HSTCC Business Meeting & Roundtable at the 1999 AAS Boston Meeting

The Business meeting and the Roundtable were held in March, 1998 at the annual conference of the AAS. At the Business meeting, President Yip thanked Vice-President Barrett for instituting regular membership dues collection and the membership for responding positively to the new dues structure. He reminded the membership of the HSTCC joint meeting with SWCAS in October in Southwest Texas State University and urged those who are interested to submit panels/papers to Professor Marilyn Levine who is in charge of the program for HSTCC. Eligible graduate student members of HSTCC who will be presenting papers at the meeting may apply for travel subsidies. Laura De Giorgi of the University of Venice then reported on preparations for the International Conference at the University of Venice in June. Possible venues for future conferences were also discussed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The HSTCC Roundtable, entitled AChinese History for the New Century: New Areas and Approaches@ was held on 12 March from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. It was chaired by Ka-che Yip. Besides Yip, speakers included Parks Coble (University of Nebraska), Elisabeth Koll (Case Western Reserve University), Paul Rivera (Edison Community College), and Odoric Wou (Rutgers University, Newark). Coble discussed the nature of Anationalism@ of the Chinese capitalists during the Sino-Japanese War, and suggested new ways to evaluate their respective responses to the war. Koll introduced the audience to the many business and enterprise archives of the Republican period and discussed how they could be used for the study of business and social history. Rivera provided a China-centered approach in our understanding of Catholic missionary enterprises and the nature of Christian communities in China. Wou examined the various interpretations of peasant movements in the Republican period and insisted that a multi-disciplinary approach was necessary to appreciate the nature of peasant activism. Finally, Yip reviewed recent works on the history of public health in modern China and suggested areas of research in this relatively new field. Lively discussions followed the presentations.

HSTCC-University of Venice International Conference on AThe Role of the Republican Period in Twentieth Century China: Reflections and Reconsiderations.@ 30 June - 3 July 1999

The international conference, co-sponsored by HSTCC and the University of Venice in collaboration with Giorgio Cini Foundation, brought together about 50 scholars from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America to reevaluate the significance of the Republican era in Chinese history. Guido Samarani of the University of Venice was the program chair, and Larry Shyu was the Conference Honorary Chair. Samarani, with Laura De Giorgi and several of their colleagues constituted the local arrangements committee. The conference also received support from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Pacific Cultural Foundation, and the Huang Hsing Foundation.

In his keynote speech, William Kirby set the tone for the conference when he stressed the accomplishments in the Republican period, and the importance of continuities in developments in twentieth century Chinese history. Presentations addressed such issues as the political and military dimension, citizenship and identity, culture, media and propaganda, state and nation-building, the Sino-Japanese War, international relations, and historiography. They questioned conventional assumptions (e.g. the nature of conservatism in 20th century China or the use of the term Arevolution@ for Xinhai Geming), provided new perspectives on the relationship between the state and society in areas of health care, minority policies, and women=s suffrage, and offered fresh approaches in the study of propaganda (e.g. the use of radio broadcasting), biographies, and leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei. Moreover, with the use of newly available collections and archives, scholars of the conference reassessed not only the domestic programs introduced during the Republican period but also the international relations of the Nationalist government, especially during the Sino-Japanese War. Conference participants agreed that there is the need to break down the twin artificial divides of 1912 and 1949 so that the Republican era can be put into its proper perspective.

Thanks to the superb local arrangements, excellent presentations and thought-provoking discussions, the conference was a great success. Certainly, the city of Venice itself proved to be a most attractive and enchanting venue for the meeting.

Marilyn Levine, HSTCC Website Director, has prepared a AVenice Gallery@. Please visit the site at::

www.lcsc.edu/ss150/hsttccvngal.htm

Upcoming Event in Oct.1999: San Marcos, Texas!!

Joint Meeting of the HSTCC and Southwest Conference on Asian Studies:

Southwest Texas State University, 21-23 October 1999

For the first time, a regional conference of the Association for Asian Studies--the Southwest Conference--has collaborated with an affiliated society--HSTCC--in its annual meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to strengthen ties with the regional conferences. Joseph Yick, President of SWCAS has been working with Marilyn Levin and Ka-che Yip on the program. For more information about the joint meeting, please visit these websites:

HSTCC: [This Web site]

SWCAS: www.trinity.edu/org/swcas/1999 meeting.html

Program Highlights of HSTCC-SWCAS joint meeting

Thursday, 21 October

2:00-5:00 p.m.: Registration - LBJ Student Center

4:00 p.m. : James Taylor Lecture.

Speaker: Susan Mann - AHer Stories: Women=s Lives in China=s History@

Friday, 22 October

8:00 a.m.-5 p.m: Registration

8:00-12:00 p.m.: Panels #1 to #6

12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.: Lunch

2:00 p.m.-6:00p.m.: Panels #7 to #12

6:00-7:00 p.m.: Board Meetings

Saturday, 23 October

8:00-11:45: Panels #13 to #18

12:00-1:45 p.m. Luncheon

Speaker: Wendy Doniger - AAsian Variants of the Tale of the Man Who Committed Adultery with His Own Wife@

2:45-6 p.m.: Panels #19 to #24

6:30-9:00 p.m.:Banquet

Speaker: Edward Feng, Director-General, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston - AThe Triangular Relationship Among Washington, Taipei, and Beijing in the 21st Century@

In conjunction with the conference, Marilyn Levine (Lewis-Clark State College) and Richard Kagan (Hamline University) will be conducting a Community Symposium on Vietnamese History and Culture sponsored by the Council of Conferences of the AAS and the School of Education at Southwest Texas University.

The website for the Vietnamese program is: www.lcsc.edu/mlevine/viet.htm

Conference in 2000

Pending funding support, the HSTCC plans to hold an international conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada in the early fall of 2000. The conference will deal with various aspects of twentieth century Chinese history. The HSTCC Board is now working on the details of the gathering and will provide additional information later.

Publication of HSTCC 1995 Vancouver Conference papers:

Selected papers from the 1995 Vancouver Conference on AReassessing the Sino-Japanese War: New Sources and New Interpretations,@ will be published in two volumes edited by David Barrett and Larry Shyu. The first volume, entitled Chinese Collaboration with Japan, 1932-1945: The Limits of Accommodation will be published by Stanford University Press, and is now in press. The second volume, entitled China at War, 1937-1945: Politics, Culture, and Society will be published in late 1999 by Peter Lang. This is an important milestone for the HSTCC and an impressive contribution to the study of twentieth century Chinese history.

Marilyn Levine, HSTCC Website Director, has been elected the Chair of H-NET Executive Board. An international consortium of scholars and teachers, H-NET creates and coordinates Internet networks with the objective of advancing teaching and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. It has pioneered the use of new communication technology to facilitate the free exchange of academic ideas and scholarly resources. H-ASIA is one of the over 100 free electronic, interactive newsletters (Alists@) sponsored by H-NET. This is a recognition that Professor Levine richly deserves. She will be in a key position to develop new initiatives and shape future policies. Congratulations!

Larry Shyu, Past President of HSTCC has been named Professor Emeritus of University of New Brunswick, an honor that is conferred on only a very small percentage of faculty retirees of the University. Congratulations!