Call for Papers: Special Session (panel) on “Sinophone Science Fiction”
MLA, 8-11 Jan., 2026, Toronto

New Science Fiction from China has drawn much scholarly and popular attention. There has been, however, been a significant amount of new and exciting work from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Sinophone areas as well. This session invites papers on Sinophone Science Fiction from outside mainland China, including SF in literature, film, and other media from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.

Please send 250-word abstracts with a brief CV/bio statement to Nicolai Volland (nmv10@psu.edu) by 16 March, 2025.

Nicolai Volland
Associate Professor of Asian Studies & Comparative Literature
Penn State University
Zoom room: https://psu.zoom.us/j/8390802244

The Chinese Queer Collection: A Workshop for Activists, Archivists and Academics
Leiden University, 24-25 July 2025

Leiden University Libraries is home to a newly established Leiden Chinese Queer Collection (LCQC, 莱顿大学图书馆华语酷儿馆藏). For more information, see https://edu.nl/qyewc.

To celebrate the formal launch of the Collection, promote Chinese queer studies scholarship, and raise the visibility of Chinese queer history and culture, the project’s steering committee will hold a workshop 24-25 July 2025, under the aegis of the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS).

This event will bring together Chinese queer activists, archivists and researchers. We will discuss practical, scholarly, political, and ethical issues pertaining to the preservation and dissemination of information on queer history and culture in the Chinese-speaking world, and consider ways of growing the Collection, collaborating with other institutions, and more.

We will meet in the library building that is home to the Collection. The programme will include a pop-up exhibition of material collected to date. Participants are invited to present their work relevant to the Collection and/or donate source material for the Collection. The event will strengthen international networks of Chinese queer studies and queer activism. Continue reading Workshop on The Chinese Queer Collection →

Call for Papers: 54th Annual Conference of SouthWest Conference on Asian Studies
Pasts and Futures: Rethinking Asian Studies in the New Global Landscape
November 7-9, 2025
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, USA

In an era of rapid geopolitical shifts and technological advancements, SWCAS invites scholars to critically examine the changing contours of Asian Studies under the theme “Pasts and Futures: Rethinking Asian Studies in the New Global Landscape.” We invite reflection on the intersection of historical legacies, contemporary challenges and opportunities, and Asia’s role in shaping global futures. The conference welcomes individual and panel proposals on all topics related to Asian Studies, with a particular emphasis on submissions that engage with one of the following subthemes:

• Asian historical narratives with global connections
• geopolitics and Asian futures
• cultural movements and Asian identities
• environmental issues and sustainability in Asia
• migration, diaspora, and transnationalism
• gender studies in Asia
• body and age in Asia
• Asian Studies across the disciplines
• innovations in Asian Studies pedagogy
• teaching and researching Asian Studies in the SWCAS region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana)

Continue reading SWCAS 2025–cfp →

CFP: Dialogues of Chinese Poetry
Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association 78th Annual Convention
Conference Date: October 16–18, 2025
Location: Spokane, WA

Poetry, often imagined as a solitary activity, has been described as monologic since before Bakhtin’s theorizing of prose fiction. This is especially the case with lyric poetry, the dominant mode of Chinese poetry: a “monologue of the senses,” Stephen Owen called it in 1981. Yet poetry of all kinds is in fact rife with dialogues—dialogues with the reader, dialogues with other poets and poems, dialogues with the past, dialogues with other literary and intellectual traditions, and more. Aiming to open dialogue about the dialogues that engage with and surround Chinese poetry, so as to explore the possibilities and tensions surrounding such dialogues and their broader sociopolitical connotations, this RMMLA panel welcomes proposals that extend these dialogues into other areas, including history, comparative literature, psychology, sociology/anthropology, translation studies, and more. Potential topics could include, but do not need to be limited to, the following:

• Dialogues across eras in Chinese poetry
• Dialogues in Chinese poetry with audiences
• Dialogues between Chinese poetry and literatures in other languages
• Dialogues with different audiences of Chinese poetry
• Dialogues across disciplines in Chinese poetry
• Dialogues across media in Chinese poetry
• Dialogues and disruptions in Chinese poetry

Interested participants should submit a 250-word abstract and a short biography (2-3 sentences) through this Google Form by March 15, 2025. All presentations will be conducted in person and in English.

Please direct any inquiries to:

Lucas Klein: Lucas.Klein@asu.edu
Paul Manfredi: Manfredi@plu.edu
Xiao Meiling: Meiling2@ualberta.ca

It’s fascinating with this rigid Chinese fantasy of “the West” even long after the revelations about how the European story itself is but an extension and reiteration of a much older story that began in Sumer and Egypt. There was a moment when Chinese intellectuals understood the monumental importance of Sumer etc, and they then traced their origins to Mesopotamia.

