China and the World: Observation, Analysis, Prospect -- A Symposium Sponsored by Yenching Academy

Yenching Academy of Peking University is honored to host an academic symposium from December 12 to 14, 2016 with a theme of “China and the World: Observation, Analysis, Prospect”.

After four decades of reform and development, China now faces new challenges and opportunities as does the world at large with economic downturns in Japan and Europe, regional wars in the Middle East, the humanitarian crisis of mass immigration, the resurgence of right-wing political forces in Europe and America, and many other challenges and problems we face globally today. How do we look at China and the world from the inside or the outside? What do we anticipate the world will be in the next ten years or fifty years not only in political and economic terms, but also in terms of culture? In China as in many parts of the world today, there is a strong emphasis on economic development and the practical use of science and technology, but there is also a strong sense of the importance of culture and tradition. How do we evaluate the meaning of culture in the current global situation in which much of the humanities and cultural values are marginalized? What would be the future of the humanities and the function of education?

The Yenching Academy of Peking University sponsors the symposium to provide a forum for the discussion of the above questions and any other related issues, and we would like to organize a small conference with some of the best Chinese scholars in the humanities and distinguished scholars from abroad to have an intellectual dialogue based on each participant’s personal experience, observation, and analysis in a completely free and candid manner. We anticipate meaningful discussions and we intend to edit a volume based on revised presentations at the symposium.

The symposium will have several spots open to the public. Please clickhereto register for the panels and roundtable discussions that you are interested in.

A complete schedule of the symposium is as below: