The 2019 China–UK Humanities Alliance Annual Forum, organized by the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education and hosted by the Institute of Area Studies, Peking University (PKUIAS), was held at PKU onDecember 13 and 14. First proposed by Tsinghua University, the Association was established in Shanghai in December 2016 with 12 Chinese and British founding members. Since its establishment, the Association has held three forums, respectively, in Shanghai, Oxford and Hong Kong. The forum this year, on the theme “Re-imaging the Global: Cross-cultural Communities/Other Cosmopolitans,” received tremendous support from both the Chinese and British humanities fields. Matt Burney, director of British Council China, Chen Xu, chairperson of Tsinghua University Council and chair of the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education, Hao Ping, president of PKU, and Wang Bo, vice president of PKU, attended the opening ceremony.
Chen Xu welcomed the forum participants. She said that over the past three years since the establishment of the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education, its activities have attracted active participation by excellent scholars in the humanities of both China and the UK and facilitated many important academic achievements. The China–UK Humanities Alliance Annual Forum has become an important international platform to discuss humanities education and promote humanities exchange, and has played a significant role in pushing forward China–UK cultural exchange and mutual regard.
Chen Xu opined that humanities exchange is heart-to-heart exchange, which is fundamental, guiding, extensive and lasting. The increasingly close China–UK humanities exchange is an important basis for the better development of the China–UK relationship. As an important carrier for civilization inheritance, universities should consciously take on the responsibilities of humanities exchanges and make more contributions to promoting diverse civilizations and the harmonious intergrowth of human beings. The forum this year, onthe theme “Re-imaging the Global: Cross-cultural Communities/Other Cosmopolitans,”brings leading scholars both from the humanities and the humanistically-oriented social sciences to jointly discuss how to deal with and transcend the phenomenon of cultural parochialism, which has repeatedly appeared since modern times. In addition, they will discuss how to develop a cross-cultural humanistic community, which is not only of great significance to the construction of a community of shared future for mankind, but also for universities to improve the quality of humanities education and train students’ abilities to conduct cross-cultural communication.
Matt Burney said that the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education embodies the energy and vibrancy of academic collaboration, representing the spirit of people working in harmony, innovating, exchanging knowledge and ideas, and doing so internationally. It not only expands collaboration between British and Chinese institutions but also among academics based in other nations.
Burney went on to say that, “The theme of this year’s forum focuses on the future of cultural and intellectual interaction. Intellectual capacity and resources across boundaries, disciplines, and our different and shifting cultural paradigms and perspectives can help us look for innovative ways to discover solutions to some of the world’s pressing challenges. It is also the emphasis of the work of the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education. The humanities and inter-cultural cooperation enable us to relate to, understand and trust each other, appreciate or learn from our individual and shared values, explore how we communicate, express our artistic imagination or refer to history for solutions—all of which help us to manage change, ride volatility and work together for a prosperous and more secure world.”
Wang Bo, vice president of PKU and chair of Organizing Committee of 2019 Forum, said that as a knowledge community, universities have been thinking about their role in social development and advancement. Undoubtedly, universities have been engaged in creating a better world through providing better education and better academics. In this era of globalization and rapid changes, all countries have reached a consensus that having closer cooperation is vital.
Wang Bo pointed out that PKU was among the earliest members that participated in the China–UK Association for the Humanities in Higher Education when it was established. By proactively joining in the activities of the Association, PKU has made efforts in promoting China–UK humanities exchange. He added that this era is more technological than ever; therefore, humanities is needed all the more. The more changes are brought to the world by technology, the more questions will be raised in the humanities field. Close cooperation between scientists and humanities scholars will undoubtedly make for a solid foundation to create a better world. As for human beings, education means teaching what is known, updating old knowledge, digging up new knowledge and exploring the unknown, which is also a magnificent journey of discovering truth. He also expressed his belief that the Association would help to solidify the ties between Chinese and British universities, while making new contributions to mankind.
The one-and-half-day forum included five keynote speeches and three thematic sessions. In the keynote speech session, Prof. Wang Qisheng from PKU gave a speech titled “Communication Technology and Linkage Mechanism: Studying the Relationship between Moscow and the CPC Revolution from a Fresh Perspective.” Prof. Johan Jacob Van de Ven from Cambridge University shared his understanding of “Clausewitz’s Abyss” with the attendees. Prof. Tim Lockley from the University of Warwick reviewed the historical process of the recruitment of soldiers in Britain’s global empire, pointing out that these soldiers included lots of non-white people, who also made important contributions to the British Empire.
Prof. Wong Suk-Ying, vice president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, analyzed the dynamics of local-global identity using changes to the teaching of world history in the Chinese mainland as examples. Her study showed how the changes in the telling of world history in textbooks reflect how education as a cultural and socialization agent has shaped the common imagination of the conception of individual, society and the world.
Prof. Zha Mingjian, vice president of Shanghai International Studies University, pointed out in his presentation, titled “Comparative Literature and Sino-foreign Cultural Exchanges,” that comparative literature, with its intellectual resources and research findings, can provide a lot of references for cross-cultural exchange practice. As Zha put it, “The theoretical and practical problems we encounter in cross-cultural exchanges can serve as new research topics for comparative literature, and, in this way, profoundly integrate this discipline into the construction of contemporary Chinese culture.”
Prof. Sun Youzhong, vice president of Beijing Foreign Studies University, elaborated on intercultural communication and global democracy from a Deweyan perspective. He opined that cross-cultural communication can promote groups from different cultural backgrounds to form a dynamic and mixed world culture. Groups of different cultural backgrounds can understand each other’s perspectives and promote the formation of “democratic communities.” But, at the same time, cross-cultural communication with an aim to realize global democracy may also malfunction, thus affecting the public domain.
During the thematic sessions, more than 50 experts and scholars from 17 Chinese and British universities and institutions conducted in-depth discussions, focusing on three topics: “The Early Modern Period: Past and Present”; “The 1940s: China and the World as a Cross-Cultural Reference”; and “City and Society: Form and Content of Community.”
The Working Group Meeting of the Alliance Executive Council was also held during the forum. The Working Group representatives, including Chen Xu, Wang Bo, Zha Mingjian, Sun Youzhong, Wong Suk-Ying, Prof. Jin Yongbing of PKU, Prof. Chu Xiaoquan from Fudan University, Tim Lockley, Johan Jacob Van de Ven, and Prof. Darren Smith from Loughborough University, focused on a review of the Association’s work in 2019, the prospects for the Association’s development and a new plan for the Association’s work the next year, and had an in-depth discussion at the meeting.
