Online-Dialogreihe "Chinas Moderne Begreifen"

17. November 2022 | 18:30 - 20:00 Uhr | Zoom

Ethnic minorities not only make up the cultural and linguistic diversity that characterises China's society today. Many of the more than fifty ethnic groups officially recognised as "nationalities" also live in formally semi-autonomous administrative units. Historically, minorities have played a weighty role in the rise of the Communist Party. Nevertheless, they have often been affected by repression, re-education and forced modernisation policies. What does modernisation mean in China in relation to its minorities?

Our dialogue focuses on two groups in particular: The Tibetans and the Uyghurs. How have different generations of these populations experienced China's modernisation process? How autonomous can local history, beliefs and traditions be in a modern Han-dominated majority society? What role does the international diaspora play in processing these changes and the associated identity formation? How do perceptions of Xinjiang and Tibet differ in China and the West? And what does the accusation of cultural genocide mean for Europe?

China's rapid modernisation has turned the country into a leading economic and technological power with global appeal. It was not only the Covid 19 pandemic that made it clear that, from a European perspective, China's modernity is a challenge that raises normative, economic and political questions. The dialogue series "Understanding China's Modernity - European Reflections" approaches these questions from numerous disciplines and perspectives. Once a month, renowned experts address different aspects of today's Chinese politics, economy and society, critically questioning them and at the same time reflecting on their own, European modernity.

The dialogue series is organised in cooperation with the research group "Infrastructures of Chinese Modernity and their Constitutive Global Effects" at CASSIS - Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies at the University of Bonn, which is funded by the NRW Return Programme of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of NRW.

Welcoming remarks:

Iris B. Müller
Referentin des Landesbüros NRW der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer
Junior-Professor für Internationale Beziehungen und globale Technologiepolitik, Universität Bonn

Discussion:

Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann
Lehrstuhlinhaber für Contemporary Chinese Studies an der Universität Würzburg

Dr. Hannah Rosa Klepeis
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin im Projekt “Social worlds: China’s cities as spaces of worldmaking”

Chair:

Zoë van Doren
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit