Category: News

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Philosophy, Ethics, and Technology : A Conversation

by Sinan Farooqui

Philosophy, Ethics and Technology.

Three fields which have been interwoven into the fabric of time, overlapping increasingly due to the unstoppable tide of globalization in the modern era. The latest in the series of colloquiums hosted by the Humanities Research Center saw a conversation between two highly respected academics––Dr. Carl Mitcham (Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Colorado School of Mines) and Dr. Tom Wang (Associate Professor, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China) ­–– who work in the intersection of these fields. Hosted in a different format than all that preceded it, this colloquium saw both speakers simply conversing with each other and the audience, based on a set of given questions, as opposed to just giving a lecture. Continue reading “Philosophy, Ethics, and Technology : A Conversation”

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Whitney Bauman: Thinking through the Anthropocene

by Sinan Farooqui

Over the eons, the incessant ticking of time has culminated in our present reality: the Anthropocene, or the age of humans. This title comes with implications and indications about the state of the world, its hierarchies and underlying attitudes. And it is upon these very concepts that our distinguished speaker, Professor Whitney Bauman spoke during his lecture as part of the Duke Kunshan Colloquium Series, hosted by the Humanities Research Center. Continue reading “Whitney Bauman: Thinking through the Anthropocene”

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Attending the 2019 Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Society Conference

by Runya Liu

As a member of the Planetary Ethics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (PETAL) I had the privilege of attending a conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Society with Duke Kunshan University Professor Daniel Lim in Hawai’i from January 27-28. The invited talks and presentations were wonderful opportunities to learn how people from different fields see the ethical issues related to AI. People majoring in law, engineering, computer science, philosophy, etc., were all here to discuss the future development of AI. People gathered because they want to contribute to problems that the whole human race is going to face. The hot discussion triggered by questions in talks and presentations created an sincere academic atmosphere. Continue reading “Attending the 2019 Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Society Conference”

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Reflections on Pedagogy and Philosophy

by Julius Vaitkevicius, Nanjing University

The workshop on Philosophy and Pedagogy at Kunshan Duke University provided a valuable opportunity for educators around the world to discuss and share insights gained in teaching philosophies in cross-cultural environments. The theme of the workshop focused on the notion that philosophy could be taught not only as a bare conceptual discourse but as a way of life, a way that has therapeutic and psychological benefits on those who pursue philosophical studies. More specifically, teaching ancient Chinese Philosophies could help international students to adapt toliving in Chinese culture and facilitate in overcoming cross-cultural boundaries as well as learn how to deal with daily personal issues and challenges. But what pedagogical approaches could or should be taken to apply the philosophical pedagogy in practice? Participants had to admit that nobody would claim to have a ready-made answer to this question. There are certain theories, methods, strategies, and techniques, but it is up to the educator to decide which of the approaches would be the most appropriate and effective in a particular academic setting. Continue reading “Reflections on Pedagogy and Philosophy”

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Imran Khan: Carving a Creative Pathway in the Corporate World

By Hajra Farooqui

College students around the world constantly face an enormous dilemma: How does one choose a field of study that guarantees sustained intellectual stimulation, is applicable to the daily functioning of the real world, can offer financial support and can keep our indecisive moving selves rationally happy in the long term? The truth is, this is not an easy question, and is one with many answers. To help students think through these questions the Humanities Research Center joined with Duke Kunshan Careers Services to invite Imran Khan to present at the Humanities Career Forum. Continue reading “Imran Khan: Carving a Creative Pathway in the Corporate World”

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当历史的车轮碾过 ——听“论《百年孤独》中体现的男子气概 ”讲座有感

By Mozhu Zhang

一部著作，讲述了七代人的生命旅程，记录了一个家族的沉浮兴衰，再现了拉丁美洲的社会历史图景。加西亚·马尔克斯的《百年孤独》从第一次与读者见面到现在以近半个世纪，不论是其魔幻现实主义的写作手法，还是复杂的家族人物网与传奇故事，都曾被无数学者反复揣摩和品读。然而，对《百年孤独》这座巨大“宝库”的探寻之旅仍没有结束，现就职于北京大学及柏林自由大学的Caio Yurgel教授向我们分享了他对书中体现出的男子气概的解读。 Continue reading “当历史的车轮碾过 ——听“论《百年孤独》中体现的男子气概 ”讲座有感”

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Caio Yurgel: the Representation of Masculinity in García Márquez

By Sinan Farooqui

In this age of MeToo movements and greater awareness of women oppression and the restriction of their basic rights, it is often prudent to look back upon the literary works that may have upheld the traditional ideas of masculinity, resulting in the formation of such a machismo culture.

Continue reading “Caio Yurgel: the Representation of Masculinity in García Márquez”

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与David Grinspoon探讨太空生物学

By Elva Yu

DKU Humanities Research Center 的 Petal Lab 一直在给让人文和科技牵线搭桥，初进入时，我只知这里可以研究深刻有趣的伦理道德问题。后来才渐悟 James Miller 教授所言：“这世界的伦理问题光靠人文学科的思索是不能解决的，我们要把那些科学家‘拉下水’，让他们直面自己的研究背后所蕴含的人类意义”

1月21号，Petal Lab 邀请了David Grinspoon来学校开展讲座，题为“太空生物学：人类在地球和地球之外的角色”。讲座后，这位科学家和DKU的一些教授以及Petal Lab全体师生在晚餐间继续碰撞思想的火花。

Continue reading “与David Grinspoon探讨太空生物学”

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Philosophy and Pedagogy Workshop

The Challenge of Cross-cultural Engagement

A key challenge in joint venture universities is that of creating a culture of engagement in which students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are able to work together across cultural and linguistic divides. This is difficult for at least two reasons. The first is that in an institution such as Duke Kunshan University, foreign students have to live and work in an alien cultural and linguistic environment. This means that they are deprived of many comforts of their home and are constantly forced to confront the strangeness of their new cultural situation. But the same is true for the mainland Chinese students who, though still living in their homeland, have to navigate and educational culture that is quite different from what they are used to, and to work in a language that is not native to them. Each group of students has to live and work to some extent against the grain, that is, against the patterns and habits that have enabled them to be successful thus far. Continue reading “Philosophy and Pedagogy Workshop”