Veranstaltungsreihe
Early Modern Eurasian Histories

Öffentlicher Vortrag von Prof. Henrietta Harrison (Professor of Chinese History, Oxford)

27. März 2025, 16.15-17.45 Uhr: Why did Macartney fail? The historiography of Britain's 1793 embassy to China

Universität Basel, Kollegienhaus, HS 114

The Macartney Embassy of 1793 is famous as the start of Anglo-Chinese diplomatic relations. Lord Macartney failed to achieve any of his negotiating aims, and a long tradition of historians have used it to illustrate the failures of the Qing dynasty to acknowledge the rising power of the West: Demanding that Lord Macartney kowtow to the emperor and rejecting the gifts that would have demonstrated the importance of the European scientific revolution. In this lecture Henrietta Harrison will look at how this interpretation came into being and why it has been so popular, showing that it reflects both British justifications for imperial expansion in China in the nineteenth century and early twentieth-century Chinese revolutionary critiques of Confucianism.

Hier geht es zum Programmflyer

Workshop mit Prof. Henrietta Harrison (Professor of Chinese History, Oxford)

28. März 2025, 9.15-13.00 Uhr: The Role of Interpreters in Shaping Early Nineteenth Century Sino-British Relations

Universität Basel, Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3

This workshop will look at the pressures and dangers placed on early modern diplomatic interpreters, focussing on George Staunton who was one of the interpreters for Lord Amherst’s embassy to China in 1816. Unlike the relative success of previous embassy led by Lord Macartney, Lord Amherst was ultimately not received by the Jiaqing emperor. We will examine the reasons for this and the role and perception of interpreters. To do this we will look at wo very different accounts of the negotiations: that of Staunton himself, that of Henry Ellis who was present but did not understand Chinese, and compare these with a translation of a document from the Qing dynasty’s official historical record. We will then discuss the broader implications of this analysis for our understanding.

This workshop is aimed at advanced BA students and at MA and PhD students. Preparatory readings will be shared on ADAM. Participation is rewarded with 1 ECTS.

Hier geht es zum Programmflyer

Öffentliche Antrittsvorlesung von Prof. Dr. Nadine Amsler, Professorin für Geschichte der Frühen Neuzeit

09. April 2024: Fake News? Rom und der Untergang der Ming-Dynastie in China

Aula des Naturhistorischen Museums Basel, Augustinergasse 2

Workshop mit Prof. Emma J. Teng (Professor of Asian Civilizations, Massachussets) und Prof. Nadine Amsler

15. November 2023: Comparative Colonial Studies or Frontier Studies? A Case Study of Qing Imperial Discourse on Taiwan

Unversität Basel, Kollegienhaus, Seminarraum 103

To expand our understanding of global imperialism in the pre-modern and modern eras, this workshop uses the case study of Taiwan to explore how the frameworks of comparative colonial studies and frontier studies differ in their interpretations of Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) expansionism. How do these divergent frameworks produce competing notions of indigeneity, for example, or of territorial sovereignty? In what ways does the notion of “Chinese colonialism” (or “imperialism”) contest historical narratives of European exceptionalism? To consider the contemporary relevance of these historiographical questions, we also discuss whether academic resistance to the idea of “Chinese colonialism” forecloses critiques of current PRC territorial claims or precludes the discourse of indigeneity in contemporary China. Workshop participants are asked to reflect on how an understanding of Qing expansionism might inform their own research.

Öffentlicher Vortrag von Prof. Emma J. Teng (Professor of Asian Civilizations, Massachussets)

14. November 2023: Encountering a Land of Women - Gender Inversion in Qing Dynasty Travel Writing 

Universität Basel, Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 120