ACLS Shares Reflections on 2022 Summer Institute in China Studies

From June 24 to 26, 2022, ACLS hosted its first Summer Institute in China Studies in New York, with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation. More than 40 Luce/ACLS Fellows in China Studies, scholars, experts, and practitioners convened for the event. They offered recommendations on areas of scholarship most in need of support, and identified how ACLS might help bridge the gap between academic research, teaching, and public knowledge about China.

The Summer Institute featured a compelling reading by award-winning poet Jenny Xie and a presentation by William Kirby, ACLS Board Chair, T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University, and Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who gave attendees an exciting preview of his new book, Empire of Ideas.

The event also included a series of roundtables sessions and panels on important directions in China Studies research and scholarship, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; securitization; public-facing scholarship; valuable and at-risk subfields; and mentorship.

The meeting was a great success thanks to the guidance of the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies advisors, Emily Baum, Associate Professor of History, UC Irvine, and Yingyi Ma, Associate Professor of Sociology, Syracuse University, as well as the Steering Committee: Ryan Hass, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution; Michael Gibbs Hill, Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, Modern Languages & Literatures, William & Mary; Tobie Meyer-Fong, Professor of History, History, Johns Hopkins University; Shellen Xiao Wu, Associate Professor of History, History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Guobin Yang, Professor of Communication and Sociology, Sociology; Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania; Emily Yeh, Professor of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder.