Introduction to the Center
Orientation
The Center is aimed at integrating academic activities in regard to modern Chinese history. Its studies are focused on different aspects of modern Chinese history, ranging from material life of the mass, transformation of social structures, changes of political groups and institutions, and debates on newly emerging thoughts, to interactions between China and Asia, America, Africa and Europe in the modern era.
In accordance to the pluralistic characteristics of historical studies, the Center is oriented in “resources incorporation and interdisciplinary cooperation.” Through scholarly exchanges between different subjects and fields, more fruitful and productive academic works are hopefully to be done. What follow are the themes of our ongoing studies:
1.Social and economic organizations in modern China
2.Medical practices and social changes in modern China
3.Political institutions, partisan interaction and their theoretical origins in modern China
4.Social and economic contexts of modern Chinese thoughts
5.The international relations of China and the national status of Taiwan in the modern era
Organization
According to the “Regulations of the Center for Studies in Modern Chinese History” (formulated on March 18, 2005), the Center is subordinated to the College of Liberal Arts, National Chengchi University. The purpose of the Center is to advocate studies in modern Chinese history.
The major activities of the Center include arrangements of archives of modern Chinese history, promotion of scholarly exchanges between different academic institutions, and execution of research projects and publication on behalf of other organizations. The Center consists of research fellows from the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts, National Chengchi University as well as from domestic and foreign academic institutions. The director who heads the Center is appointed by research fellows to promote studies and to manage executive affairs. The term of the directorship is two years.
Future Directions
（1） Expansion of organization
There are currently 17 research fellows at the Center. They come respectively from the Department of History, the Department of Chinese Literature, and the Graduate Institute of Library, Information & Archival Studies at National Chengchi University, Leiden University (Netherlands), and Kansai University (Japan). Despite the differences of these fields and areas, they all will contribute to the studies in modern Chinese history through interdisciplinary approaches. In the future, the Center will strengthen its cooperation with different institutions within and without National Chengchi University, including that in Taiwan, China and other Asian countries, Europe, and America. By integration of resources from different scholarly institutions it will definitely deepen scholars’ surveys in the issues of modern Chinese history.
（2）Plan for regular publication
An academic periodical is planned to publish regularly at the Center. Its contents will cover all themes of modern Chinese history. There are two aims of the periodical. One is to encourage scholars’ collaboration and publish their research results of integrated projects for the Center. The other is to provide readers easy access to the information of newly published books by “review articles” or “book reviews”.
（3）Symposia for graduate students of cross-strait
To improve scholarly exchanges between graduate students of cross-strait as well as to understand the academic situations in China, the Department of History at National Chengchi University has collaborated with certain renowned universities in China and Hong Kong in holding graduate students’ symposia since 2000. It has achieved the purposes to some extent. The symposia not only offer Taiwan’s graduate students opportunity to contact with those in China and Hong Kong, but also help them to understand each other in particular in research approaches, achievements and thoughts. It is also positive for the academic competitions between graduate students from these three areas.
Due to that the Center has just been founded not long and not fully organized yet, the graduate students’ symposium of cross-strait will be hosted by both Peking University and Chu Hai College of Higher Education in 2005. But the Center is hopefully to host the next symposium and plans to invite more graduate students to participate from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China in 2006. There is no doubt that such an occasion will pave the way to fruitful discussions between these students on the issues of social changes in modern China.
（4）International conferences
In response to the internationalized and globalized world at the present, to organize international conferences has become an important program at the Center. It is expected to increase our better understanding of the researches related to modern Chinese history in the scholarship of China, Japan, America, Europe, etc.
