About the Centre
The rapid expansion of China and its increasing appetite for internationalisation need to be understood through the perspective of cultural diversification and global interaction. Currently there are University of Exeter faculty members in several departments who are involved in China-related research. There are also growing numbers of faculties who are developing research connections with scholars working in China. The centre aims to establish UoE as a hub of scholarly exchange. It will, first stimulate new interdisciplinary research within the realm of humanities, arts, and social sciences; and second, channel the existing works of UoE scholars in these areas to the large Chinese-speaking audience.
The centre has paradigm-shifting potential. With the growing connection between the UK and China, more British universities have introduced Chinese studies programmes and research centres. However, almost all of them have taken the conventional approach of area studies. By proposing the concept of “Global China”, the centre will provide an innovative perspective of seeing China not only as a geographic region, but more importantly as a non-European epistemology. It will mobilise UoE’s academic strength and serve as an incubator for scholarly innovation, which transcends the conventional boundaries of area studies and stimulates the construction and reconstruction of knowledge in general.
Aims and Objectives
GCRC aims to first encourage interdisciplinary research about China. It also facilitates scholarly exchanges between University of Exeter and Chinese institutes in order to encourage joint research activities on other subjects within the border area of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Recognising the growing connection between UoE and Chinese institutes, we have established GCRC in order to serve as:
- A hub for scholarly exchange
- An umbrella organisation which accommodates scholars and postgraduates with research interests in and about China.
- An incubator for creative interdisciplinary research published in both English and Chinese
- A stage to inspire a paradigm-shifting new approach to Chinese Studies
- An outpost to promote Exeter scholars in China and attract Chinese students to pursuit postgraduate studies