Remembering Professor Ch’en Shou-yi’s Legacy: A Panel Discussion

Professor Ch’en Shou-yi (Chinese: 陳受頤, 1899-1978) was a Chinese-American scholar known for his groundbreaking contributions to the cultural interactions involving China and the West. After joining the faculty of Pomona College in 1941 as a professor of Chinese culture, he expanded the Asian Studies Program across Pomona College and the rest of The Claremont Colleges consortium. Professor Ch’en dedicated his academic life to cultivating researchers on China among young Americans and, as part of these efforts, became a great benefactor of The Claremont Colleges Library, donating over 4,000 Chinese and English rare books to the Asian Library during his lifetime and by bequest. Built upon the rare books and historical documents featured in the Asian Library’s current exhibit In Honor & Memory of Professor Ch’en Shou-yi, the panel aims to provide more historical background on the development of Asian Studies programs and resources in liberal arts settings in the United States. This includes Professor Ch’en’s role through his advocacy and scholarship, and how the books and historical documents in the Ch’en Shou-yi Collection have informed and can further inspire the teaching, learning and research of faculty and students at Claremont and beyond

Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia

NAGEL, PETER (1938–2024), GERMAN COPTOLOGIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND PHILOLOGIST Ute Pietruschka Keywords: Apocrypha and pseudepigraphic texts, Biographies, Coptic Language, Coptic Language–Dialects, Coptic Literature, Coptic Old Testament, Coptology, Gnosticism, Linguistics, Lycopolitan (or Lyco-Diospolitan or Subakhmimic), Manichaeism, Nag Hammadi codices, New Testament Apocrypha, Sahidic Septuagint, Syriac Literature. Peter Nagel was born in Erdmannsdorf (Saxony, Germany) on April 3, 1938. He studied theology, Egyptology, and languages of the Christian Orient in Leipzig, Germany with JOHANNES LEIPOLDT, SIEGFRIED MORENZ, and Alexander Böhlig (Richter 2015; Behlmer et al. 2018, VII–IX) and received his doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Leipzig in 1961 (Nagel 1966). His second thesis at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Leipzig (Nagel 1965) was a study of the grammar of the LYCOPOLITAN Coptic dialect. From 1961 Nagel taught at the Institute for Byzantine Studies at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, also in Germany, where he received his Habilitation in 1967 (Nagel 1967). In 1975, he traveled to Cairo for the first time to study the Nag Hammadi codices. The translation and commentary of these writings became one of Nagel’s main fields of work (Nagel 1969, 1980, 1998, 2014, 2023). In 1976 he spent an extended research stay in Leningrad and worked at the Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, in particular with Alla I. Elanskaya (1926–2005). For many years, Nagel was the organizer of the Koptologische Arbeitskonferenzen (Coptological Working Conferences) in Halle, which pursued an interdisciplinary research approach, and he was co-editor of the Hallesche Beiträge zur Orientwissenschaft (1979–1990). From 1980 to 1992 Nagel was an Associate Professor at the Section of Oriental and Ancient Studies at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, where he taught courses on the languages and literatures of the Christian Orient. From 1993 until his retirement in 2003 he was Full Professor of Christian Oriental Studies at the University of Bonn. Nagel was one of the founding members of the International Association of Coptic Studies and served as its president from 1988 to 1992. He was a member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences (1988–1992) and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. Nagel died on August 1, 2024, in Lutherstadt Eisleben near Halle, Germany. Peter Nagel’s teaching and research activities were wide-ranging. The spectrum of his scholarly interests included his main field of research, Coptic linguistics and literature, but also Syriac literature, the New Testament Apocrypha, GNOSTICISM, and MANICHAEISM. He made a name for himself as a translator of Syrological and Coptological literature from Russian, and served as an important specialist in the transmission of the Coptic Old Testament (see OLD TESTAMENT, COPTIC VERSIONS OF THE: UPDATE). In 1980, Nagel initiated the project of a systematic edition of the Sahidic Septuagint at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, which continues today as a digital project at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony, and to which he made significant contributions (Nagel 2020, 2022a, 2022b; see also Nagel’s Collected Biblica (https://coptot.manuscriptroom.com/peter-nagel.) (photo) Peter Nagel studying manuscripts circa 1975, possibly in Cairo. Photo courtesy of Claremont Graduate University’s Institute for Antiquity and Christianity’s Nag Hammadi Archive, The Claremont Colleges Digital Library (https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/nha/id/702/)

