Report on CSAA Conference December 2023
The 18th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies Association of Australia was held at the University of Sydney 7-9 December 2023.
The conference was attended by 431 participants, who attended 77 panels of presentations; five keynote lectures; roundtables on Higher Education in China, and academic journal publishing presented by the editors of three Australian China-related journals.
Amongst the participants, inevitably the largest number came from the Sydney area (30%). The next largest source of participants was from the PRC (15%) with substantial numbers from Hong Kong (7%) and Taiwan (6%). Altogether 152 participants (35%) came from overseas including the USA, UK, Europe, Northeast and Southeast Asia.
The panels covered topics and subjects throughout Chinese Studies, including language, literature, society, politics, economic, culture both in the People’s Republic and related to the Chinese diaspora.
The keynote speakers were Prof Cameron Campbell (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) on ‘Qing Officaldom: Insights from Hisotrical Big Data’; Prof Susan Whiting (University of Washington) ‘What’s Law Got to Do with It? Debating the Nature of Law in Contemporary China’; Dr Emily Wilcox (William and Mary) ‘Dancing the World in Mao’s China’; Prof Youmin Xi (Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou) on ‘Reforming Higher Education’; and Prof Suisheng Zhao (Denver University, Journal of Contemporary China) on ‘The Dragon Roars Back.’
The AGM of the CSAA was held during the conference. Prof Mark Wang was elected the President of CSAA for 2024/5 and in the tradition of the association the 19th CSAA Biennial Conference will be held at the University of Melbourne. Further details in due course.
