Ph.D. Program in Asian Religion, Art and History

National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies
Fudan University

Introduction

Recent years the international academia has seen increasing discussions about Asian and in particular East Asian cultures. Many distinguished institutions are diminishing the boundaries among area studies of China, Korea, Japan, India and Iran etc., but favor a cross-cultural or integrated approach whereby “East Asian” or “Asian” studies have become the norm. In this context of fading lines among disciplines and broadening vision of the traditional Chinese studies, we launched the Ph.D. Program in “Asian Religion, Art and History” in the National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University.

Inaugurated on March, 2007, the Institute (IAHS) is a center for original and innovative work supported by the China Ministry of Education. It is committed to interdisciplinary communication in order to promote the study of Chinese culture with a global perspective. The focused research fields include: (1) viewing China from the periphery, (2) understanding and critiquing international perspectives in Sinology, (3) interweaving cultural history, (4) visual materials about China stored abroad, and (5) synthetic research on the history of Chinese religion, thought and art.

Admission/Courses

This is a four-year program which begins in each September. The application deadline is December 31 of the preceding academic year. It is open to applicants both in China and abroad (overseas applicants need to pass the Chinese Proficiency Test).

The program aims to provide scholarly training in Asian history and culture to students who would embark on a career of comprehensive Asian studies, and to develop a broad vision in research, the capability in language and literature, and the awareness of issues as well as expertise in Asian especially Chinese religion, art and history.

Besides language courses, other basic courses in the program include: “Methodologies of Asian History”, “Asian History of Material Culture and Art”, “Primary Sources on Asian Art, Religions and History”, “Studies on Western Regions and Cultural Interactions between East and West in Pre-Modern Ages” etc. The program also incorporates a set of optional courses.

Excellent doctoral students in the program will be provided the opportunity to study as exchange students in the East Asian Studies Department and Program, Princeton University, and the Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo.

Faculty

The Institute has a group of faculty members who can offer classes in both Chinese and English, with their fields of study spanning from India to Japan and covering various disciplines from history, religion to art. At the same time, some courses are to be taught by faculty from the East Asian Studies Department and Program, Princeton University, and the Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo.

Ⅰ Advisors

Ge Zhao-guang  Professor, Director of the Institute. His research focuses on the history of China and East Asian religions, culture and literature. Publications include Chan Buddhism and Chinese Culture, Taoism and Chinese Culture, Intellectual History of Chinese Chan Buddhism: 6-9 Centuries and Chinese Intellectual History (2 vols), among which some have English, Japanese or Korean translations. Besides receiving several prestigious book awards in China, he has been visiting professor at universities in Japan, Belgium, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and was appointed the Princeton Global Scholar in 2009.

Li Xing-ming  Professor. He specializes in the history of Chinese art and the medieval Chinese funeral art. Publications include A Study of Tang Tomb Murals and Corpora of Chinese Tomb Sculpture, 4, the Western and Eastern Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties (Co-Edit).

Rui Chuan-ming  Professor. His research focuses on the interaction between medieval China and foreign regions, history of religions in China, and history of Central Asia. Publications include: A Comparative Study on the Symbols of China and the West, A History of Cultural Interactions between China and Central Asia, Study on Ancient Turkic Inscriptions and Study on Manicheism in the East. Translated works include The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (Emile Durkheim) and History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol.I (ed. UNESCO).

Ⅱ Other faculty members

Xu Quan-sheng (PhD. East China Normal University; academic history and cultural history of China), Liu Zhen (PhD. University of Munich; Indology), Dong Shao-xin (PhD. Sun Yat-Sen University; history of East and West relations), Sun Ying-gang (PhD. Princeton University; social history of religions in medieval China), Zhu Yi (PhD. National University of Singapore; state rituals in Tang-Song China), Deng Fei (PhD. University of Oxford; art history in Song-Yuan China), Wang Xin-lei (PhD. Fudan University; China-Korean cultural exchanges in Modern history) and Zhu Li-li (PhD. Shandong University; relations between Ming China and Japan).

Contact

Web: For application information, see www.gsao.fudan.edu.cn  
          To learn more about IAHS, see www.iahs.fudan.edu.cn
Mail to: Jin Xiuying
          National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies
          Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai PRC 200433
Tel./Fax.: 86-21-5566 5284
E-mail:  wsyjy@fudan.edu.cn

2011-4-15 upgrade