UK China Humanities Alliance Conference 2024

More than fifty scholars of modern and contemporary literature and culture attended the eighth annual international conference of the UK China Humanities Alliance (UKCHA), which took place at the Institute of Advanced Studies on Friday, 15 November 2024, and at UCL East on Saturday, 16 November 2025. Organised by Dr Xiaofan Amy Li (Lecturer in Comparative Cultural Studies) and Professor Florian Mussgnug (Professor of Comparative Literature and Vice Dean International in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities), the conference focused on the topic of Worlds and World Views. Presentations covered a wide range of periods and topics, including the relation between forms and media in global genres. Keynote speakers Professor Haina Jin (Tsinghua) and Professor Stephen Hart (UCL) shared insights into their research on embodied performance and historical temporalities. During the conference, a delegation of senior staff from Tsinghua University, led by the Chairman and President Professor Qiu Yong, visited UCL and met with the Provost and university leaders.

Established in 2016, UKCHA is a collaborative organisation comprising of eighteen leading research universities in China and the UK. Its mission is to foster international cooperation in the arts and humanities, champion the ever-increasing importance of these fields in enhancing mutual understanding, and deepening our comprehension of the complex issues that define our age. UKCHA promotes globally-oriented interdisciplinary research and supports its members' collective aim of providing high-quality education that addresses today's challenges. Initiated by Tsinghua University and co-founded by its members, the UKCHA Secretariat is housed in the Institute for World Literatures and Culture (IWLC) at Tsinghua University. The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at UCL is an early supporter of UKCHA, has been involved with the Alliance since its inception, and formally joined UKCHA in 2023.

The conference began with opening remarks by the Provost and President of UCL, Dr Michael Spence, and the Chairman and President of Tsinghua University, Professor Qiu Yong. This was followed by presentations from the Dean of Arts and Humanities, Professor Stella Bruzzi, and Ms Alexis Brown, Head of Global Education Insights at the British Council. There was then a presentation of the volume Reimagining the Humanities: Chinese and Western Perspectives (2024), edited by the founding Secretary General of UKCHA, Prof. Yan Haiping (Tsinghua) in collaboration with Suk-Ying Wong, Hua Yang, Weiwen He, Lúcia Nagib, and Matthew Reynolds.

Keynote speaker Professor Haina Jin remarked that “the conference sparked new ideas and opened exciting avenues for imagination” and thanked UCL for hosting “such a collaborative and intellectually enriching event”. Professor Zhang Hongming, Dean of the University International College at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) announced at UCL East that Macau will be the host city of next year’s UKCHA annual conference. He added that he and his colleagues were “happy to have spent such a wonderful time in London” and that they look forward to building on the “extraordinary efforts of UCL staff in successfully organizing this year’s conference”.

Find out more about the UK-China Humanities Alliance