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Events and news
The latest China Studies Centre news and events
Register for upcoming events, read our latest news and find out about our people in the media.
We host five different kinds of events throughout the year:
- International Research Webinars: Scholars of China from around the world make online presentations.
- Bookworm Series: Members of the China Studies Centre present on their recent publications
- Talks in Chinese Humanities
- Sydney China Seminars: In-person China studies academic presentations
- Roundtables, to discuss topical matters of China-focussed interest.
Register for any upcoming events, read our latest news and find out about our people in the media.
Call for Papers: Gender and the Media in Contemporary China Workshop
Submission close date: 31 December 2024
Debates around gender and feminism in contemporary China have intensified over the past few years, especially but not only via social media. These debates, of course, play out in this context in culturally specific ways that necessitate much deeper and sustained scholarly consideration. This workshop will contribute to such critical conversations, considering the varied ways in which media and popular culture in contemporary China might be shaping dominant understandings of gender along with key feminist issues.
In particular, the workshop will focus on the often varied and creative ways in which media and popular culture function as important sites of contestation and negotiation in terms of normative assumptions around gender in contemporary China. The development of digital media platforms has seen the possibilities of self-representation amplify – not without challenges, whether in terms of the technological affordances of specific platforms or the regulatory frameworks within which content creators and audiences operate, something which must temper more celebratory accounts of the media’s role in precipitating social change. Nevertheless, social media platforms such as Weibo, Douban, and Xiaohongshu are clearly being deployed as activist tools by feminists, with prominent hashtags such as #StandByHer and #SeeFemaleWorkers indicating the possibilities of this form of discursive activism. Alongside this more overt digital feminist activism, there are many instances of what Lauren Berlant would call ‘juxtapolitical’ interventions, such as influencers or live-streamers who may be doing gender differently online.
The workshop will not be limited to digital media; shifts in gendered representations in the Chinese film and television industries, and audience engagement with them, as well as the industries themselves and how they may be responding to calls for greater diversity therein will also be considered. In addition, celebrities, who can very publicly embody challenges to normative gender regimes, can do important cultural and political work, including in the Chinese context; they can help precipitate new cultural conversations about all genders, including the kinds of femininities and masculinities that are privileged over others, while fandoms labour (within certain constraints) to create spaces of belonging and community, both online and offline.
Given the importance of intersectional analyses, and the difficulty of separating gender from other aspects of identity, participants will be asked to consider gender in relation to other modalities of difference, such as class, sexuality, race and ethnicity, age, and region, as relevant.
The workshop – to be in Suzhou between 25-27 June 2025 – will enable approximately 15 scholars to discuss their work in this area and receive feedback on written material and mentoring from accomplished experts in the field. It will also engage explicitly with the methodological challenges of undertaking such often interdisciplinary work.
Abstracts of 250 words are invited by 31 December 2024 from scholars working in the broad area of gender and the media in contemporary China; in particular, HDRs and ECRs, including those working in China, are encouraged to participate. For those selected, papers of between 6,000-8,000 words will need to be submitted for circulation a month prior to the workshop. It is expected that the workshop will result in a special issue of an appropriate Q1 journal, such as Feminist Media Studies (to be published in 2026/2027 depending on the journal’s schedule).
Convenor: Anthea Taylor, Associate Professor, Gender and Cultural Studies, the University of Sydney
For any inquiries and to submit your paper, please contact Associate Professor Anthea Taylor at anthea.taylor@sydney.edu.au.
China Studies Community in Australia appeals to ARC
Letter to ARC on Review of NCGP
On behalf of 60 China Studies scholars from 22 universities in Australia; the National President and Chair, Australia China Business Council; as well as the past and current Chair, Foundation for Australian Studies in China.
Click here to download the open letter.
Our latest news
Lauren Johnston
On 18 September, Associate Professor Lauren Johnston wrote an op-ed for Nikkei Asia on China's retirement age changes.
On 23 September, she was cited in The Banker on central bank digital currencies innovation.
Xiaohuan Zhao
On 12 September, Associate Professor Xiaohuan Zhao was interviewed for Smithsonian Magazine about the myths, legends, anecdotal and historical accounts of the origins of the Middle-Autumn Festival, mooncakes and associated folk and religious beliefs and practices during the festival in China and East Asia.
Sophie Loy-Wilson
On 9 October, she was quoted in ABC News on retaining 'offensive' name of Chinamans Lane in Penola, South Australia.
Members publications
Jie (Jeanne) Huang
"The Rise of Data Property Rights in China: How Does It Compare with the EU Data Act and What Does It Mean for Digital Trade with China?" Journal of International Economic Law, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgae032.
“Can Private Parties Contract out of the Hague Service Convention?” Journal of Private International Law 20, no. 2 (2024): 328–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441048.2024.2369366.
“Developing Chinese Private International Law for Foreign Judgments: A Substitute or a Preliminary Step to Ratify the Two HCCH Conventions?” The International Lawyer 57, no. 1 (2024): 89–119.
“Consensus and Compulsion: The Extra-Territorial Effect of Chinese Judicial and Specially-Invited Mediation in Common Law Countries.” Chinese Journal of Transnational Law 1, no. 1 (2024): 8–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/2753412X231222587.
Bonnie S. McDougall
Translation Stories in Modern China. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2024.
“Perceptions of Power in Literary Translation: Translators and Translatees”, in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature in Translation, edited by Cosima Bruno, Lucas Klein and Christ Song. pp. 155-66. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024.
Coo-ee to Chinese Australians
The China Studies Centre, in collaboration with the local Chinese community and the Gadigal Centre, is supporting the Chinese Australian Youth Association in their project to uncover and celebrate the historical connections between the Chinese Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Chinese immigrants in Australia have a long history of interactions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples dating back to the mid-1800s, especially during the Gold Rush era. Chinese migration started in the 1850s, and Chinese communities spread across Australia. These interactions are seen in various aspects of life, including art, culture, stories, food, and innovation.
However, many Chinese Australians are unaware of this shared history. The University of Sydney China Studies Centre (CSC) aims to work with Australian and Chinese youth communities to raise awareness of these historical connections.
This report will showcase the experiences of young Australians from Chinese, Indigenous, and other backgrounds as they discover Aboriginal Australia. They will share their experiences through various mediums such as writing, podcasts, videos, TikTok clips, performances, storytelling, music, and cooking.
Contributions are welcome, including:
- Stories, family accounts, and oral histories highlighting Chinese-Aboriginal connections.
- Narratives from the Gold Rush era and the lives of Chinese settlers in Outback Australia.
- Collaborations between Aboriginal and Chinese artists, like Zhou Xiaoping and Guan Wei.
- Art, music, and performances celebrating shared cultural heritage.
- Personal reflections on learning about Indigenous culture.
- Experiences of living and studying in Australia.
- Insights gained from interactions with Indigenous fellow students.
- Engagements with outback communities and their Indigenous culture.
- Thoughts on participating in The Voice to Parliament campaign for Indigenous rights.
Join us in exploring and celebrating the shared history and culture between the Chinese Australian and Indigenous communities in Australia.