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WORLDMAKING FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE:
A DIALOGUE WITH CHINA
從全球視閾看“世界”的建構：對話中國

Activities of this project: Talks, Lectures, Presentations, Workshops, Interviews

Participation at the ASC and Presentation of the Paper "China’s 'Rural Guardians': Platformization of a rural development campaign" by Elena Meyer-Clement and Antonie Angerer

The worldmaking project Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking and its researchers participated in the annual conference of the Arbeitskreis Sozialwissenschaftliche Chinaforschung (ASC) from November 23-24, 2023. Elena Meyer-Clement (University of Copenhagen) and Antonie Angerer (University of Würzburg) presented the paper "China's "Rural Guardians": Platformization of a Rural Development Campaign" on November 23, 2023. In addition, Björn Alpermann and Ryanne Flock chaired two panels during the conference.

Workshop "Navigating the field with Jing Y."

A workshop titled "Navigating the Field with Jing Y." was organized by the Würzburg project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking" and took place on October 4, 2023. Jing Y., a socially engaged and political artist, provided insights on coping with escalating political pressure while working with marginalized and vulnerable groups in mainland China. Students and researchers from the Universities of Würzburg, Heidelberg, Copenhagen and Bayreuth participated in the workshop.

Article "Creating the spectacular city in everyday life: A governance analysis of urban public space in China" by Ryanne Flock published in Urban Studies

On November 29, 2023, the open access article “Creating the spectacular city in everyday life: A governance analysis of urban public space in China” by Worldmaking member Ryanne Flock was published in the journal Urban Studies.

Presentation "Categories of poverty: Asking for alms in Chinese urban space" by Ryanne Flock at the DVCS 2023

As part of the DVCS Conference XXXIV, which took place from November 24 - 26, 2023, at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen, Worldmaking member Ryanne Flock gave a talk on "Categories of poverty: Asking for Alms in Chinese Urban Space".

Article "Xi’s Third Way: Illiberal Institutionalization" by Björn Alpermann and Philipp C.D. Immel published at Elgar Publishing House

The article “Xi’s Third Way: Illiberal Institutionalization” by Björn Alpermann (Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking) und Philipp C.D. Immel was recently published in the Elgar Publishing House as part of the “Handbook on Local Governance in China: Structures, Variations, and Innovations” by Ceren Ergenc and David S.G. Goodman (Ed.).

Opinion article "Not that as well! [Nicht auch das noch!]" by Björn Alpermann published on China.Table

China.Table published an opinion article by Björn Alpermann entitled "Not that as well! [Nicht auch das noch!]" on September 25, 2023. In the article, Björn Alpermann calls on Sinology to deal constructively with current challenges instead of getting lost in trench warfare.

Writing project "Family - Life - Pandemic. Words and Worlds of Chinese Migrant Women Workers" at Berlin Art Week 2023

The German translation of the writing project "Family - Life - Pandemic. Words and Worlds of Chinese Migrant Women Workers" by the Chinese artist Jing Y. was published January 2023 in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the "Worldmaking" project. The book had been on display and available for browsing in the Reading Garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin during the Berlin Art Week (September 13-17, 2023).

Publication "From Arabian Nights to China’s Bordeaux: Wine, Local Identity, and Ningxia’s Place within the Chinese Nation" by Michael Malzer

The article "From Arabian Nights to China's Bordeaux: Wine, Local Identity, and Ningxia's Place within the Chinese Nation" by Michael Malzer (associate member of the project Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking), originally published in the journal ASIEN, is available on academia since July 2023.

Podcast "China's Society in Transition"

As part of the podcast series "Böll.Fokus" of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a podcast on "China's Society in Transition" with Björn Alpermann, Elena Meyer-Clement and Antonie Angerer was released on July 4, 2023.

Guest Editorial "State Constitution Takes Precedence over International Law" by Björn Alpermann in the Tagesspiegel

On June 30, 2023, a guest editorial entitled "State Constitution Takes Precedence over International Law: China wants to change the world order with a new law" by Björn Alpermann appeared in the Tagesspiegel. The article takes a critical look at China's new rules for the country's future foreign relations.

