Contested geographies: old and new connections between the Middle Kingdom and its neighbours

Our one-week intensive summer school will bring together scholars and students to discuss and learn about the Central Asia as well as other neighbours of the Middle Kingdom. This summer school will take place at the second oldest university in Czech Republic, in beautiful UNESCO city of Olomouc.

Course leader

Prof. Victor H. Mair (University of Pennsylvania) Professor Mair has been teaching at the University of Pennsylvania since 1979. He specializes in Buddhist popular literature as well as the vernacular tradition of Chinese fiction and the performing arts.

Target group

Undergraduate, Graduate and postgraduate students of Asian Studies, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Politics or any relevant field. Individuals interested in the summer school's topic are also welcome.

Course aim

The aim of this one-week summer school is to introduce students into the complex web of relations that China has had with its neighbours throughout the history. It introduces students into the complex relationships that China has with its neighbours, its difficulties and intricacies. Also, a goal of this summer school is to show that, beyond the contemporary international relations of China, there is a cultural and social component in the interactions between China and its neighbours that should not be neglected. Changes of perspectives between China and its neighbours give place to reflections on “contested geographies”: how space and place are constructed and elaborated by contemporary and historical actors. How “Chinese” is a Uighur laghman? Does China share political philosophies with its neighbours and, if not, how China´s approach differs from the ones of its neighbours’? Is the presence of Chinese people in the neighbouring states intensifying or testing the relationship between China and its neighbours? In a way, the continuities and discontinuities of contested geographies give clues in the reflections of what “China” and “the neighbours” are supposed to be.