Slavery in East Asia: Legal Basis & Legacy

Professor Don Wyatt's lecture examines the legal principles of slavery as practiced in medieval East Asia and correspondingly in the West, several stark operative differences between the two such as enslaved rights, and the far-reaching implications of both systems

When Plants Pollute: Navigating the Ambiguities of 'Best Available Science'

The Los Angeles Times recently said, "L.A. [was] too ugly now to host the Olympics." The solution they posed was to increase landscaping with native plants. Species like our California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) could serve to not only beautify L.A. but also support our local and beleaguered coastal sage scrub ecosystem. Urban forestry is a proven, cost-effective approach to tackling various vital community and national concerns, from improving air quality to mitigating climate change. While plants have many air-cleaning and climate benefits, certain plant species can actually worsen air quality thanks to complex chemical reactions involving their volatile aromas - our vulnerable but ecologically critical Sagebrush is one such plant. What principles should guide decisions when air quality and ecosystem health are sometimes at odds? What about aesthetic considerations? The mandate for environmental policymakers in the United States is to employ "the best available science," but what happens when ecologists and chemists offer conflicting perspectives? In this talk, Dr. Kavassalis shares insights from her group's research on the complex chemistry involved in plant-atmosphere interactions as well as insights from the air quality policy-making process itself - what science has guided regulations for the past 50 years, and how has it been chosen? How have policymakers been defining "best"

Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia

ATIYA, AZIZ SURYAL (1898–1988), MEDIEVALIST, ORIENTALIST, AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE COPTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA   Gawdat Gabra   Keywords: Atiya, Aziz Suryal, 1898–1988; Atiya, Lola, 1917–2002; Alexandria University; Arabic and Islamic studies; University of Utah, Middle East Center; Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia; Coptic Church; Coptic Community Council; Coptic Encyclopedia; Coptology; Copts, Crusades; Eastern Christianity; Dayr al-Suryan; Dayr Anba Maqar; Institute of Coptic Studies; History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria; International Association of Coptic Studies; Monastery of St. Catherine (Mount Sinai); Pentapolis; Saladin; Shenouda III, Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, 1923–2012.   Aziz Suryal Atiya was born in al-‘Aysha in Gharbiya Province, Egypt. In 1927, he graduated from the Higher School for Teachers in Cairo. He obtained a B.A. from the University of Liverpool in Medieval and Modern History in 1931, and his Ph.D. from the University of London in Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1933. The University of Liverpool awarded him a Litt.D. in 1938 due to his meticulous work on the Crusade in the Later Middle Ages that appeared in the same year (Atiya 1938). Atiya taught at the University of London in 1934 and was invited to teach at the University of Bonn in 1935. However, because of the outbreak of the Second World War he had to return to Egypt in 1939, where he was able to work as Professor of Medieval History at Cairo University (1939–1942). Atiya was one of the founders of Alexandria University in 1942. He served in that university as Professor of Medieval History (1942–1952) and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1949–1950). In 1946, he led an exploratory mission to the Pentapolis area in Cyrenaica (Atiya 1945; 1946). He participated in the joint expedition of Alexandria University and the American Foundation for the Study of Man in 1949–1950 to microfilm the invaluable manuscript and archival collection of the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai (Atiya 1950; 1952: 578–586; 1953a: 5–26; 1953b; 1955). He taught as a visiting professor in a number of American universities, including the University of Michigan (1955–1956), Columbia University in New York (1956), Indiana University (1957), and Princeton University (1957–1958). In 1959, Atiya was invited to teach and to establish a center for the study of Arabic and Middle Eastern cultures at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He remained in Salt Lake City until his death (Walker 1972a; Qāmus al-Tarajim al-Qibtiya 1995: 156–158; Gabra 2008: 43–44). The University of Utah’s Middle East Center is one of the largest institutions of its kind in North America. Atiya brought his own library from Egypt to the Center, and the university subsequently dedicated $20,000 to enlarge its library. Atiya returned twice to Egypt to purchase more books from Cairo’s hidden bookshops in order to send them to the Center. He made an enormous effort to provide its library with rare books and manuscripts as well as a papyrus collection and other paper documents, the latter dating from the eighth century through the Ottoman Period (up to approximately 1517). Today, this library bears Atiya’s name (Chiarelli and Mirfakhrai 2020: 50–53; see also Walker 1972a: 7). In 1967, the University of Utah designated Atiya a Distinguished Professor of History, and he was granted the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Furthermore, Brigham Young University in nearby Provo, Utah, made him an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.). Atiya published more than 20 books and 92 articles; some of his books have been translated into German, Polish, French, and Arabic (Qāmus al-Tarajim al-Qibtiya 1995: 156–158; Walker 1972b). His major scholarly interests can be classified into three broad topics: the Crusades, Arabic and Islamic studies, and Coptic history and heritage. Atiya’s first publication was on the Crusade of Nicopolis (Atiya 1934). During his long academic career, Atiya published many books, articles, and book reviews on the Crusades, of which the most important appeared in 1938 and 1962 (Atiya 1938; 1962a; 1962b). One of Atiya’s final contributions to the history of the Crusades is related to the Copts (Atiya 1991b). He also made significant contributions to Arabic and Islamic studies. For example, he published a large thirteenth-century Arabic text concerning Egypt at the time of Saladin (Atiya 1943). In addition to many articles, book reviews, and entries in encyclopedias related to Arabic and Islamic studies (Walker 1972b), Atiya edited the remarkable fourteenth-century work of the Alexandrian Muslim historian al-Nuwairy Kitāb al-Ilmām (Atiya 1968–1973; 1977). Atiya never forgot that he was a Copt. One of his earliest articles related to the Copts appeared in 1939 (Atiya 1939: 1–28). In 1952, he became a member of the COPTIC COMMUNITY COUNCIL and two years later he established the INSTITUTE OF COPTIC STUDIES, both in Cairo. In 1953, he presented a lecture to American Fulbright fellows in Egypt for 1953–1954, entitled “The Copts” (Atiya 1953c). Atiya co-edited and translated two volumes of the HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF ALEXANDRIA (Atiya, ‘Abd al-Masih, and Burmester 1948; 1959), one of the most significant sources for the history of the Coptic Church and the Copts. His pioneering work on the history of eastern Christianity (Atiya 1968; 1980; 2005) includes chapters on the Copts and their Church, the Ethiopians, Antioch and the Jacobites, the Nestorian Church, the Armenian Church, the St. Thomas Christians of South India, the Maronite Church, and Vanished Churches. It is worthy of note that Atiya dedicated nearly a third of this body of study to Copts and the Coptic Church. In 1979, he wrote an account of the Copts and Christian civilization (Atiya 1979). The entry on the Copts included in the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam was contributed by Atiya (Atiya 1985: 90–95). It provides an analytical summary of the history of the Copts. Atiya’s most important achievement and contribution to humanity, and in particular to the Copts and Coptic heritage, is undoubtedly The Coptic Encyclopedia (Atiya 1991a). His wife, Lola, who also took part in the Encyclopedia’s production, explained the story of its creation and publication, which began to be formulated decades before publication, in its foreword (Lola Atiya: 1991a). In 1976, the establishment of the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COPTIC STUDIES had encouraged Atiya to contact scholars to fulfill his long-cherished vision of a Coptic encyclopedia. Martin Krause, the first person to occupy a university chair of COPTOLOGY, was elected the first president of that association. I had the honor of attending a meeting between the two great men, Atiya and Krause, in early 1979 at Münster in Germany, while I was studying there. In September 1979, the United States National Endowment for the Humanities responded positively to Atiya’s application for a grant to fund his Coptic Encyclopedia project; it approved an outright award, along with a matching fund. A fundraising campaign began, with the blessings and support of Pope SHENOUDA III. Wealthy Copts, and other donors from America, Europe, and Egypt, assisted in fundraising. After the selection of a committee to establish project guidelines, consultants gathered in March 1980 in Italy and an editorial board was formed. Its members met in September of the same year in Italy, and further meetings occurred in 1982, 1984, and 1985 in Switzerland. Sadly, Atiya died three years before the completion of the project. Concerning this critical situation, Lola Atiya said: “Thereafter, the academic work on the Encyclopedia needed very little to come to a close, and it became my responsibility to finish the work. With the help of the present director of the Middle East Center, Lee L. Bean, the Coptic Encyclopedia now finally sees the light” (Lola Atiya 1991a: lx). She acknowledged the support of foundations, institutions, universities, scholars, benefactors, and some of the world’s churches (Lola Atiya 1991b). The Coptic Encyclopedia continues to facilitate the research of scholars while also providing nonspecialists with information about the Coptic civilization. Its importance for the Copts is definitely greater: it shows them the richness of their heritage, represented by the contributions of more than two hundred scholars contained in an eight-volume encyclopedia. In 2009, Claremont Graduate University acquired the rights to develop an internet-based version of The Coptic Encyclopedia (Saad 2014: 294). In this electronic version, renamed the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (CCE), many existing entries have been updated—for example, the entry named DAYR AL-SURYAN: NEW DISCOVERIES—and new entries are continuously added, for example, a recent entry about Dayr Anba Maqar entitled DAYR ANBA MAQAR, THE PAINTED HERMITAGE OF. Unlike the physical publication of The Coptic Encyclopedia a single time in 1991, the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia is an ongoing project, and it can be reached by anyone with an internet connection via its permanent website hosted by The Claremont Colleges Digital Library: https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce. A comprehensive report on the development and usage of the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia has been presented by its managing editor, Saad Michael Saad (Saad, forthcoming)

Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia

FAST, PRE-NATIVITY Arsany Paul Keywords: Advent, Christmas, Nativity, Epiphany, Hātūr (Hatur), Kiyahk, Fast, Feast, Asceticism, Late Antique Liturgy, Medieval Liturgy, Medieval Literature, Canons, Nomocanon, Calendar, Liturgical Year, Church History. The establishment of an independent liturgical celebration for Christ’s birth, separate from the Feast of Epiphany (see FEASTS, MAJOR), did not occur in Egypt until the early fifth century. SAINT JOHN CASSIAN (d. 435) in the late fourth century attests that, unlike in the Christian West, the commemoration of the Lord’s incarnation and baptism were still observed as a single feast in Egypt (John Cassian 1985: Conferences 10.2). However, shortly after the turn of the fifth century, Paul of Emesa (d. 444) delivered a sermon on 29 Kiyahk, AM 149 (25 December 432), marking what is believed to be the first known celebration of an independent feast for the Nativity (Christmas) in Egypt (Talley 1986: 137–138). Subsequently, multiple references to a Feast of Nativity with liturgical observances continued to be documented, demonstrating the feast’s establishment among the Copts by the early sixth century. The fifteenth-century historian AL-MAQRĪZĪ confirms that an independent feast of Nativity was known during the papacy of TIMOTHY III (d. 535) (al-Maqrīzī 1873: 63). Despite the time gap between Timothy’s life and al-Maqrīzī’s authorship, other examples support his claim for the feast’s observance in antiquity. The vita of ABRAHAM OF FARSHUṮ, a sixth-century abbot in Upper Egypt, provides evidence to the feast’s observance in monastic communities and jurisdictions far from the ecclesiastical center of Alexandria (Goehring 2012: 86 Coptic/87 English). Witnesses for its celebration in Alexandria are documented in the life of BENJAMIN I (d. 662) (Evetts 1904: II, 504). By the late twelfth century, a church dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lord Christ existed in al-Fusṭāṭ (Abū Ṣāliḥ 1895: 94), reflecting the extent to which the feast permeated ecclesial life by this time. With the establishment of a Christmas feast came a preceding fast, at times referred to as ADVENT. The earliest known pre-Christmas fast in Egypt is the PARAMONE, a one-day, strict abstinence preparatory fast observed on the eve of Christmas. Allusions to this custom are already attested in Canon 30 of the ecclesial laws that are falsely attributed to SAINT BASIL (d. 379), which date to the sixth or seventh century. Therein, the author advises to commune of the Eucharist at night in observance of the Feast of Nativity (Riedel 1900: 247), which suggests a preceding fast. Aside from the paramone fast, a curious seventh-century reference to a 40-day pre-Christmas fast in the life of ANASTASIUS I (d. 616) (Evetts 1904: II, 483), and a fast of an unspecified length (al-Maqārī 2012: 39–40), definitive information regarding a pre-Christmas fast among the Copts before the eleventh century is vague. Shortly after the turn of the second millennium, however, detailed information was documented by patriarchs and liturgical authors on FASTING before the Feast of Nativity (Johnson 2024: 56–63; al-Maqārī 2012: 38–44). Canon 15 of the regulations promulgated by CHRISTODOULUS (d. 1077) provides the earliest mandate for a pre-Christmas fast lasting 43 days, beginning the day after the Feast of SAINT MENAS on 16 Hātūr and extending until 29 Kiyahk (Burmester 1932: 76 Arabic/81 English). This canon likely aimed to standardize the fast across the entire Coptic Church, signifying the existence of pre-Christmas fasting customs predating Christodoulus’ canon, as already attested above. By the thirteenth century, Christodoulus’ canon had gained prominence in the NOMOCANON known as al-Majmū‘ al-Ṣafawī, authored by AL-SAFI IBN AL-‘ASSAL (Ibn al-‘Assāl 1908: 1, 172). Yet, despite this canon, differing practices for pre-Christmas fasting continued throughout Egypt, as is witnessed in later sources. By the early fourteenth century, IBN KABAR mentions, in his MISBAH̱ AL-ẔULMAH WA-IDAH̱ AL-KHIDMAH the paramone as the pre-Christmas fast and then iterates Christodoulus’ mandate of a 43-day observance. Furthermore, Ibn Kabar notes that the people of Upper Egypt ( اھل الصعید ) began their fast not on 16 Hātūr, but on the first day of that month, resulting in a fast of roughly 60 days (MSS Paris BnF Ar. 203, AD 1363–69, fol. 213r; and Uppsala O. Vet 12, AD 1547, fol. 191v). While Ibn Kabar’s reference may initially appear to be a scribal error intended as 1 Kiyahk and forming a 28-day fast (as