Reported by Chloe Alimurong, Class of 2025
Duke Kunshan University’s Humanities Research Center held their annual Humanities Fall conference in Barcelona at Pompeu Fabra University’s campus in Barcelona, Spain. Professors based abroad and Duke Kunshan undergraduates studying in Barcelona met together in person for a weekend of seminars of passionate educators and students presenting their humanities research. On the first day of Ciencia y Caridad, nine exemplary student researchers in the Humanities Research Center showcased their final works.
Chinese and Transnational History
A Forgotten Revolutionary Solidarity —The Echos of the Haitian Revolution in China was the first student research presentation where Yue Qiu described the lasting impacts of the Haitian Revolution in China’s cultural history. From independent nation states converting to capitalism, the increased pressure on Latin America, andthe influence on Chinese philosophy, Yue’s research closely examined the political and cultural relationships between the Soviet Union, Latin America, Haiti, and China as a result of the Haitian Revolution.
Chiang Kai-Shek’s Role in the Henan Famine, 1942-1943 by Zhiyi Chen followed Yue’s presentation on the Haitian Revolution, and it focused on the political and cultural impacts of Chiang Kai-Shek and his decisions that led to the Henan Famine. The famine caused three million people to flee the area and eventually this massive retreat gained international attention with Harrison Forman, American photographer and journalist, and his report on Henan refugees. In literature, the Henan Famine was translated as a result of poor policy decisions by the government and, more importantly, Chiang Kai-Shek. Literature acted as a way to blame Chiang for his policies and the consequences leading to his role being constrained.
From a Revolutionary Invention to a Market-Economy Product: 5406 Bacterial Fertilizer and a Technopolitical History of the Development in the PRC was a project where student researcher Qingyi Yin reported on the role of the 5406 fertilizer in the rural economic transition period, as part of reforms in the 1970s. The 5406 fertilizer was one way of updating agricultural products as China continues to distribute knowledge. As a result, farming was modernized and able to reach more communities. Also, women began to play a crucial role in rural areas with these developments.
White Snake and the Red Azalea: Queering the Repression in 1960s China by Eldar Wang describes the relationship between the queer population in China and government enforced societal repression in the 1960s. Specifically, works of literature like the White Snake and the Red Azalea, recounted the female homosexual experience in surveilled environments of a masculine revolution. Eldar sought to answer the questions of why sex, women, and stage and found that suppression provoked the call for sexual intimacy.
Deify the Mortal: Silk Road Buddhism and Buddhist Art in the Construction of the Khotan Kingship was a project where Xiao Liu connected art and the history of the Khotan Kingship. The cultural and artistic practices of Tibetan and Central Asia, the Silk Road, and Buddhism in China are all related as domestic kingship used the legends of Buddhist deities (Vaiśravaṇa) to legitimize rule. The Sui and Tang Dynasties are examples of kingship using Buddhism for power protection.
The Forgotten Romance: An Art and Social Study on Chinese Peasant Painting by Zheng Zhou ended the research expo on the topic of Chinese and Transnational History with a look into Huxian peasant paintings of the 1950s-1970s. The Great Leap Forward Movement and the Cultural Revolution set the official narrative. The CCP’s campaigns worshiped the idea of self-identification as owner of the country. And so, the peasant painting movement took off as peasants used their cultural rights and growing efforts for common knowledge.
Philosophy
How Practical Knowledge is a Kind of Knowledge: The Non-observational Manifestation of Preexisting Knowledge and Understanding where Dongkun Lyu describes how practical knowledge acts as a specific type/form of knowledge. Citing the philosopher Anscombe’s Intention, Lyu states the non-observational knowledge of what is done is how knowledge mainstreams intentions. However, there are differences in kinds of knowledge; practical or speculative.
How we Know what we are Doing Intentionally: The Acquisition of Practical Knowledge by Jiyuan Sun delves into the meaning of practical knowledge. In a conditional way, the combination of intentional action, observation, and self examined confidence can lead to action. By different conditional factors of practical knowledge, we know that our actions are driven by intentions .
Representation in Dreams was where Weifan Mo ended the Philosophical section research expo by the forms of dreaming, hallucinations, imaginations, and ontology, and outlining the difference between description and interpretation, to explain representations in dreams. Weifan clarifies there is a difference between dream[ing] and dream[ed], and the differences in these representations can be diachronic, and/or retrospective. There are also three stages to representations in dreams; the dream’s impressions or feelings, the self-explained belief of the dream, and the dream’s report.
Duke Kunshan University’s Ciencia y Caridad acted as a platform for talented undergraduates to present their research, inspiring others to pursue humanities research and emphasizing the significance of humanities studies in the global context.
