The Art of Representing China:
The Development of Chinese Identity through the Individual
The Harvard College Association for U.S.-China Relations (HAUSCR) is pleased to launch its second annual symposium series and student exchange program the week of April 2-9, 2010 at Harvard University. The two-day symposium series will feature guest speakers and performers who will present their unique experiences, perspectives, and talents to the Harvard and greater Boston community through panel discussions, performances, workshops, and interactive activities. The student exchange program will bring together top students from universities across China and Harvard students in a weeklong series of events and activities to promote mutual understanding between students of both countries.
The theme of the symposium series and student exchange program, "The Art of Representing China," addresses two major goals: engaging participants in a dialogue about China as represented on the world stage as well as exploring Chinese identity at the individual level. The diversity of Chinese identity is a form of "art"—a product that the Chinese people create as a result of their past experiences, their perception of the present world around them, and their vision for the future. In today's rapidly evolving world, China is undergoing changes at all levels of society, giving rise to diverse individual identities that cannot be compressed into a single national identity of the Chinese people as represented at the international level. In drawing upon this "art" of representation at the individual level, we hope to foster a deeper understanding of Chinese identity beyond what it has become to the outside world.
