China Studies

china studies initiative Magazine | 2014

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A CHANGING 21ST CENTURY LANDSCAPE POPULATION POLICY, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE, POLITICS, ECONOMY, HISTORY Many have said the 21st century will be the Chinese century. Whether or not this is true, rapid, wrenching changes taking place in China today affect every aspect of our world, from the environment to the economy and global security.

The School of Social Sciences, the School of Law, and the Paul Merage School of Business are spearheading the campus effort for a signature UC Irvine China Initiative that will place UC Irvine at the forefront of research and engagement with China.

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eginning with the John and Marilyn Long U.S.-China Institute, which focuses on contemporary China and bilateral U.S.-China relations, UC Irvine, under the Office of the Chancellor, will embark on a strategy to elevate China research and partnerships across the entire enterprise.

From the Claire Trevor School of the Arts to the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, UC Irvine already possesses significant assets in Chinese art, history, culture, integrative medicine, technology and business. The China Initiative will leverage the success of the Long U.S.-China Institute to identify, cultivate, and establish interdependent and interdisciplinary China related Centers of Excellence across the campus.

Ranked #9 among all public research universities in the U.S., and with a large number of very highly ranked departments and programs spanning the range of scholarly disciplines—from anthropology to earth systems science, and history to computer science—UC Irvine is uniquely situated due to its geographic location, its highly diverse student body, its accomplished faculty, and its nimble administrative structure, to capitalize on its interdisciplinary, collaborative ethos and cross-campus expertise in China. Like a university within the university, the China Initiative advances all of UC Irvine’s China related activities through cooperation, coordination and community engagement.

Our China Board consists of community partners who support specific areas of interest in each school and across the schools, while focusing on the overall strategic vision for making UC Irvine the top destination for China studies and partnerships in the University of California.

Beginning with the Long U.S.-China Institute, UC Irvine has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research and collaboration on China. Lit by that initial spark, the China Initiative draws together UC Irvine’s faculty experts from across the entire campus, working in areas as diverse as medicine and engineering, classical art and performance and digital media and learning, providing a framework for the advancement of China studies in a manner befitting this critical country, its long history, and its importance on the world stage.

–Bill Maurer, social sciences dean

Magazine | 2014

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EXAMPLES OF FACULTY EXPERTISE Emily Baum Assistant Professor, History expertise: modern china, history of medicine and psychiatry in china, comparative medical history

Jan Brueckner Distinguished Professor, Economics expertise: urban economics, public economics, industrial organization, housing finance Chuansheng Chen Chancellor’s Professor, Psychology & Social Behavior, Education expertise: cross-cultural psychology, adolescent development, cognitive neuroscience, and behavior genetics Yong Chen Professor, History expertise: food, asian-american history, late 19th and 20th century american social and cultural history, immigration history, china-u.s. economic and cultural interactions Olivier Civelli Professor, Development & Cell Biology expertise: molecular neurobiology, g protein-coupled receptors, neuropeptides, orphan receptors, novel neurotransmitters, dopamine receptors, orphanin fq/nociceptin, mch, traditional chinese medicines YingYing Dong Associate Professor, Economics expertise: applied microeconometrics, labor, health, education, china

Qitao Guo Associate Professor, History expertise: social, cultural, and religious history of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1912) Daphne Lei Professor, Drama expertise: contact zone; intercultural exchanges along the Pacific Rim, especially interactions between Asians and Asian Americans and negotiations between Asian and non-Asian cultures Dorothy Solinger Professor Emerita, Political Science expertise: chinese domestic politics and political economy, comparative politics, east asian politics Wang Feng Professor, Sociology expertise: contemporary demographic, economic, and social processes, social inequality in state socialisms, contemporary china Jeffrey Wasserstrom Chancellor’s Professor, History expertise: china, globalization, gender, urban Yang Su Associate Professor, Sociology expertise: social movements and collective action, political sociology, china’s political transition Mei Zhan Associate Professor, Anthropology expertise: medical anthropology, science and technology studies, theory and methodology, chinese medicine, globalization, china

The School of Social Sciences actively hosts public lectures and ongoing research on China’s rise through the Center for Asian Studies and the UCI John S. and Marilyn Long U.S.-China Institute for Business, Law and Society.

To learn more about how you can get involved in our China Studies Initiative, contact Tracy Arcuri, tarcuri@uci.edu.

UCI Long U.S.–China Institute www.longinstitute.uci.edu UCI School of Social Sciences www.socsci.uci.edu

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2014 | Magazine