Speaker: Ding Xiang Warner, Professor of Chinese Literature, Cornell University

Abstract: The usual procedures of the scholar of Chinese poetry, when asking the question “What is the meaning of this Chinese poem?,” are familiar and generally reliable. Whether we ask the question about a poem’s “original meaning,” a meaning intended by its author, or about the meanings that accrued to the poem in its reception by readers over time, the meanings for which the poem earned a “place” in Chinese literary tradition, there are rich scholarly resources and time-tested methodological tools that help us to work out answers, even if tentatively. How, though, is the task of the literary historian complicated, how are the meanings of a Chinese poem affected, when it and its Chinese readers are “uprooted” from their native land, transported out of their cultural milieu into another? This presentation takes up these questions by way of examining engraved Chinese poems found on WWI trench art made by Chinese volunteer workers on the Western Front in Europe as opportunities for expanding study of classical Chinese poetry outside its expected contexts.

About East Asia Program

As Cornell’s hub for research, teaching, and engagement with East Asia, the East Asia Program (EAP) serves as a forum for the interdisciplinary study of historical and contemporary East Asia. The program draws its membership of over 45 core faculty and numerous affiliated faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from eight of Cornell’s 12 schools and colleges.

Are you curious about how mental health, culture, and global health connect to real-world policy challenges? Do you want to learn through hands-on field research and community engagement in one of the most beautiful and biodiverse regions of South India? The Cornell-Keystone NFLP Summer Program in India offers an interdisciplinary experience in global health and policy, where students explore how culture, environment, and community shape wellbeing in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.

Recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela—including strikes on civilian boats, the seizure of oil tankers, and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro—have raised questions about U.S. ambitions in Latin America and their implications for peace and international order. This panel brings together five prominent experts on Venezuelan history and politics, with the aim of deepening understanding of Venezuelan perspectives on recent events and their broader implications.

How are Venezuela’s political parties responding to shifting U.S. foreign policies? What are the likely effects of recent military actions on prospects for peace and stability in Venezuela and Latin America? Can the U.S. play a meaningful and legitimate role in helping Venezuelans restore democratic governance, and if so what policies might contribute to that goal?

Panelists

Irina Troconis, Professor, Cornell University (moderator)David Smilde, Professor, Tulane UniversityVeronica Zubillaga, Professor, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas; Visiting Scholar, University of Illinois, ChicagoMargarita López Maya, Professor, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Register

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Event Hosts

This virtual event is hosted by the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and cosponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. Both are part of the Einaudi Center for International Studies.

Primarily for undergraduates, this session offers guidance on how to write a winning proposal for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The session will be led by two Fulbright advisors with years of experience. Applying for a Fulbright? We encourage you to attend!

Adam Tooze, Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University

Additional details are forthcoming.