Humanistic International: Humanism, China, Globalism, Harvard University

On March 5-6, 2010, Harvard University hosted the international conference \"Humanistic International: Humanism, China, Gloablism.\" Sponsored by the CCK-IUC and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard, the conference took an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to exploring the notion of the human and humanism. Taking inspiration from the case of Irving Babbitt, the early twentieth-century literary critic and Harvard academic, and the group of modern Chinese writers and intellectuals under his influence, the conference speakers traced the international travels of conceptions of humanism through several Chinese cultural traditions and historical moments. Over the course of two days, the conference convened six panels on topics ranging from humanist thought in premodern traditions such as Confucianism and Buddhism, humanism in the context of modern and contemporary intellectual inquiry, socialist humanism of the revolutionary era, the humanistic encounters between China and the world, and concluded with a fascinating discussion of Lu Xun. Each panel concluded with a lively question and answer session with the audience, and both days ended with a roundtable discussion between conference participants, including literature scholars, historians, religious scholars, and other critical thinkers. \"Humanistic International\" also featured a keynote speech by Harvard professor Tu Weiming on the continuing role of humanism in the global context. For the conference program and paper abstracts, please visit the conference website. Read the May 13th New York Times article, \"In Search of a Modern Humanism in China\" Promotional poster for \"Humanistic International: Humanism, China, Globalism\" Professor Wang Hui of Tsinghua University speaking at \"Humanistic International\"