Hon Tze-ki wrote about how they even mentioned the Mesopotamian origins in the post-1911 Chinese national anthem (see: “From a Hierarchy in Time to a Hierarchy in Space: The Meanings of Sino-Babylonianism in Early Twentieth-Century China”, Modern China 36.2: 139-69). I traced this in my own piece on how the Chinese debates over their own possible Western Origins (or impulses) was shut down by nationalists (“autochtonists”), in the face of the challenge of how to interpret Yangshao ceramics:

“Chinese Autochthony and the Eurasian Context: Archaeology, Mythmaking and Johan Gunnar Andersson’s ‘Western Origins.'” In Kathryn O. Weber, Emma Hite, Lori Khatchadourian and Adam T. Smith, eds., Fitful Histories and Unruly Publics: Rethinking Temporality and Community in Eurasian Archaeology. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2016, 303-320.

The Chinese fantasy of Mesopotamian origins was of course also buried by the same forces and replaced with the current “The West” as China’s fantasy alter ego.

The overall lesson seems to be: Memories are short, and whatever hegemonic fantasies accidentally come to dominate the present, will rule.

Magnus Fiskesjö (nf42@cornell.edu)

On behalf of the Global China Research Centre (GCRC) at the University of Exeter, I am pleased to invite you to participate in our Spring Seminar Series. This term, we have an exciting lineup of seminars that will explore how China perceives “the West” (xifang) through diverse lenses, including translation studies, food culture, international politics and theatre.

The seminar series will feature both in-person and online events. Please refer to the attached Spring Term Card for a detailed schedule of events. You can attend the online seminars by joining via Zoom using the following details:

Meeting ID: 983 4051 9926 | Password: gcrc

We would be delighted if you could join us for any or all of the events. To stay updated on seminar details, please follow us on Twitter [@ExeterGCRC] or email the LCVS admin team at [lcvs@exeter.ac.uk] to join our mailing list. Should you need further information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at exgcrc-seminar@outlook.com.

We look forward to welcoming you to our seminars!

Posted by: Xi Min <xm264@exeter.ac.uk>

Call for Proposals: Education About Asia

Following a brief hiatus after the untimely passing of founding editor Lucien Ellington, Education About Asia (EAA) is being relaunched as a biannual, open-access online journal.

Education About Asia is an invaluable resource for teachers, students, and anyone with an interest in Asia. Articles and reviews cover a wide range of topics and time periods—from ancient to modern history, language, literature, geography, religion, youth and popular culture. Articles in EAA are intended to provide educators and academics in the humanities and social sciences with basic understanding of Asia-related content. Qualified referees evaluate all manuscripts submitted for consideration.

EAA is widely read by undergraduate and secondary school instructors, many of whom utilize articles from the journal as student readings. Over the past year, the online archives have received close to 900,000 pageviews, representing close to sixty percent of all traffic to the AAS website.

Manuscripts selected for publication should be written in prose that is accessible for high school and/or undergraduate instructors and students. Please consult the Author Guidelines before submitting a proposal, paying particular attention to Feature Article (3,000 to 4,000 words) and Teaching Resources Essay (2,000 to 3,000 words) word-count ranges. Authors who are unfamiliar with EAA should also read sample articles and essays that are archived at the same site. There are close to 2,000 articles—feature articles, lesson plans, interviews, classroom resources, and book and film reviews—to view and download for free.

Posted by: Elise Huerta EAAeditor@asianstudies.org

American Council of Learned Societies Opens Second Luce/ACLS Collaborative Grant in China Studies Competition 

Grant of Up to $150,000 Will Allow Collaborative Group to Design and Pilot Strategies to Address Challenges and Advance Positive Change in Field of China Studies

With the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to offer the second Luce/ACLS Collaborative Grant in China Studies for groups of scholars and experts working to advance change in the field of China studies.

Part of the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies, this grant competition aims to develop effective strategies for long-term change in China studies through collaborative working groups that research and pilot solutions to challenges and opportunities in the field. The program is based on three years of consultation with more than 100 scholars, administrators, journalists, librarians, curators, artists, and readers of research and writing on China.

In 2025, ACLS will award one group of scholars and experts in China studies a grant of up to $150,000 to design and pilot activities to solve specific, pressing challenges in the field over a period of 12 to 18 months. The collaborative group will test and refine promising solutions, produce recommendations for activities to be adopted at scale in universities and colleges, and identify strategies for long-term sustainability. Outcomes may include a pilot program, a new cross-institutional network, a plan for scaling and/or sustainability, or a white paper.

All project teams applying for the Collaborative Grant must submit a letter of intent by April 1, 2025. Following review of LOIs by the committee, a select number of project teams will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals must be submitted by June 11, 2025.

Groups are encouraged to submit proposals in response to the below prompts.

• Enabling Productive Engagement with China – Building capacity among China scholars and institutions of higher learning to respond to political pressure around China-related issues in higher education and civic discourse, including academic freedom, shrinking opportunities for international collaboration and exchange due to security concerns, and the community impacts of anti-Asian bias. Strategies may include community engagement, policy advocacy, or engagement with university administrators and civic organizations to protect researchers and students.

• Teaching and Curricular Resources – Developing and/or making accessible course syllabi and teaching resources (e.g., texts, media, primary sources in translation) aimed at diversifying undergraduate and/or graduate curricula; supporting early career and teaching faculty; establishing best practices for teaching about China; safeguarding academic freedom and encouraging international Chinese student participation; and/or enhancing programs that will support the next generation of China scholars.

• Open Access Resources – Expanding open access digital resources for teaching and research through digitization, preservation, and platform development, including increased accessibility to existing digital databases and strengthening print collections.

• Language Training – Expanding access to language training, especially for less commonly taught languages (e.g., Tibetan, Uyghur), for graduate students and faculty at under-resourced institutions while drawing on technologies and best practices for language pedagogy and remote instruction developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Digital Research Methods – Training China scholars in digital skills and research methods to foster new methodological approaches and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Project teams may comprise up to six scholars or experts in the field of China Studies. The project’s principal investigator must have a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences or equivalent and be based in the US or Canada. Application materials must be submitted through the online application form. The deadline for submitting the mandatory Letter of Intent is 9:00 PM EST on April 1, 2025.

Learn More About Application and Eligibility Requirements

Awards are financially supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Questions? Contact us at chinastudies@acls.org.

Formed a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS upholds the core principle that knowledge is a public good. In supporting its member organizations, ACLS expands the forms, content, and flow of scholarly knowledge, reflecting our commitment to diversity of identity and experience. ACLS collaborates with institutions, associations, and individuals to strengthen the evolving infrastructure for scholarship.

The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.

CFP MLA 2026 Guaranteed Panel: The Afterlives of Protest: Representations of Protest in the Sinophone World

MLA Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature Executive Committee seeks submissions for a guaranteed panel for MLA 2026 in Toronto.

In the 2010s, Hong Kong and Taiwan emerged into the international spotlight as a result of large scale protests, from the Umbrella Movement, to the Sunflower Movement, to the 2019 anti-security law protests in Hong Kong, largely youth led demonstrations have pushed back against legislative overreach and unpopular legislation. In the ensuing years have enabled directors, writers, and artists to record, reflect upon, and contextualize these events.

This panel aims to spotlight scholarship that examines the emerging body of novels, documentaries, and scholarship on these protests.

Desired topics include but are not limited to: documentaries that record the protests, novels or memoirs depicting the protests, protest songs and art and other artifacts of protest culture.

Please submit a 150 word presentation proposal, CV, and indicate whether you are currently a member of the MLA (you must be an MLA member by April 7, 2025) to Clara Iwasaki ciwasaki@ualberta.ca by March 15, 2025.

Posted by: Nathaniel Isaacson <nkisaacs@ncsu.edu>

Call for Papers: Animism and Non-human Narration
Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Toronto
January 9-12, 2026

Nearly a decade after Brian Richardson called for a theory of unnatural narrative, has cognitivism gained a firm foothold in the study of narratives that break mimetic conventions or present physically or logically impossible scenarios? This panel takes stock of the latest efforts at using cognitive science tools to account for the appeal of stories told in the voice of animals, robots, AI, rocks, and other “things.” What happens to embodiment or embodied cognition when there are no (human) bodies to speak of? How do authors navigate the imperatives of capturing an alien ontology/umwelt and retaining allegorical recognition/human interest? Is the distinction between real and fictional minds still relevant to a cognitive theory of unnatural narrative?

This non-guaranteed panel is sponsored by TC Cognitive and Affect Studies. Please send 250-word abstract and bio to Haiyan Lee (haiyan@stanford.edu) by March 8, 2025. Submissions by scholars (any stage/rank) working in the East Asian contexts are most welcome.

Wiring China: Information, Affect, and Media Technologies
連綫中國：信息、情動與媒介技術
Sponsored by Department of Chinese History and Culture and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dates and Times:
February 14, 2025 | 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
February 15, 2025 | 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Venue:
AG 710, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

Conference Program 

Day 1 (February 14, 2024)

9 am – 9:30 am: Registration and Welcome Coffee

9:30 am-9: 40 Welcome Address and Opening Remarks

Xing Hang 杭行 (Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Associate Professor, Department of Chinese History and Culture, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Yu Zhang 張宇 (Convener and Associate Professor, Department of Chinese History and Culture, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

9: 40 am – 11: 00 am Keynote Lecture

Margaret Hillenbrand 何依霖 (Oxford University)
Emotion Frozen in Time: Xu Bing’s Dragonfly Eyes Continue reading Wiring China conference →