First All-Mediterranean Chinese Studies Conference: "Chinese Studies Beyond the Centre of Gravity"
The geographical location of Malta has made it a gathering place for peoples across the world. As such, it has become a salient point of contact between Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean. The Department of Oriental Studies at the University of Malta was established in 1999. The Chinese studies programme was formalized in 2009 with the help of the Confucius Institute. Since that time, the Department has been dedicated to Chinese language teaching and research in Chinese area studies and has recently been renamed the Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures. Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, in conjunction with the Confucius Institute, warmly extends an invitation for scholars around the world to participate in its inaugural conference on Chinese studies to be held in February 2022.
The theme of the conference is “Chinese Studies Beyond the Centre of Gravity.” Through this theme, we encourage participants to begin a larger discussion about what it means to pursue Chinese studies outside of a cultural nucleus centered in East Asia. By the same token, some countries in Europe as well as the UK, US, and, more recently, Australia, have historically exerted a strong gravitational pull for students and scholars of Chinese studies. These are the places where one might expect to find robust research about China happening across disciplines. What happens when knowledge of Chinese language, history, and culture is generated from beyond these centers of gravity? As a means of answering this question, we invite scholars from the so-called center(s) and periphery(ies) to participate in what we hope might be a fruitful exchange of insights, expertise, and methodologies pertaining to Chinese studies around the world. To that end, our primary objective is to foster and develop the role that peripheral localities play in the circulation networks of Chinese studies research and communication.
首届全地中海地区汉学国际研讨会：“非中心地区的汉学研究”
马耳他是地中海重要的枢纽，沟通亚欧非三个大陆，
本次研讨会的主题是“非中心地区的汉学研究”。本次会议旨在鼓励与会者探讨东亚中心地域之外的汉学研究的意义。同样的，欧美各国以及澳大利亚等汉学研究重镇，历来对从事汉学研究的学生和学者有着强大的吸引力。这些地域也培育出丰硕的、跨学科的汉学研究成果。那么，当关于中国语言、历史和文化的研究从这些中心地域之外产生时会发生什么？为了回答这个问题，我们邀请来自所谓的汉学研究的“中心”以及“非中心”地区的、世界各地的学者们参与到与汉学研究有关的见解、知识和方法的交流讨论中。我们的主要目标是发掘和发扬非汉学研究重镇在汉学研究和交流中的作用。我们期盼着与会者都能从这场盛会中有所收获。