Annual Conference 2023 of the Joint Center "The Making of Epochal Events: Narrating Turning Points in Chinese History"

The Joint Center's annual conference was held at Heidelberg University from June 15-17, 2023. The event brought together project members and fellows from all sites involved in the Joint Center as well as other invited scholars around the theme "The Making of Epochal Events: Narrating Turning Points in Chinese History,". The event engaged with the question in how far events are “epochal” at all, whether they necessarily mark a break with the past, thus promising the dawning of a new epoch, a “new reality” (Simon), or whether the “epochal” can also be constructed to make a claim of historical discontinuity that might be quite at odds with the experiences of the actors involved.

Lecture "China's Society Today: Urban Hierarchy and Social Stratification" by Björn Alpermann

On June 5, 2023, Björn Alpermann gave a public lecture on "China's Society Today: Urban Hierarchy and Social Stratification" as part of a GDCF event. The lecture analyzed the changes that the system of Chinese "hukou" has undergone and dealt with the consequences for the social stratification of Chinese society.

Publication of the article "Doing Ethnicity: Multi-layered Ethnic Scripts in Contemporary China" by Jingyu Mao

On May 16, 2023, the journal The China Quarterly published the paper "Doing Ethnicity: Multi-layered Ethnic Scripts in Contemporary China" by former Worldmaking fellow Jingyu Mao, an article she discussed with Worldmaking members during a workshop organized by the project.

Publication of the article "'In Other News': China’s International Media Strategy on Xinjiang—CGTN and New China TV on YouTube" by Björn Alpermann and Michael Malzer

On May 12, 2023, the paper "'In Other News': China's International Media Strategy on Xinjiang-CGTN and New China TV on YouTube" by Björn Alpermann (Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking) and Michael Malzer (University of Würzburg) was published in the Journal Modern China.

Workshop "Worldmaking in a Sinophone Context: Conceptions, Processes and Practices"

The workshop "Worldmaking in a Sinophone Context - Conceptions, Processes and Practices" from March 31 to April 1, 2023, organized by the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Sites of Worldmaking," focused on theoretical concepts of worldmaking using empirical examples in China. Project members, (former) fellows, and new colleagues came together to present their research as work-in-progress at various stages on historical and contemporary processes and practices.

Digital Dialogues #12 "Words and Worlds of Chinese migrant female worker: Book Reading and Talk with artist Jing Y."

As part of the Joint Center's Digital Dialogues workshop series, the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Sites of Worldmaking" invited artist Jing Y. to a discussion on the creative process and experiences compiling the book "Kindemic – Words and Worlds of Migrant Female Workers" The book was recently published in German in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and on the initiative of the project.

AAS 2023 Panel "Social Worlds in Chinese Cities"

On March 19, 2023, as part of the AAS Annual Meeting 2023, the panel "Social Worlds in Chinese Cities" of the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking" organized by Elena Meyer-Clement and Björn Alpermann took place.

AAS Roundtable "Ethics in Social Research on/in Asia"

As part of the AAS Annual Conference 2023, the roundtable "Ethics in Social Research on/in Asia" organized by Björn Alpermann (project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking") and Nicholas Loubere, Lund University, took place on March 17, 2023.

Publication of the article "Intentional Wanghong Environments Mediating Urban Futures in Xiongan New Area" by Antonie Angerer

March 29, 2023, the article "Intentional Wanghong Environments Mediating Urban Futures in Xiongan New Area" by Antonie Angerer (project member in the Worldmaking project Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking) was published in MEDIAPOLIS, Dossiers, no. 1, vol. 8. Exploring China’s latest megacity, Xiongan New Area, Antonie Angerer shows how social media and urban-digital spectacle have become incorporated into the urban planning process.

