Oxford China Reading Group

The Oxford China Reading Group (OxCRG) has been meeting weekly in term time since Michaelmas 2022, and serves as an independent, student-led discussion space for postgraduates and undergraduates alike. We seeks to bring together students from all departments to discuss a prescribed topic on China every week, and the group’s student-led nature enables members of all academic ranks to receive an equal hearing and keeps the atmosphere cordial and casual.

The convenor for the week will usually assign up to two article-length readings each week, ensuring members come to meetings with concrete reflections and go away with insights generated from discussions. The intentionally open criteria for membership and topic selection, meanwhile, encourage interdisciplinary insights.

In its two years of existence, the OxCRG has discussed a variety of issues in history, culture, and politics, all considered through an interdisciplinary or transnational lens. In the past, we have discussed historical topics such as twentieth-century rural reconstruction and collaboration in the second Sino-Japanese War, cultural topics such as contemporary consumerism and LGBTQIA+ identity, and political topics such as right-wing online discourse and diplomacy in the South China Sea. The OxCRG has also proved to be an excellent social space for scholars of different academic ranks and institutional affiliations. Previous attendees ranged from undergraduates to visiting full professors and all have found the atmosphere collegial and welcoming.

Convenors:

Duanran Feng (1st Year DPhil, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)

Pak Hei Hao (4th Year DPhil, History Faculty)

Simon Lam (4th Year DPhil, History Faculty)

Alexander Yen (3rd Year DPhil, Department of Politics and International Relations)

The Oxford China Reading Group is part of TORCH Student Networks