Southern California China Colloquium
Richard Gunde, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Center for Chinese Studies
UCLA
Established in the 1970s, the Southern California China Colloquium was intended primarily to promote scholarly interchange among professors of Chinese studies throughout Southern California by presenting lectures that would draw an audience from among that constituency. Secondarily, the Colloquium wished to promote outreach: all events were publicly announced, and there was never an admission charge.
For many years, the budget was quite minimal. An attempt was made to present one lecture a month, although from time to time there was an unplanned greater interval between lectures. Whenever possible, the Colloquium took advantage of "targets of opportunity" (that is, it invited scholars who happened to be passing through Los Angeles to present a lecture).
With the establishment of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies in 1986, the Colloquium grew very substantially and today it is recognized as one of the most active and exciting forums in the U.S. for the presentation of cutting-edge research on China.
The creation of the UCLA China center led to a several-fold increase in the budget of the Colloquium. This made possible an ambitious program of six or more day-long conferences per year, one each month during the regular school year. Typically, four to six papers are presented at each conference. The panelists are drawn from local scholars and from those elsewhere in the country, and occasionally from abroad. Conferences are held on a Saturday, usually at UCLA. By meeting on a Saturday, professors and students from throughout Southern California can more easily attend, as can out-of-town panelists. One should also add: as can out-of-town members of the audience. The audience often includes attendees from northern California, Arizona, Nevada, and even more distant points.
The Colloquium continues its attention to outreach by widely announcing its conferences, and by welcoming all who wish to attend. In addition, the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, which coordinates the conferences, works closely with various community groups to keep them informed of the activities of the Colloquium. The papers presented at the various conferences are posted on the website of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies <www.isop.ucla.edu/ccs/Calendar/calendar.htm>, password protected, with the password given to members of the Colloquium. Others who want access are asked to obtain the permission of the author(s).
The greatest indication of the scholarly impact of the Colloquium is that the majority of its papers end up being published.
SEMINAR COMMITTEE
The agenda for the calendar year is set by a seminar committee drawn from scholars throughout the Southern California area. For this year, the committee consists of:
Eugene Anderson (UC)
Kathryn Bernhardt (UCLA)
Bettine Birge (USC)
Francesca Bray (UCSB)
Robert Buswell (UCLA)
Cameron Campbell (UCLA)
Carolyn Cartier (USC)
Wellington Chan (Occidental)
Lucie Cheng (UCLA)
Lucille Chia (UCR)
Yu-chin Chien (CSULB)
Hung-hsiang Chou (UCLA)
Gene Cooper (USC)
Ron Egan (UCSB)
Benjamin Elman (UCLA)
Mark Elliott (UCSB)
Robert Eng (Redlands U)
Cindy Fan (UCLA)
Joshua Fogel (UCSB)
Michael Fuller (UCI)
Charlotte Furth (USC)
Susan Greenhalgh (UCI)
Keith Griffin (UCR)
John Hawkins UCLA)
Richard Horowitz (CSUN)
Ginger Hsu (UCR)
Kylie Hsu (CSULA)
Hu Ying (UCI)
C.T. James Huang (UCI)
Martin Huang (UCI)
Philip Huang (UCLA)
Ted Huters (UCLA)
Joan Judge (UCSB)
Burglind Jungmann (UCLA)
Hui-shu Lee (UCLA)
James Lee (Caltech)
Nancy Levine (UCLA)
Charles N. Li (UCSB)
Audrey Li (USC)
San-pao Li (CSULB)
Alan Liu (UCSB)
Kathryn Lowry (UCSB)
Mark Lupher (UCLA)
Dan Lynch (USC)
Stephen Ma (CSULA)
Meng Yue (UCI)
Robert Marks (Whittier)
Joshua Muldavin (UCLA)
Kenneth Pomeranz (UCI)
Lisa Raphals (UCR)
Helen Rees (UCLA)
Stanley Rosen (USC)
Arthur Rosenbaum (Claremont)
David Schaberg (UCLA)
Otto Schnepp (USC)
Shu-mei Shih (UCLA)
Dorothy Solinger (UCI)
Richard Strassberg (UCLA)
James Tong (UCLA)
Rudi Volti (Pitzer)
Lothar von Falkenhausen (UCLA)
Richard von Glahn (UCLA)
Jack Wills (USC)
Keith Wilson (LACMA)
Bin Wong (UCI)
Teresa Wright (CSULB)
Yunxiang Yan (UCLA)
Mayfair Yang (UCSB)
Ping Yao (CSULA)
Esther Yau (Occidental)
Pauline Yu (UCLA)
Louise Yuhas (Occidental)
MAILING LIST
The mailing list - both for paper flyers and an Email announcements - consists of over 500 names, including primarily professors of Chinese studies in Southern California, and as well students and members of the public.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, 2000-01
For 2000-01, the Southern California China Colloquium presented five day-long conferences and workshops.
Oct. 21, 2000: CHINA AND CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION
Stanley Rosen (Political Science USC), "The Wolf at the Door: Hollywood & the Film Market in China from 1994 to 2000"
Yunxiang Yan (Anthropology, UCLA), "Managed Globalization: State Power & Cultural Transition in China"
Barrett L. McCormick (Political Science, Marquette University), "Alternative Media: Assessing the Impact of Satellite TV, Recorded Movies, and the Internet on Chinese Public Discourse"
Eriberto Lozada (Anthropology, Butler University), "Colonizing Cyberspace: Computers, the Internet, and Shanghai Imaginations"
Discussants: Matthew Kohrman (Anthropology, Stanford), Nina Hachigian (Law and Public Policy, Council on Foreign Relations)
Dec 8-9, 2000: WRITING AND VISUALITY IN TRADITIONAL CHINA
Lothar von Falkenhausen (UCLA), "The E Jun Qi Metal Tallies: Inscribed Texts and Ritual Contexts"
Lan-ying Tseng (Univ. of Southern Calif.), "Representation and Appropriation: Rethinking the TLV Mirror in Han China"
Suzanne E. Cahill (UC San Diego), "Continuity and Change: Daoism & the Literati Ideal in Chinese Bronze Mirrors of the Tang Period (618-907 CE)"
Xu Guangji (Institute of Archaeology, CASS), "Probing & Excavation of the Late Northern Dynasties Imperial Tombs at Ci Xian & Their Wall Paintings"
Audrey Spiro (UC San Diego), "Visual Narrative & the Buddhist Conquest of China"
Zhao Yonghong (Institute of Archaeology, CASS), "Open Shafts and Joint Burial: Issues Surrounding the Northern Zhou Period Tomb of Tian Hong"
Burglind Jungmann (UCLA), "Visuality in 15th Century Korea: Prince Anp'yong's Collection and Its Reflection of Chinese Antiquity"
Peter C. Sturman (UC Santa Barbara), "The Meng Jiao Voice in the Exile Calligraphy of Su Shi and Huang Tingjian"
Hui-shu Lee (UCLA), "Women and the Art of Writing in Southern Song China"
Lisa Raphals (UC Riverside), "Contexts for Modularity"
Lothar Ledderose (Univ. of Heidelberg), "China and the West: Competition and Symbiosis of Visual Systems"
Chairs: Richard Vinograd (Stanford Univ.), Albert E. Dien (Stanford Univ.), Louise Yuhas (Occidental College)
Feb. 3, 2001: EXEMPLARY WOMEN IN LATE IMPERIAL TEXTS & CONTEXTS: THE LIENÜ ZHUAN TRADITION FROM YUAN TO LATE QING
Beverly Bossler (University of California, Davis), "Echoes of the 'Songs': Exemplar Poetry in Yuan China"
Katherine Carlitz (University of Pittsburgh), "Mixed Messages in the Zhi buzu zhai Lienü zhuan"
Joan Judge (University of California, Santa Barbara), "Exemplary Women of the Qing Dynasty: Lienü in an Early Twentieth Century Popular Pictorial"
Hu Ying (University of California, Irvine), "Modeling Lives of/for Women: Late Qing Biographies"
Chair: Kathryn Bernhardt (UCLA)
Discussant: Lisa Ralphals (University of California, Riverside)
April 21, 2000: RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA
Mickey Spiegel (Human Rights Watch/Asia), "Religious Policy in China
Richard Madsen (Sociology, UCSD), "Servants of Caesar and Rome: Catholics in China"
