Light Center for Chinese Studies Guest Lecture Series

“Rethinking Chinese Urbanism from the Periphery” presented by Dr. Xuefei Ren,  professor of Sociology at Michigan State University. View session flyer

"When AI Meets Chinese Language Teaching: How Teachers Can Thrive in the New Era" presented by Dr. Zhongqi Shi, senior lecturer in Chinese at Columbia University. View session flyer

"Aboard Ships Bound for Oblivion: Early Modern Entrances of the African into China" presented by Dr. Don Wyatt, Professor of history at Middlebury College. View session flyer

"China’s First Communist and the United States: Li Dazhao’s Changing Attitudes towards America" presented by Dr. Patrick Fuliang Shan, Professor of history at Grand Valley State University. View session flyer

"Social Media and Marginalized Voices in Neo/Non-liberal China" presented by Dr. Cara Wallis, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan. View session flyer

"The Poetry of Xi Chuan and “Chineseness” Re-reconsidered" presented by Dr. Lucas Klein, Associate Professor of Chinese at Arizona State University. View session flyer

"The Future of Contemporary Chinese Art" presented by Dr. Vivian Li, the Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. View session flyer

"Productive Differences: Art, Labor and Education in Southwest China" presented by Prof. Patrick D. Wilson, Associate Professor of Sculpture at Western Michigan University, Frostic School of Art. View session flyer

"Digital Transformation and Program Management: A Case in China" presented by Dr. James J. Jiang, Distinguished Professor of IT Management, National Taiwan University. View session flyer

"Three Perfections of Chinese Art: Exploring Chinese Calligraphy, Painting and Poetry" presented by Dr. Huajing Maske, Assistant Vice President for International Partnerships and Clinical Professor of Global Studies, Wayne State University. View session flyer

"Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk: Can Communication and Understanding facilitate Accommodation in the US-China Relationship" presented by Dr. Suisheng Zhao,  Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. View session flyer 

"Perception and Misperception in U.S.-China Relations" presented by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Distinguished Fellow for China at the United States Institute of Peace and an adjunct professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. View session flyer 

"China’s Development and China-U.S. Relations" presented by Consul General Jian Zhao, Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago. View session recording  View session flyer 

"Chinese Americans in the Heartland: Migration, Work, and Community" presented by Dr. Huping Ling, Professor of History, the founder of the Asian/Asian American Studies Program at Truman State University. View session flyer 

"From Chinatown to Every Town: How Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurs Have Expanded Restaurant Business in the United States" presented by Dr. Zai Liang, Professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Albany. View session flyer 

"Zero-COVID, Carbon Neutrality, and the Future of Coercive Environmentalism" presented by Dr. Yifei Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU Shanghai and Global Network Assistant Professor at NYU. 

"China Planet: Environmental Implications of the Rise of China" presented by Dr. Judith Shapiro, Director of the Masters in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development for the School of International Service at American University.  View session recording View session flyer

"Pulling the Nation’s Noodles: Ramen and the Chinese Origins of Modern Japanese Cuisine?" presented by Dr. Barak Kushner, Professor of East Asian History and Co-Chair of the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.   View session flyer

"Can China Sustain Its Current Level of Food Security?" presented by Dr. Zhangyue Zhou, Former Director of the AusAsia Business Studies Program and Adjunct Professor at James Cook University in Australia.  View session recording View session flyer

"Why Chopsticks? Utensil-use, Changing Foodway and Eating Style in Asia" presented by Dr. Q. Edward Wang, Professor of History and Coordinator of Asian Studies at Rowan University in the US and Changjiang Professor of History at Peking University in China.  View session recording View session flyer

"Learning, Teaching and Schooling in China: Ideals, Realities and Prospects" presented by Dr. Jun Li, Chair and Professor of the Academic and Research Cluster of Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies of Western University Faculty of Education.  View session recording View session flyer

"Improving Students’ Learning: East Meets West in Mathematics Classroom" presented by Dr. Jinfa Cai, Kathleen and David Hollowell, Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Delaware, and a Fellow of American Educational Research Association. View session recording  View session flyer.

