Spring 2024 Speaker Schedule

February 8—
Speaker: Sau-Yi Fong, Columbia University, “The (F)utility of Western Gunboats: Naval Technology and Maritime Geography in Late Imperial China.”
Discussant: Anne Reinhardt, Williams College

February 22—
Speaker: Amy Zhang, New York University, “A Labor of Distinction: Time and the Material in Guangzhou’s Scrap Trade.”
Discussant: Jonathan Bach, The New School

March 21—
Speaker: Ying Jia Tan, Wesleyan University, “Dreams of Stability: Polyethylene and the Transformation of Taiwan’s Agricultural and Industrial Ecosystem.”
Discussant: Paul Kreitman, Columbia University

April 18—
Speaker: Nick Bartlett, Barnard College, “Toward the Study of a Crowd-Like Group in China.”
Discussant: Tani Barlow, Rice University

May 9—
Speaker: Chenshu Zhou, University of Pennsylvania, “Livestreaming Precarity: Temporal Aesthetics, the Chinese Internet, and the Contingency of the Live Screen.”
Discussant: Nico Baumbach, Columbia University



In Spring 2024, each gathering of the Modern China Seminar will take place both in person at 918 IAB (the International Affairs building) as well as online via Zoom. The speaker's conference paper is pre-circulated at least one week prior to our meeting by means of a password-protected link on our website. The discussion begins at 7:00pm. One of our co-chairs gives a short introduction, then the speaker has 10 minutes to give context for his or her project. The discussant then offers comments for 15 minutes, followed by the speaker's response to the discussant's remarks. We then open the floor for broader discussion until we end at 8:30pm. For any questions, comments or requests, please contact the rapporteur.

Sessions are open only to members, associates, and invited guests.

Download or View Current Paper

Contact the Rapporteur at modernchinasem@gmail.com