EVENT:  UCI’s Forum for the Academy and the Public will host a two-day symposium on “Global China in an Anxious Age.” More than 30 speakers from a variety of academic and non-academic backgrounds (including law, humanities, glaciology, pharmacology, journalism, tech, public policy and more) will discuss the complicated relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the wider global order. Registration is free.

WHEN/WHERE:  3-6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 and 9:15 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 in Humanities Gateway 1030 (bldg. 611, Grid E4 on campus map: https://parking.uci.edu/maps/documents/2021-UCI-MainCampusMap.pdf) and via webinar.

INFORMATION:  This is a hybrid event, with in-person attendance restricted to UCI affiliates only, pandemic conditions permitting. Members of the public can join the symposium talks via Zoom and live stream. RSVP required. Full line-up of events here.

HIGHLIGHTS: 

Friday, Feb. 25
3- 3:15 p.m.: Welcoming remarks
Tyrus Miller, dean of UCI’s School of Humanities, and Christopher Whytock, acting dean of UCI’s School of Law

3:15-4 p.m.: Keynote conversation
“Global media and big China stories – from sports and spectacles to crackdowns”
A dialogue between Pallavi Aiyar, associate editor of The Globalist, Maria Repnikova, assistant professor of communication at Georgia State University, and Cindy Yu, broadcast editor of The Spectator, introduced and moderated by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, UCI Chancellor’s Professor of history

4:30-5:15 p.m.: Keynote address
“How to remember the future in China: Why understanding history is key to what happens next between Beijing and the West”
A presentation by Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of Modern China at University of Oxford

5:15-6:15 p.m.: Response panel, moderated by Judy Wu, UCI professor of Asian American studies
Panel: Jorge Guajardo, former Mexican ambassador to the People’s Republic of China; John Pomfret, author of The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present and Chinese Lessons; and Rebecca Liao, co-founder and CEO at Sagan and former advisor on China, technology and Asia economic policy for President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign

Saturday, Feb. 26
9:15-9:30 a.m.: Welcome back and overview of the day
Remarks by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

9:30-10:30 a.m.: “China and the global climate crisis”
Moderator: Amy Wilentz, UCI professor of English
Panel: Isabella Velicogna UCI professor of Earth system science; Christine Loh, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange; Steve Allison, UCI professor of ecology & evolutionary biology; and Alex Wang, professor of law at UCLA

10:45-11:45 a.m.: “Competing images of ‘China’ and ‘Chinese Culture’”
Moderator: Hu Ying, UCI professor of East Asian studies
Panel: Afra Wang, co-founder of the Chinese-language podcast, “Loud Murmurs;” Junko Terao, Asia and Pacific editor of Internazionale; Anka Lee, senior China policy advisor at USAID; and Perry Link, Distinguished Professor of comparative literature and Chinese at UC Riverside

12:30-1:15 p.m.: “Long distance comments responding to the morning session”
David Kaye, UCI clinical professor of law, will moderate a discussion with Gregory B. Lee, professor, Chinese Studies at University of St. Andrews; Eileen Chow, associate professor of practice of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at Duke University; and Wilfred Chan, editor at New Public and contributing writer to The Nation

1:30-2:30 p.m.: “Reactions to China’s rise outside of Western Europe and America”
Moderator: Greg Shaffer, UCI Chancellor’s Professor of law and political science
Panel: Gustavo Oliveira, UCI assistant professor of global & international studies; Isabel Hilton, London-based international journalist and broadcaster; Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at University of Oxford; and Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA.

3-4 p.m.: COVID-19
Moderator: Emily Baum, UCI associate professor of history
Panelists: Li Zhang, UCI researcher in global & international studies; Olivier Civelli, UCI Eric L. and Lila D. Nelson Chair in Neuropharmacology; Yangyang Cheng, fellow and research scholar at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center; and Yang Guobin, Grace Lee Boggs professor of communication and sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

4:15-5 p.m.: Closing discussion, moderated by Amy Wilentz and Isabel Hilton

BACKGROUND:  The UCI Forum for the Academy and the Public is a collaborative project of the literary journalism program, the School of Humanities and the School of Law that bridges the university and the public via conferences and pop-ups that take on the most pressing issues of our time.

Led by UCI Humanities professors Amy Wilentz and Jeffrey Wasserstrom and international in scope, the forum has addressed such topics as climate change, freedom of expression, justice and incarceration, artificial intelligence, and the future of the democratic ideal.

This event is co-sponsored by UCI Humanities, UCI Law, Office of Global Engagement, School of Social Sciences, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of History, Program in Literary Journalism, Department of Film & Media Studies, Persian Studies Program, Program in Medical Humanities, Illuminations, International Center for Writing and Translation, Long US-China Institute, Newkirk Center for Science and Society, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.

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