New publication "‘Friends are those who can help you out’: unpacking the understanding and experiences of friendship among young migrant workers in China" by Mao Jingyu

March 28, 2023, the article "‘Friends are those who can help you out’: unpacking the understanding and experiences of friendship among young migrant workers in China" by Mao Jingyu (University of Bielefeld, 2022 fellow in the Worldmaking project Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking) and Yan Zhu (University College London) was published in the journal Families, Relationships and Societies.

Publication of the article "Governing Rural Poverty on Urban Streets: Guangzhou's Management of Beggars in the Reform Era" by Ryanne Flock

In January 2023, the article "Governing Rural Poverty on Urban Streets: Guangzhou's Management of Beggars in the Reform Era" by Ryanne Flock (postdoc in the Worldmaking project Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking) was published in the The China Quarterly.

New book publication: "Family - Life - Pandemic. Words and Worlds of Chinese Migrant Women Workers"

The project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking", in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, has translated the writing project of Chinese artist Jing Y., in which Chinese women migrant workers speak out and tell their own stories and memories, into German.

Essay "The recent controversy about the state and future of German China research - a preliminary assessment" by Gunter Schubert and Björn Alpermann published in the journal ASIEN

A pre-release of the essay "The recent controversy about the state and future of German China research - a preliminary assessment" ("Die jüngste Kontroverse um Zustand und Zukunft der deutschen Chinaforschung – eine vorläufige Bilanz") by Gunter Schubert and Björn Alpermann, has been published in the journal ASIEN 162/163.

Digital Dialogues #10: China's Ethnic Minorities: Policies and Subjectivities

Within the framework of the Joint Center's Digital Workshop Series, the digital dialogue on the topic "China's Ethnic Minorities: Policies and Subjectivities" was held on October 26, 2022. The speakers Sinan Chu (GIGA Hamburg) and Hannah Rosa Klepeis (IIAS Leiden) reflected on changes in minority policies, the debates behind them as well as the consequences for minority subjectivities.

Digital Dialogues #9: Performing migrants: Narratives, strategies and identities of ethnic minority performers and beggars in China

On September 7, 2022, as part of the Joint Center's Digital Workshop Series, the "Digital Dialogue" looked into the social worlds of two very different marginalized groups in urbanizing China: Ethnic minority performers, and migrants engaged in panhandling. Jingyu Mao (Bielefeld University) and Worldmaking researcher Ryanne Flock provided insights into their research, and discussed the common feature of performances.

Article "Every good garden needs to be fertilized" by Nadine Godehardt and Björn Alpermann published in Der Tagesspiegel

On September 9, 2022, the Tagesspiegel published an opinion article by Nadine Godehardt (Asia Research Group at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) and Björn Alpermann (University of Würzburg, project leader in the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking") with the title "Every good garden needs to be fertilized - Scientific cooperation with China must not flag despite all problems".

Participation at “Cross Cultural Chairs” Summer Workshop, Almaty, by Ryanne Flock

From August 7-21, 2022, Ryanne Flock, participated at the summer workshop “Cross Cultural Chairs”, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This workshop brought together a group of international creatives and social scientists aiming to contrast the sedentary with nomadic culture and to redesign the saddle as the latter's ultimate expression.

Lecture "Social Sciences, Humanities and Liberal Arts: China and the West" by Liu Kang

On June 29, 2022, hosted by the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking", the speaker Liu Kang, Professor of Chinese Studies, and Director of Duke Program of Research on China at Duke University, and fellow of the Göttingen project "Conceptions of World Order and Their Social Carrier Groups" gave a lecture on the relationship between (Eurocentric) universalism and Chinese exceptionalism within the dominant modern Western institutions and modes of knowledge today.

Documenta 15: Talk on cultural exchange to and from Beijing

On June 19, 2022, as part of documenta 15, Antonie Angerer and experimental musician Zhu Wenbo talked about the recent shifts in Beijing's urban transformation and their impact on the art scene.

Network meeting "Krise und Neuordnung" (Crisis and Reordering)

Between June 13 and 14, 2022, members of the Joint Center for Advanced Studies participated in the network meeting Krise and Neuordnung (Crisis and Reordering) organized by the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and the University of Hamburg. The event dealt with questions of what constitutes “crisis” across political, environmental and economic domains, and the forms of global and national re-ordering that emerge out of crises.

