Which versions of China are enacted in relations between area studies and regional anthropologies? And with what consequences? These are the questions we will explore in the second meeting of our network that will take place at HS 5, Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS), Heidelberg University, from August 3 to 4, 2022.
Over a three-year period (2021–2024), our network delves into the multiplicity of China as it emerges in relations between the anthropology of China and area studies (theme 1), politics (theme 2), and general anthropology (theme 3).
Theme 1: Anthropology and the Study of China(s): Area Studies and Regional Anthropologies
Since our preparatory meeting in Cologne, three groups of network members have co-authored chapters on the first theme for our first network book Anthropology and China(s). This collective work will be presented and discussed on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
On Wednesday evening, our first guest Prof. Thomas Heberer (University of Duisburg-Essen) will look back at his career, sharing his experience and reflecting on how China brought him from social anthropology to political science.
On Thursday before lunch, our second guest Prof. Dan Smyer Yü (Yunnan University/University of Cologne) will give a lecture on how climate change acted as nonhuman authority that transformed Han-centered China into an inter-Asian China.
Finally, on Thursday afternoon, we will discuss with six network members the chapters they have prepared for a second network book. [Within China(s)]: Ethnographic Explorations aims to fulfill a double function: As a form of public anthropology, it avoids theoretical jargon and literature reviews to bring ethnographic explorations from within China to a broader audience. As a textbook, it provides students with additional ethnographic square brackets that explore anthropological practice, thus offering empirical material for thinking through the theoretical issues raised in our first network book.
You can find the updated conference program here.
If you are interested in participating, please get in touch: christof.lammer[at]aau.at
We are very much looking forward to interesting presentations and lively discussions.
Christof Lammer, Marco Lazzarotti, and Jean-Baptiste Pettier
1st Network Conference: Cologne, November 2021. (report)
2nd Network Conference: Heidelberg, August 2022. (preview | report )
3rd Network Conference: Zurich, December 2022. (preview | report)
4th Network Conference: Cologne, summer 2023.
5th Network Conference: tba, autumn/winter 2023.
6th Network Conference: Berlin, summer 2024.
Ethnologie Chinas 