"Bad Dragon?: Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World" presented by Dr. Yong Zhao, a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. View session recording View session flyer

"The Gendered Pursuit of Individualism: Fertility Intentions in Contemporary Urban China” by Dr. Yun Zhou, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. View session recording View session flyer

"America Seen through Chinese Lenses" by Dr. Wang Xi, Professor of History at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. View session recording View session flyer

"Nezha and Miaoshan: Myth, Desire, and Chinese Patriliny" presented by Dr. P. Steven Sangren, Hu Shih Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University. View session recording  View session flyer

"Hollywood and Chinese other" presented by Dr. Tan Ye, Professor of Comparative Literature and Chinese at University of South Carolina. View session recordingView session flyer

“The Present as Prologue: The Gloomy Outlook for US-China Relations” by Dr. Avery Goldstein, David M. Knott Professor of Global Politics and International Relations, University of Pennsylvania.  View session recording  View Session flyer

"Food Consumption Changes Due to COVID-19: Lessons from China" presented by Ann Veeck, Marcel Zondag, Jeffrey Xie, and Russell Zwanka along with Hongyan Yu (Sun Yat-Sen University) and Hong Zhu (Northeast Normal University). View Session Recording View session flyer

"US-China Trade War and Economic Relations" presented by Dr. Huizhong Zhou, professor of economics at Western Michigan University.

"Sensory Experience and Chinese Painting circa 1800" by Dr. Michael Hatch, assistant professor of East Asian art at Miami University.

"Is the trade war between US and China over?" by Dr. Christina Liu, managing director of Bellwether International Group in Hong Kong and member of the Global Council of Asia Society (USA).

"Pacific narratives of Chinese and American female intellectuals in the first half of the 20th century" by Dr. Lijuan Huang, professor of English and comparative literature at the International Institute of Chinese Culture, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

"Tourism-Driven Urbanization in China's Small Town Development" by Professor Li Yang, associate professor of geography and recipient of the Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies Research Grant. 

"Jade as Painting" by Dr. Yang Liu, head of the Chinese, South and Southeast Asian art department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  

"Power and Beauty in China's Last Dynasty: A New Approach" by Dr. Yang Liu, head of the Chinese, South and Southeast Asian art department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. 

"Displacement as Opportunity" by Professor Xuefei Jin (Ha Jin), plans to give a short talk in combination with some poetry reading in both English and Chinese. Free and open to the public. 

"Mediating Cybersecurity Discourse: A Comparative Study between China and the United States" by Dr. Junfang Zhang, a professor at School of Journalism and Communication in Shanghai International Studies University, China. 

"Bohai—A Mysterious Kingdom in Northeast Asia" by Professor Migkun Huo, a visiting scholar from Heilongjiang University, China. 

"Eastern Han Tomb Figurines from Fengjie County: The Diffusion of Han Culture" by Ms. Haowen Chen, a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Renmin University, China. 

"Korea's Crisis, China's Problem" by Dr. REN Xiao, professor of international politics at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and Director of Chinese Foreign Policy. Free and open to a public. 

 "Dragon and Eagle in Africa: Comparing China and America's Influence in Africa" by Dr. Jijun Ran, a Fulbright visiting scholar affiliated to SAIS of Johns Hopkins University.

"Journey to the West: the True Story of Xuanzang (602-664)" by Dr. Victor Cunrui Xiong, professor of history and a recipient of the WMU Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. 

"Crossing the 1949 Dividing Line: A New Trend in the Study of Modern China" by Dr. Hanchao Lu, director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

"To the People, Food is Heaven: Politics and Quotidian Life in Recent Chinese History" by Dr. Hanchao Lu, director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

"China's Pork Industry: A Globalization Story" by Dr. Fred Gale, senior economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

"China's Emerging Role in Global Agriculture" by Dr. Fred Gale, senior economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

"Social Turmoil in Hong Kong: Challenging Chinese Sovereignty?" by Dr. Helen Siu, professor of anthropology at Yale University. 

"Urbanization and Social Change in Early 20th-Century Xikang (in Tibet), China" by Yang Liu, assistant research fellow and PhD candidate at the Institute of Urban Studies at Sichuan University, China.

"How to Make Chinese Cities Skilled" by Dr. Shihe Fu, Fulbright scholar and professor of economics at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.

"Social Media in China: An Update" by Dr. King-wa Fu, associate professor of journalism and media studies at the University of Hong Kong. 

"Rebalancing or Debalancing: The U.S. Strategies and New Asian Order" presented by Dr. Ling Wei, professor of international studies and director of the East Asian Studies Center at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. View session flyer