attested below in other literature), this is unlikely since both manuscript redactions clearly state 1 Hātūr ( أول ھاتور ) as the starting day for the fast. Rather, it is possible that Ibn Kabar’s reference indicates an eight-week pre-Christmas fast, excluding Saturdays and Sundays which are common non-abstinence days. This formulation creates a 42-day fast, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, in addition to the one-day paramone, akin to the 43-day fast issued by Christodoulus and known from at least the late eleventh century. Ibn Kabar’s reference attests to competing practices throughout Egypt, and points to Christodoulus’ eleventh-century attempt at standardization still a work in progress, with local communities endeavoring to preserve native traditions. Observances for a one-day, a 28-day, and even a 43-day fast still circulated in the fourteenth century. In his al-Jawharah al-nafīsah fī ‘ulūm al-kanīsah, YUHANNA IBN ABI ZAKARIYYA IBN SIBA‘ rationalizes the importance of the one-day paramone as the culmination of the Feast of Nativity’s preparatory fast (Ibn Sibā‘ 1966: 312 Arabic/555 Latin). Referencing Christodoulus’ pre-Christmas fast, Ibn Sibā‘ then aims primarily at explaining the fast as a 43-day period. He suggests that when the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy became known, she suffered insults from the community and subsequently, she fasted for one and a half months (approximately 43 days) until she gave birth to Christ. (Ibn Sibā‘ 1966: 89 Arabic/439 Latin). He then, however, encourages the Christian community to fast the month of Kiyahk (a 28-day fast) in the likeness of the Virgin Mary (Ibn Sibā‘ 1966: 89–90 Arabic/439 Latin). Based on Ibn Sibā‘’s various references to different fasting customs, it appears that he was aware of diverse pre- Christmas fasting practices throughout Egypt during his time, and he provides reasoning for each observance without regulating a single tradition. Notwithstanding Ibn Sibā‘’s interpretations, other explanations persist, although none of them are exclusive (al-Maqārī 2012: 44–46). Two alternative explanations for the 43-day pre- Christmas fast relate to historical events. The prevalent explanation stems from a 40-day fast augmented by three days commemorating the miraculous event of moving the Muqaṭṭam mountain during the tenth-century patriarchate of Abraham ibn Zur‘ah (see ABRAHAM, SAINT; 975–978) in response to a challenge by the Fāṭimīd caliph as noted in the SYNAXARION for 16 Hātūr (Synaxarion 2012: 209; Ramzy 2019, 161–172). However, a more historically accurate explanation is a 42-day fast plus an additional day for the paramone (al-Maqārī 2011: 26), totaling approximately six weeks and mirroring early Advent fasting customs in the West before the reforms of Gregory the Great (d. 604) (Bradshaw and Johnson 2011: 165–166). Despite mixed explanations and canons attempting to standardize the length of the pre- Christmas fasting period, variations in its length persisted well into the modern era. By the early sixteenth century, it seems that the most common duration for the pre-Christmas fast was 43 days. However, during the Rome–Alexandria ecumenical dialogue in the late sixteenth century, GABRIEL VIII (d. 1603) issued various reforms to the fasting customs of the Copts (Guirguis and van Doorn-Harder 2012: 3, 24–25). One of Gabriel’s reforms was to reduce the pre-Christmas fast to 28 days, so that it would be observed exclusively during the month of Kiyahk (Nakhlah 2001: 4, 59–60). Despite Gabriel’s efforts to shorten the pre-Christmas fast, various observances of differing lengths persisted. Missionaries to Egypt in the late eighteenth century documented differences in pre-Christmas fasting days between Copts in Cairo and those in Upper Egypt (Armanios 2011: 127–128). In this instance, and contrary to Ibn Kabar’s account, Coptic Christians in Cairo observed a 28-day fast during the month of Kiyahk, while the faithful of Upper Egypt adhered to a 43-day fast. Such an observance could indicate the acceptance of Gabriel’s mandate of a 28-day fast by the people of Cairo, contrasted with its rejection by the more conservative Copts of Upper Egypt, who adhered to a stricter fasting regimen. At present, in non-leap years, Copts universally observe a 43-day pre-Christmas fast from 16 Hātūr to 28 Kiyahk, culminating with the Feast of Nativity on 29 Kiyahk (January 7). In a leap year, for pragmatic reasons, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the feast a day early on 28 Kiyahk (January 7), with fasting from 16 Hātūr to 27 Kiyahk (42-day fast)

