On October 27-29, 2023, the inauguration ceremony of the Institute of Global Humanities of Nanjing University and the international academic conference on “Global Humanities and the Construction of China’s Independent Knowledge System” were held at the International Conference Centre of Suzhou Campus, Nanjing University. The Institute of Global Humanities is the first liberal arts institute on the Suzhou Campus of Nanjing University. It was initiated by School of Arts, and jointly established by the School of Foreign Studies and the School of Liberal Arts of Nanjing University. With the primary stance of voicing Chinese culture, the institute plans to become a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary research forefront of humanities and arts with both domestic prestige and international impact.

The conference was hosted by the Institute of Global Humanities of Nanjing University and co-organized by the Academy of Europe and the Global Humanities Network located at Cambridge University, with more than 60 scholars from China and abroad participating in the event.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Yang Zhong, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University, Zhou Jingwei, Deputy Secretary of the Party and Labour Committee of Suzhou’s Science and Technology Town, Dong Xiao, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts of Nanjing University, and He Chengzhou, Dean of the Institute of Global Humanities and of School of Arts of Nanjing University, delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor Dai Congrong.

Secretary Yang Zhong, Dean He Chengzhou, Hans van de Ven, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, and Svend Eric Larsen, former Vice President of Academy of Europe unveiled the plaque for the Institute of Global Humanities of Nanjing University. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Shi Hongmei, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Arts of Nanjing University.

The conference featured five sessions of keynote speeches, hosted respectively by Professor Dong Xiao, Professor Huang Zhengming of Nanjing University, Visiting Associate Professor Wei Mei from Freie Universität Berlin, Professor Cheng Aimin, Professor Du Lanlan and Professor Shang Rong from Nanjing University, Professor Zhu Ping from Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Professor Sheng Anfeng, and Associate Researcher Zhang Jing from Renmin University of China. Topics of discussions include how to tell bona fide Chinese stories to an international audience, the characteristics of intercultural, intermedial, and interdisciplinary narratology, the deterritorialization of knowledge and the collision and integration of knowledge systems. These in-depth conversations have been proved enlightening for illustrating the essential role that Global Humanities perform in the context of globalization, and for inspiriting new patterns and methodologies for the research and analysis of humanities topics.

At the end of the conference, Professor He Chengzhou delivered his concluding remarks. He articulated that interdisciplinary studies and research of new liberal arts have marked a paradigm shift in humanities research. Through ongoing international dialogues and interactions, the development of Chinese academic discourse can be more effectively promoted.

Source: the Institute of Global Humanities of Nanjing University

Editor: Guo Ankang