Panel Talk "Migration and Urbanisation in a Globalised China"

Hosted by the International Development Department of the University of Birmingham (UK), this panel brought together two speakers from the the project “Social Worlds: China’s Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking” and Susanne Choi, Professor at the Department of Sociology and Co-Director of the Gender Research Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The presentation looked into political attempts to “localize” migration and asks about the consequences for individual households and rural society in China.

Presentation “Performing urban futures: Digital spectacle in early urbanization process of Xiongan New Area” by Antonie Angerer

During a two-day workshop on the Urban Digital Spectacle in London (UK), Antonie Angerer presented her paper “Performing urban futures: Digital spectacle in early urbanization process of Xiongan New Area”.

Annual Conference of the Joint Center "Global Conflicts, Global Collaboration: China in a Changing World Order"

From June 2 – 4, 2022, Göttingen University hosted the annual conference of the Joint Center. This event brought together project members and fellows from all the Joint Center’s participating locations, as well as additional invited scholars. Under the umbrella of the theme "Global Conflicts, Global Collaboration: China in a Changing World Order", the conference – among other subjects – discussed arenas where shared global issues emerge but also become sources of geopolitical contestations.

Public Lecture "Homeland, Refuge, and Magnet: Mecca in the Travels and Imaginaries of Chinese Muslims" by Janice Hyeju Jeong

Hosted by the project "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Places of Worldmaking" (Würzburg), Janice Hyeju Jeong, postdoctoral fellow in the project " Conceptions of World Order and Their Social Carrier Groups" (Göttingen), gave a lecture on May 11, 2022, on the topic "Homeland, Refuge, and Magnet: Mecca in the Travels and Imaginaries of Chinese Muslims."

Digital Dialogue #7 "Making social worlds visible - A talk around art projects documenting Beijing’s recent urban transformation"

On April 27, 2022, as part of the Joint Center's Digital Workshop Series "Digital Dialogues", five representatives of an interdisciplinary group of artists, researchers, architects presented their work reflecting the various facets of urban change in Beijing and its impact on different social worlds.

Article "An argument against moral crusading" by Björn Alpermann and Gunter Schubert published in the FAZ

On March 9, 2022, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung an article by Björn Alpermann and Gunter Schubert entitled "Gegen das moralische Kreuzrittertum - Chinaforschung ist kein politischer Aktivismus. Sie muss taktische Zugeständnisse machen, um den Weg der Erkenntnis offen zu halten. Die Konformismusvorwürfe mancher Beobachter entbehren der Grundlage." (Trans.: Against moral crusading - China studies is not political activism. It must make tactical concessions to maintain an open path to knowledge. The accusations of conformism by some observers lack foundation.)

New publication"Global City Agency and Multilevel Governance in China" by Amelie Thürmer and Elena Meyer-Clement

Published in March 2022, "Global City Agency and Multilevel Governance in China" by Amelie Thürmer and Elena Meyer-Clement showcases their research on how the institutions and governance instruments of the Chinese party-state shape the global agency of cities and how these structures influence the work of the various city networks operating in China.

Panel contribution “The Situation in Ukraine – China’s hesitant position towards Russia’s invasion" by Elena Meyer-Clement

As part of the panel "The War in Ukraine - seen from Russia, Eastern, Europe, and the World (English/Danish), Elena Meyer-Clement analyzed the situation in Ukraine and China's hesitant attitude towards the Russian invasion on March 4, 2022.

Interview with Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann on Omikron and the Olympic Games

On February 23, 2022, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research published on its website an interview with Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann on the topics of Omicron and the Olympics.

Digital Dialogue #6 "Ecological Worldmaking – Literary and Cinematic Explorations of Environmental Crises"

As part of the Digital Workshop Series "Digital Dialogues" of the Joint Center, Winnie L. M. Yee (Hong Kong) and Catrin Gersdorf (Würzburg) presented their studies on ecological crises based on examples of (Chinese) film and (American) literature. The exchange revealed overlapping perspectives and the importance of ecological concerns as a major site of worldmaking.