Unraveling Racial Bias in Attitudes Towards Police Use of Force

An Associate Professor of Psychology, Dr. Guillermo utilized vignette-based experiments where suspect race (Black or White) was manipulated in order to examine attitudes on the following defined aggressive forms of officer force: verbal force, pain compliance techniques, and the use of a baton. Her experiments also measured beliefs about how seemingly “justified” the suspect was for showing acts of resistance toward the officer. After a couple of these studies, Dr. Guillermo’s results showed that when a White suspect’s resistance was perceived as increasingly justified there was a tendency to endorse a milder form of verbal force over a more aggressive pain compliance technique; however, for a Black suspect, the opposite pattern occurred. That is, despite similarly viewing the Black suspect as increasingly justified for resisting the officer, participants viewed pain compliance and verbal force as similarly justifiable in those instances. Additionally, findings pertaining to racial bias with regard to justification of baton usage revealed key differences based on characteristics of the participants in the studies. In addition to detailing these findings from her research, Dr. Guillermo concluded her talk with thoughts about the implications for social scientific research on racial bias in police-civilian encounters and efforts to combat police brutality

At Vision's Edge: Modern China, the United States, and Global Encounters in Lost Photographs and Film

This talk reconstructs images and imaging technologies that once linked Chinese communities, American missions, and Sino-US encounters over the first half of the twentieth century. Cameras and visual devices accompanied American Protestant and Catholic missionaries as they undertook cultural, political, and religious projects in Republican China through the first years of the People’s Republic. These evolving visual practices and products ultimately escaped their missionary molds and entered transpacific perspectives, coloring Chinese engagements with the world alongside American views of modern China and East Asia. This talk explores intersections between image-making, transnational imaginations, and historical trajectories of visual material – all of which transformed twentieth century Sino-US encounters on both sides of the lens

River Towns: Teaching & Learning from Two Generations of Students in China

In Peter Hessler’s hands, China’s education system is the perfect vehicle for examining the country’s past, present, and future, and what we can learn from it, for good and ill. From 1996 to 1998, Hessler taught in the small city of Fuling as a Peace Corps volunteer, an experience he chronicled in River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001). For over two decades, Hessler maintained ties with his former students, observing how they navigated China’s Reform era. In 2019, he returned to China to teach at Sichuan University and experienced the pandemic’s effects firsthand, chronicled in his latest book, Other Rivers (2024). These experiences helped him gain insights into China's remarkable transformation over the last two decades, which he will share in his talk

Stitching the 24-hour City: Life, Labor & the Problem of Speed in Seoul

Dr. Park reveals the intense speed of garment production and everyday life in Dongdaemun, a lively market in Seoul, South Korea. Once the site of uprisings against oppressive working conditions in the 1970s and 80s, Dongdaemun has now become iconic for its creative economy, nightlife, fast-fashion factories and shopping plazas. Dr. Park’s research follows the work of people who witnessed and experienced the rapidly changing marketplace from the inside. Through this approach, she examines the meanings and politics of work, focusing on what it takes for people to enable speedy production and circulation, as well as how they incorporate the critique of speed in the ways they make sense of their own work