Ryan Dunch (History, University of Alberta), "Protestant Churches in China"
Yingnian Wu (Statistics, UCLA), "The Tale of Two Falungongs: Xinhua vs. Minghui"
Roundtable discussion of what is permissible and not permissible in China today in the areas of religious worship, proselytization, training, ordination, church governance, finance, and relations with outside churches. Discussants: Ryan Dunch, Richard Madsen, Mickey Spiegel, and Yingnian Wu
Chairs: James Tong (Political Science, UCLA), Richard Baum (Political Science, UCLA)
June 8-9, 2000: Workshop on MAPPING LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN POST-REFORM CHINA
Richard Baum, UCLA (co-organizer)
Marc Blecher, Oberlin College
Kenneth Foster, UC Berkeley
Kevin O'Brien, UC Berkeley
Benjamin Read, Harvard University
Tony Saich, Harvard University (co-organizer)
Sally Sargeson, Murdoch University (Au)
Alexei Shevchenko, UCLA
Vivienne Shue, Cornell University
Hiroki Takeuchi, UCLA (rapporteur)
Kellee Tsai, Johns Hopkins University
Christine Wong, University of Washington
Yunxiang Yan, UCLA
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, 2001-01
For 2001-02, the Colloquium has already presented one conference, and has scheduled an
Oct. 20: SPATIALITY AND PRIVACY IN THE CHINESE HOUSE AND HOME
Eugene Anderson (UC Riverside), "Space & Privacy among Chinese Fisherfolk: Variations on Chinese Themes"
Maris Gillette (Haverford College), "Houses & Memory: Case Studies from the Xi'an Muslim District"
Yinxiang Yan (UCLA), "A Room of One's Own: House Remodeling and the Quest for Privacy in a Chinese Village"
Francesca Bray (UC Santa Barbara), "Masculine-Feminine: Domestic Aesthetics & Consumption in the Late Ming"
Charlotte Furth (USC), "Solitude, Silence & Concealment: Boundaries of the Social Body in Ming Dynasty China"
Discussants: Susan Greenhalgh (UC Irvine) and Stevan Harrell (Univ. of Washington)
Nov 10: New Paths to the Study of Women in Chinese History
Susan Mann (UC Davis), "Women's Biography as Family Romance"
Weijing Lu (Mary Washington College), "The Faithful Maiden Cult in the Qing"
Suzanne Cahill (UC San Diego), "Poetry of Tang-Dynasty Nuns"
Ping Yao (Cal State LA), "Women's Life in Tang China"
Patricia Ebrey (Univ. of Washington), "Women of Huizong's Court"
Dec. 8: CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA: BREAKING DOWN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL BARRIERS
Titles to be announced
Philip Kuhn (Harvard)
Carl Trocki (Univ. of Brisbane, Australia)
Anthony Reid (UCLA)
Laichen Sun (Cal State Fullerton)
Wang Gungwu (Nat'l Univ. of Singapore)
Charles Wheeler (UCI)
Jan.: CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN YUNNAN STUDIES
February: STATE AND SOCIETY IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHINA
May 4: BROKERING ART FOR CHINA: THE MISSIONARY LINK
May 25: NEW LIGHT ON THE CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF LATE QING SHANGHAI