Dartmouth Events

The department of history is pleased to announce the following talk by Prof. Dominic Sachsenmaier (University of Göttingen): The Rise of Civilizational Narratives in Contemporary China: Global Contexts and Historical Genealogies.
 
Sponsored by: The Harris Program

Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Megan Yeo (Megan.G.Yeo@dartmouth.edu).

Abstract: 
During the past two decades, the concept of “civilization” has regained prominence in China: state authorities, the media, and academic circles frequently invoke the notion of Chinese civilization (wenming). In a first step, this talk examines selected variants of this renewed civilizational discourse and the groups that promote them. In a second step, it reflects on the historical genealogies and more recent drivers of civilizational narratives in China. Finally, it seeks to situate developments in China within broader global trends: in many parts of the world, “civilization” has once again become a socially contested and politically mobilized term.

 
Speaker Biography:
Dominic Sachsenmaier is a chair professor of “Modern China with a Special Emphasis on Global Historical Perspectives”. Before coming to Göttingen, he held faculty positions at Jacobs University, Duke University and UC Santa Barbara. Dominic Sachsenmaier is an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and he is also one of the three editors of the book series „Columbia Studies in International and Global History“ (Columbia UP). His main research interests include China’s transnational and global connections in the past and present. For instance, he authored the monographs “Global Perspectives on Global History” (Cambridge UP, 2011), and “Global Entanglements of a Man Who Never Traveled” (Columbia UP, 2018). His new book (“Modern China and its Worlds”) will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2027.