I am Professor of Humanities and Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Duke Kunshan University, where I formerly served as Co-Director of the Humanities Research Center, Chair of the Faculty Assembly, and Chair of the Division of Arts and Humanities. I am also Editor-in-chief of Worldviews: Global Religions, Cultures, and Ecology.
I view my work as “humanistic cosmology from China for the planet.” I focus on understanding the large scale frameworks that have been developed in China by which we human beings understand our place in the world. My goal is not only to understand these frameworks but also to consider how they may practically contribute to a new planetary humanities.
My research in this area can be categorized into three main styles of work: intercultural, interdisciplinary, and inspirational.
In my intercultural work I try to bring Chinese culture, philosophy, and religion into the global arena. My focus is on Daoism, China’s indigenous religion. I believe it has a relevance for thinking about the place of human beings in the world today, and for addressing key issues such as climate change.
In my interdisciplinary work, I try to go beyond conventional disciplinary categories to develop integrative and holistic ways of thinking that can bridge the cultural divides between science and humanities that emerged in the formation of the modern university. While fully respecting those disciplinary specializations, I believe that universities must also teach people how to communicate across disciplinary divides and work together to solve common problems.
I also want my work to be inspirational, by which I mean reaching beyond the formal structures of the ivory tower and the habits of critique that it has developed. I fully respect the academic commitment to criticism, and to critical thinking, but I also believe that it is my responsibility to be constructive, hopeful, and optimistic in my teaching and public engagements.
Please contact me via email at <jem122@duke.edu>
