The 16th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies Association of Australia

The 16th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies Association of Australia (CSAA) was held at La Trobe University City Campus from 1st to 3rd July 2019.

Themed “Engaging Chinese Scholarship: New Directions, New Challenges”, the Conference attracted a record number of over 200 academics from 20 countries to attend. About 160 papers were presented on 55 panel sessions at the Conference.

The CSAA is the professional association for China specialists and post-graduate students in Australia. Its membership includes most of the specialists in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, language, law, linguistics, political science, sociology, literature and other aspects of Chinese society and culture.

For information about CSAA, please visit: http://www.csaa.org.au/.

Organizing Committee

Professor John Makeham, La Trobe University (President, CSAA)
Associate Professor James Leibold, La Trobe University (Secretary, CSAA)
Dr Ruth Gamble, La Trobe University (Treasurer, CSAA)
Associate Professor Shirely Chan, Macquarie University  (Council member, CSAA)
Dr Mark Strange, Australian National University (Council member, CSAA)

Conference Program and Abstract 会议日程及论文摘要

A PDF version of the Program is available here: CONFERENCE PROGRAM (13.4MB)

A PDF version of the Abstracts is available here: CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS (1.9MB)

Podcast: Author Meets Critics

Professor Ge Zhaoguang (葛兆光)introduced his new books 《何为中国?》(”What is China?”) and 《历史中国的内与外》(The “interior” and the “exterior” in  historical China) and answered questions at the Author Meets Critics  session of the 16th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies  Association of Australia. The session was chaired by Prof John Makeham  (La Trobe University), and the two “critics” were Dr Kuo Mei-fen  (University of Queensland) and Dr Kevin Carrico (Monash University).

Ge  Zhaoguang argues that from Qin-Han dynasties onward, while China’s core  remained stable, its peripheries were in constant change. In certain  historical periods, some regions became parts of China whereas in other  timehttps://soundcloud.com/messagess, they were “foreign”. As such, it is unwise to view and write  about China’s past from the present’s perspective. While its borders  were constantly changing, the “China” established from the Qin-Han  periods showed its continuity and stability in areas of political  institution, cultural memory and societal construction. While dynasties  rose and fell, “China” as a political and cultural entity persisted  through the ages.

Podcast: Author Meets Critics Session