The Berkeley China Initiative brings together UC Berkeley's exceptional resources to strengthen research and teaching about China across all disciplines and professions, forge new international partnerships, and enrich public life by communicating those results.
To accomplish this, we have undertaken a new funding initiative to strengthen several key areas of China Studies at Berkeley. Learn more about this initiative and BCI here.
The Center organizes symposia from one to three days in length on various aspects of Chinese Studies. Topics are chosen by individual faculty members or faculty committees, and may draw as many as 50 speakers over several days. A large-scale symposium generally commences with a keynote speech by a leading scholar in the field, and will often draw an audience made up of faculty, scholars, and students from all over the United States and Canada, as well as many Bay Area community members. Free and open to the public.
This series of English-language lectures brings distinguished speakers to present their cutting-edge research to an audience of campus and community members interested in China. Paper presentations are followed by a discussant's comments and general discussion. Free and open to the public.
Elvera Kwang Siam Lim
林光嬋 - 1928-2006
The Elvera Kwang Siam Lim Memorial Lecture brings an eminent scholar in Chinese Studies to Berkeley each fall semester to present a public lecture, meet with faculty and graduate students, and generally foster scholarly exchange and debate amongst colleagues.
This named lecture honors Ms. Lim's dedication to scholarly exchange, and was made possible through a generous gift by her family. Learn more about Ms. Lim here.
The Center may also hold one or more special workshops and conferences at various times during the year. These events are generally proposed and organized by UC Berkeley Faculty or graduate students on a specialized topic, and may be as short as one afternoon or as long as one whole week of lectures. Presenters include UC Berkeley faculty and graduate students, and may also include national and international participants. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
This occasional series of presentations takes the form of lectures, literary discussions or exchanges about topics of current interest in the Chinese world for a Mandarin-speaking audience. Open to the campus and Bay Area communities, all Mandarin speakers (and students wishing to improve their conversational language skills) are encouraged to participate. Free and open to the public.
Open primarily to Berkeley faculty and postdoctoral fellows, this group meets once every month to discuss a major work of theoretical import in the study of humanistic and social sciences. Jointly sponsored by the Centers of Chinese, Japanese and Korean Studies at Berkeley, the forum aims to explore the relevance of critical theories to the study of East Asia.
This occasional series of informal lectures allows campus and community members interested in China to hear about the latest research projects of distinguished professors from a wide variety of fields. Paper presentations are followed by a general discussion. Lectures are in English unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.