Michael A. Szonyi appointed Director of Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
Michael A. Szonyi, Professor of Chinese History, has been appointed Director of Harvard’s John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. Professor Szonyi’s appointment begins on January 1, 2016.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Dean of Social Sciences, Claudine Gay, announced Professor Szonyi’s appointment after consulting with senior faculty in the department.
“I am grateful to Professor Szonyi for assuming this important responsibility, and look forward to working with him in the coming years,” Dean Gay wrote in a letter to senior faculty.
Professor Szonyi replaces the Fairbank Center’s current Director, Mark Elliott, who was appointed Harvard University’s Vice-Provost for International Affairs in September. “This is an exciting time for the Fairbank Center as it celebrates its sixtieth anniversary, and Michael is an excellent choice to continue John King Fairbank’s legacy at the Center,” said Professor Elliott.
Professor Szonyi is a social historian of late imperial and modern China. His research focuses on the local history of southeast China, especially in the Ming dynasty, using a combination of traditional textual sources and fieldwork. He is currently completing a book on the social history of the Ming military, and his previous books include Practicing Kinship (Stanford, 2002), and Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Front Line (Cambridge, 2008). He is also the editor of the forthcoming Blackwell Companion to Chinese History.
“I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to lead the Fairbank Center, particularly in this time of dramatic changes in China, in China’s relationship with the United States, and in the way we study China.” — Professor Michael Szonyi, Director of the Fairbank Center.
Professor Szonyi holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar in the Faculty of Oriental Studies. He joined Harvard in 2005 from the University of Toronto, and was named Harvard’s John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities in 2007 and Professor of Chinese History in 2009. He has played an active role with both undergraduates and graduates at Harvard in his position as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Chair of the Committee on Regional Studies East Asia M.A. program.
Executive Director of the Fairbank Center, Jennifer Rudolph (Ph.D., University of Washington), welcomed Professor Szonyi’s appointment, saying “I look forward to the energy and ideas that Michael will bring to the Fairbank Center, both of which will contribute to strengthening our existing programs and helping us forge ahead in emerging areas of Chinese Studies.”
For media inquiries, please contact the Fairbank Center’s Communications Coordinator, James Evans at jamesevans@fas.harvard.edu.
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宋怡明出任费正清中国研究中心主任
2015 年11月17日
中国历史学教授宋怡明将担任哈佛大学费正清中国研究中心主任一职。其任职将于2016年1月1日正式开始。
艺术与科学学院社会科学部部长Claudine Gay院长在与本部门资深教员商榷以后,正式宣布委任宋教授为新任主任。
Gay院长在给资深教员的公开信中表示:“我很感激宋教授能够接此重任,并且十分期待在接下来的几年中与他共事。”
宋教授将从欧立德教授手中接过费正清中心主任一职,而欧教授已在今年九月被委任为哈佛大学国际事务副教务长。欧教授表示:“对于本中心,这是一个令人振奋的时刻。我们在今年庆祝了中心成立六十周年,而宋教授更是能够继承并发扬费正清先生精神遗产的最佳人选。”
宋怡明教授是中国明清及现代社会史专家。他擅于结合传统文献资料和实地考察来研究中国东南一带的地方史,尤其是明史。目前宋教授正在撰写一本关于明代军事制度的社会史专书。他已出版的著作包括《实行家族:明清家族组织研究》(史丹佛,2002)和《冷战岛:处于前线的金门》(剑桥,2008)同时,宋教授编辑的《Blackwell Companion to Chinese History》一书也即将出版。
宋教授表示:“我们身处一个巨变的时代,不仅中国、中美双边关系在变,我们研究中国的方法也在变。我对于能在这一特别时期得此殊荣领导费正清中心深感荣幸。”
宋怡明教授于加拿大多伦多大学获学士学位,随后以“罗德学者”的身份赴英国牛津大学东方学系学习并获得博士学位。2005年,他从多伦多大学转入哈佛执教,并于2007年获得约翰罗卜人文学科副教授职称,2009年成为中国历史学教授。宋教授同时担任东亚语言文明系本科教学主任以及区域研究东亚硕士项目组组长二职,积极参与哈佛大学本科生及研究生各项相关事务。
费正清中心執行董事陆德芙(华盛顿大学哲学博士)对于宋教授能获此殊职表示热烈欢迎:“我十分期待宋教授即将给中心带来的活力与构想。它们不但将有助于强化本中心已有的规划运作,更能够推进我们在中国研究新兴领域的发展。”
媒体查询,请联络费正清中心外联专员詹英俊先生。(电邮:jamesevans@fas.harvard.edu)
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