During June 18-20, 2026, APSI and the Environmental Research Center at Duke Kunshan University co-hosted the third EFAN meeting at Duke Kunshan University.
Under the theme “Green Transitions,” and with a humanities- and social science-centered perspective, the Kunshan Workshop attracted over 50 participants from renowned institutions across the Asia-Pacific region, including Duke University, Princeton University, Rice University, the University of Pennsylvania, the National University of Singapore, Jeju National University, Fulbright University Vietnam, the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Concordia University (Canada), the Université de Montréal (Canada), Mindanao State University (Philippines), and Beijing Normal University, as well as faculty representatives from the Environmental Research Center, the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, and the Humanities Center at Duke Kunshan University. Undergraduate students from DKU provided invaluable support throughout the workshop.
EFAN is a praxis of the most pressing needs of our time: think global, care for the environment, and remain connected. Little compares to an EFAN academic experience, where you find like-minded people, future collaborators, and, at times, lifelong friends.””
—Yanping Ni, PhD candidate, Princeton University
Keynote Address
The conference opened with a keynote address titled “Metabolism of the Petrostate” delivered by Dominic Boyer, Professor of Anthropology at Rice University and a member of the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association. Professor Boyer’s talk highlighted how fossil fuel infrastructure enables state domination, prompting us to consider whether petropower itself is a form of rule. It examined the entangled relation between states worldwide and the fossil fuel infrastructure as a metabolism that thrives upon their mutual dependence.
Alongside illuminating the challenge of ending current oil dependency, the talk warned us about the enduring systems of power that may persist even after the decline of fossil-fuel regimes. In response, Professor Boyer proposed several creative means to undermine the dominance of petropower through structural reform with “bestiary” forces, self-transformation with “shape-shifting” potentials, and the gradual decomposition of the petrostate with “microbic” power. The forms of energy evoked in these examples point to new frontiers of resistance against the petrostate’s pervasive power.
Parallel Thematic Panels
Following the keynote, the conference featured two parallel sessions comprising eight panels, with a total of forty invited paper presentations. Scholars engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges on core topics such as energy transition, critical minerals, and green finance from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, history, political science, public policy, and media studies.
Explore the full conference agenda to learn more about the speakers and their presentations.
I want to think about the relationship between people and natural resources. If we change the relationship in the right direction, we can understand and guide the new ways of thinking about them.”
—Professor Hyun Choe, Jeju National University
The panel discussions covered a broad range of topics related to the current state of energy transitions in Asia, where reliance on fossil fuels persists even as new energy projects sprout with strong momentum. These endeavors shape (and reshape) natural landscapes, human-animal relations, economic development, and local culture. In the search for a just energy transition, many EFAN panelists highlighted and envisioned paths to engage the violence and inequality generated by existing and emerging energy infrastructures.
Participants in the community garden were initially very enthusiastic. They thought they would be able to replace their entire grocery purchases of vegetables with what they were able to grow themselves. They soon discovered this involved literally getting their hands in the dirt.”
—Professor Annemieke van den Dool, Duke Kunshan University
The panels were thoughtfully organized to maximize discussion in ways that engaged multiple approaches to and insights about related topics. For instance, one panel incorporated theoretical and philosophical explanations underlying green transitions with respect to degrowth and the commons, a case study derived from “desk research” when it was not possible to visit the site directly, and first-hand fieldwork that drew on a combination of empirical data and direct observation.
Active, interdisciplinary engagement
The papers presented were all unpublished works in progress, and the feedback from panel attendees was constructive. Questions were asked and answered during a lively Q&A period in each panel; moderators diligently fulfilled the Herculean task of keeping everyone on time. The interdisciplinary nature of this workshop provided valuable perspectives beyond each speaker’s core academic field, enabling them to expand the audience to which their research can speak.
AI is the product of all of us, and so, we have the right to use it. Open access is one of the crucial factors to make degrowth possible.”
—Suh-Hyun Park, Jeju National University
Specific queries about details raised by speakers combined with larger-scale philosophical questions about “green transitions,” namely: who are they for—people, countries, or something bigger, such as nature and the planet itself; and, if the transition is exclusively for people, can we reasonably call it “green”?
Currently, oversight is mainly done by states. Academics can see the issues with this, but these problems will look different to different actors, so how do you see the question of oversight in relation to your particular cases?”
—Jay Ke Schutte, Zhejiang University
Nicole Barnes, a professor of history and director of APSI at Duke, observed how the EFAN conference plays a key role in strengthening the network of environmental scholars across Asia and beyond, extending Duke’s climate influence throughout the region.
Echoing this view, Jingbo Cui, co-director of the ERC at DKU, emphasizes that the conference not only reinforces DKU’s dedication to climate sustainability but also showcases the depth and scope of its environmental research in China and the wider international context.
Networking beyond panels
During the conference, DKU undergraduate student volunteers Xinyao (Tacia) Gao (2028) and Zaozao Wang (2028) organized two campus tours showcasing DKU’s recent sustainability initiatives, including the LEED-certified buildings, the water recycling systems, the central lake ecosystem, the green wall, the community garden, and an exhibition of the award-winning bird-protection project curated by Professor Binbin Li.
It’s not plastic we’re demonizing, it’s disposability. Even then, we have to be careful, because disposability can also save lives, not just harm.”
—Adam Liebman, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Between sessions, panelists actively engaged one another in dialogue about their current research and future directions. Since speakers and attendees ranged in age and experience from undergraduate students to tenured faculty and everything in between, intergenerational as well as contemporary connections were forged. Scholars found new links to peers, seniors, and juniors working in related areas, and several have made plans to conduct field research together and to collaborate on a grant application for a future workshop focused on environmental transitions that will be the basis of further exchanges.
A food forest is not simply a pre-existing model.”
—Yueke Li, University of Otago
The interdisciplinary nature of EFAN was particularly suited to the presenters, many of whom had begun their academic careers in one field before following the call to take their work in an entirely new direction. This was reflected in their work which draws on the tools of multiple social science disciplines, including empirical data analysis as well as direct interviews and participant observation.
The just transition framework is about everyday inequality.”
—Xue Ma, UC Irvine
One participant studied finance as an undergraduate student before choosing anthropology for their graduate studies; they use the full range of their training and experience to look at how economies are constituted, challenging presumptions of what an economy is, and examining finance itself as a temporal mechanism, recognizing that even seemingly objective data that uses the present value to estimate future value is fundamentally affected by complex social factors.
Future Directions
The 2026 EFAN Kunshan workshop reunited scholars who have been part of the network since its inception and first meeting in summer 2024 as well as those for whom this was their first engagement with the growing network. The organizers look forward to seeing how all network members will use their experiences to strengthen their individual academic work and to identify opportunities for mentorship, professional growth, interinstitutional speaking engagements, and future collaborative research.
Thank you for being here with us and thinking together.”
—Professor Nicole Elizabeth Barnes, Duke University
We anticipate engaging with returnees as well as new scholars in the next iteration of EFAN, currently being planned for summer 2027 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
