08.12.2021 - 18:00

AREA Ruhr Guest Lecture by Edward Wang

The Persistent Appeal of Intellectual History in China: A Preliminary Observation/ Explanation  |  Wed, Dec. 8, 2021, 18–20 h  | Hybrid Lecture Event

Prof. Edward Wang is professor at Rowan University, New Jersey, and Beijing University

Please refer to the AREA Ruhr homepage to find further information on how to participate online or in presence:
https://www.area-ruhr.de/2021/10/28/08-december-2021-18-20-h-area-occasional-lecture-series-edward-wang-the-persistent-appeal-of-intellectual-history-in-china-a-preliminary-observation-explanation/

Abstract:
In stark contrast to its apparent decline in the post-war West, intellectual history has been a prominent school in China’s historical circles over the same period. And, thanks to the exemplary works by acclaimed historians, it indeed has gained more vigor and luster in more recent decades. From a comparative and historical perspective, Edward Wang will offer an explanation for this interesting phenomenon. Drawing on examples in both Chinese history and historiography, he argues that the primacy of intellectual history at once reflects and enhances an entrenched tradition, or the practices of “intellectual fundamentalism,” for the educated class in China to deal with a crisis by seeking an intellectual/cultural renovation.