Opinion article in VAN Magazine with contributions by Barbara Mittler and Björn Alpermann on classical music in China

On February 9, 2022, VAN Magazin published an opinion piece by Hartmut Welcher entitled "Contact avoidance - China tours of German orchestras serve almost exclusively marketing strategies and political instrumentalization. The much-invoked "cultural exchange" hardly takes place. A missed opportunity", contributions to which were made by Barbara Mittler and Björn Alpermann.

Opinion Article "Olympic stress test" published by Björn Alpermann at IPG Journal

On January 31, 2022, the IPG Journal published an opinion article by Björn Alpermann on "Olympic Stress Test - Competition for the Best Pandemic Policy: Hosting the Winter Games is a severe test for China's "zero-COVID" strategy."

Webtalk „Chinese Globalization and Modern Metropolises" Prof. Dr. Elena Meyer-Clement in conversation with Dr. Dirk Assmann and Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer.

What is life like in Chinese megacities? How international and globalized are urban cultures and lifestyles in China? How do cities in China and Europe differ and what challenges are similar? What can we learn from Chinese metropolises and, conversely, what can Chinese cities learn from European examples? Prof. Dr. Elena Meyer-Clement, Dr. Dirk Assmann and Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer discussed these and many other questions in a joint roundtable on January 20, 2022.

Social Worlds Workshop

On January 13-15th, the research team of "Social Worlds: China's Cities as Spaces of Worldmaking" invited former and future fellows as well as interested colleagues for a workshop in a hybrid format to Würzburg. Coming from different empirical research backgrounds, the participants presented their perspectives on social worlds as sites of knowledge production in Chinese urbanization.

Article in the Augsburger Allgemeine featuring Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann on recent sanctions of craft beer brewers in China

The Augsburger Allgemeine published an article on 29.10.2021 entitled "China bans amateur craft brewers: The state joins in the drinking", for which Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann provided his China expertise as an interview partner.

Article by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle with a contribution by Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann on China's presentation to the outside world

On 28.10.2021, an article by Nadine Wojcik entitled "Confucius Institutes facing criticism" was published by Deutsche Welle, in which Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann comments on China's presentation to the outside world.

Presentation "Is there a Chinese gentrification? Urban redevelopment and displacement processes in the People's Republic of China" by Prof. Dr. Elena Meyer-Clement

As part of the 53. Deutsche Historikertag, Prof. Dr. Elena Meyer-Clement presented her research on "Is there a Chinese Gentrification? Urban Redevelopment and Displacement Processes in the People's Republic of China".

Interview with Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann on China's cultural policy and the influence on film productions published in the Heilbronner Stimme

Published in the Heilbronner Stimme on 23.09.2021, Prof. Dr. Björn Alpermann talked about China's cultural policy with regard to its growing influence on international film productions.

Roundtable "After the War: Regional Perspectives on Afghanistan" with Prof. Dr. Elena Meyer-Clement

On September 9, 2021, as part of a roundtable of the Asian Futures Seminar Series at the University of Copenhagen, scholars discussed the topic "After the War: Regional Perspectives on Afghanistan" including perspectives of regionally particularly affected countries such as China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and India.

Screening & Talk Series “Urban Governance and Social Worlds in China’s Cities”

As part of an M.A. seminar at the Institute for Chinese Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, everyone interested was invited to participate in the Screening & Talk Series "Urban Governance and Social Worlds in China's Cities". Artists and filmmakers from four documentary films and one literary project were invited to present their projects.

Presentation „Image of City and Imagining the Future Cities” by Antonie Angerer

On May 22nd 2021 Antonie Angerer was invited to speak at the round table conference “Lively New Towns and Villages, A New Way of Life” organized by the China Urban Planning Institute, Yangtze River Delta Department of Tourism and Culture. In a group of experts and local government officials, the China Urban Planning Institute invited for a discussion to analyze the potential of culture and art in rural revitalization processes.