Boston University in Belgium: A Workshop on Chinese-Western Cultural Relations in the Early Modern Era
A workshop jointly organized by Boston University and the University of Leuven on the history of Chinese-European relations was successfully held on May 26-27, 2014 in the historic university town of Leuven (Louvain), in Flanders, Belgium.
The workshop was coordinated by Professor Eugenio Menegon (Department of History, and Director of the BU center for the Study of Asia, Boston University) and Professor Nicolas Standaert (Department of Chinese Studies, University of Leuven, Belgium).
Supported by generous funding from the College of Arts and Sciences at BU, and the Department of Chinese Studies at KU Leuven, this gathering of scholars focused on the topic of “materiality” in the cultural exchange between China and Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Junior and senior scholars from Belgium, Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States presented their ongoing research on the circulation of books and scientific instruments, the financial system sustaining that circulation, and the use of gifts, luxury objects, art, and technical skills in diplomacy and Christian proselytization.
For more information on the concept behind the workshop, as well as the event program: /history/2014/08/08/ku-leuven-and-boston-university-workshop-the-materiality-of-chinese-western-relations-in-the-ming-qing-periods-methodological-approaches-empirical-cases/