynote speeches, roundtable discussions and seminar meetings with four distinguished visitors:

  • Ding Naifei, leading scholar of feminist studies, queer theory, and Chinese culture and literature.
  • Ranjana Khanna, international literary critic and theorist renowned for her work on psychoanalysis and postcolonial literature.
  • Jeffrey Wasserstrom, renowned historian of modern China.
  • Yan Lianke, one of contemporary China’s foremost novelists.

A select number of DKU students will be invited to participate in a one-hour seminar with one of the four distinguished visitors. Continue reading “Call for HRC Launch Event Seminar Fellows”