Topic:
Topic Selection and Research of Ph.D. Dissertations: From the Perspective of Social and Economic History
A Study of the Living Standards and Social Structures of Staff and Students of Universities during the Republic of China Period: The Case of Tsinghua
Speaker: Professor Liang Chen
Host: Professor Zhu Jiangli
Time: 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Friday, November 13, 2020
Location: Room 311, Zijin Building, Xianlin Campus
Tencent Meeting: 938 285 651
Synopsis:
Faculty and staff of modern schools are a vital part of new professions in modern China and is an important force in the country’s modernization. Previous studies often focused on the thoughts and achievements of outstanding members of this group. This lecture will introduce “the Tsinghua Garden” as an example of university employees during the Republic period and discuss the nature of their work, the size of their families, their population, living standards (including clothing, food, housing, and transportation), social status, and educational attainment. From perspectives of the economic history and social history, the speaker will elaborate the personnel administration of the universities during the Republic period, the interactions between employees’ positions and educational attainment, and the underlying class structure and social mobility in such relations. In this way, the speaker will present his reflection on the nation and society of the Republic of China.
Bio:
Liang Chen is a professor, doctoral supervisor, and vice dean (in charge of research) at the School of History, Nanjing University. He graduated from Peking University and the Department of History at Tsinghua University, and went to the University of Michigan and
Harvard University in the United States and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for post-doc studies or as a visiting scholar. He was selected into the “Young and Middle-Aged Academic Leaders” of Qinglan Project in Jiangsu Province, and the fourth group of “Outstanding Young Scholars” of the Ten Thousand Talents Program by the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC.
His research focuses on quantitative historical studies, social history, and studies of modern intellectuals. He has published more than 30 papers in Social Sciences in China, Historical Research, Sociological Studies, Modern Chinese History Studies, and Journal of Educational Studies. His monographs include A Silent Revolution: Research on Family Backgrounds of Students of Peking University and Soochow University (1952-2002) (SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2013) and An Investigation of Living Standards and Social Structure of University Faculty and Staff during the Republic of China Based on Tsinghua University (Science Press, 2020).
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Published November 10, 2020