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Light Center for Chinese Studies Guest Lecture

Posted by Junliang Fei for Haenicke Institute for Global Education

Join WMU Asian Initiatives for 2 upcoming Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies Guest Lecture. All events are free and open to the public.   

  • Chef Xiaojun (Tony) Hu, Founder of Lao Sze Chuan Restaurant Group and Founding Chairman of the U.S.-China Restaurant Alliance, will speak on Tuesday, September 15. 

    His lecture titled "From Gold Rush to Global Table: the Development, Contributions, and Future of Chinese Cuisine in America" is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Room 223, Marilyn J Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building (418 E. Walnut St. Kalamazoo).  Hu' talk will explore how Chinese cuisine shaped American culture, highlight its philanthropic impact during crises, and offer unique insights into the industry’s future—focusing on quality, scalability, and global brand-building.

  • Dr. Wei Wu, associate professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University, will speak on Thursday, October 1.

    Her talk titled "Learning from Tibetan Buddhism: Cross-Cultural Religious Exchange in Twentieth-Century China" is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Room 4732 Sangren Hall. The talk examines the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism into early twentieth-century China through the monk Nenghai (1886–1967), who trained in Lhasa and later founded a Tibetan Buddhist community in Sichuan. It analyzes how doctrines, practices, and institutions were transformed across cultural contexts.

Prior registration for Dr. Wu's lecture is recommended.

 A unit of the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, WMU’s Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies was established in 2010 to enhance the work of faculty and graduate researchers specializing in Sinology, as well as those with teaching or research interests in China. The Light Center encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and global partnerships to enrich the international curriculum, arts and culture on campus.  

Past Lecturers

  • "Parallel Politics: Chinese Diaspora on YouTube and the 2024 U.S. Election" presented on Thursday, April 2 by Dr. Yongjun Zhang, Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University.
  • “Rethinking Chinese Urbanism from the Periphery” presented by Dr. Xuefei Ren,  professor of Sociology at Michigan State University.
  • "When AI Meets Chinese Language Teaching: How Teachers Can Thrive in the New Era" presented by Dr. Zhongqi Shi, senior lecturer in Chinese at Columbia University.
  • "Aboard Ships Bound for Oblivion: Early Modern Entrances of the African into China" presented by Dr. Don Wyatt, Professor of history at Middlebury College.
  • "China’s First Communist and the United States: Li Dazhao’s Changing Attitudes towards America" presented by Dr. Patrick Fuliang Shan, Professor of history at Grand Valley State University.
  • "Social Media and Marginalized Voices in Neo/Non-liberal China" presented by Dr. Cara Wallis, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan.
  • "The Poetry of Xi Chuan and “Chineseness” Re-reconsidered" presented by Dr. Lucas Klein, Associate Professor of Chinese at Arizona State University.
  • "The Future of Contemporary Chinese Art" presented by Dr. Vivian Li, the Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.
  • "Productive Differences: Art, Labor and Education in Southwest China" presented by Prof. Patrick D. Wilson, Associate Professor of Sculpture at Western Michigan University, Frostic School of Art.
  • "Digital Transformation and Program Management: A Case in China" presented by Dr. James J. Jiang, Distinguished Professor of IT Management, National Taiwan University.
  • "Three Perfections of Chinese Art: Exploring Chinese Calligraphy, Painting and Poetry" presented by Dr. Huajing Maske, Assistant Vice President for International Partnerships and Clinical Professor of Global Studies, Wayne State University. 
  • "Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk: Can Communication and Understanding facilitate Accommodation in the US-China Relationship" presented by Dr. Suisheng Zhao,  Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver.
  • "Perception and Misperception in U.S.-China Relations" presented by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Distinguished Fellow for China at the United States Institute of Peace and an adjunct professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
  • "China’s Development and China-U.S. Relations" presented by Consul General Jian Zhao, Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago.
  • "Chinese Americans in the Heartland: Migration, Work, and Community" presented by Dr. Huping Ling, Professor of History, the founder of the Asian/Asian American Studies Program at Truman State University.
  • "From Chinatown to Every Town: How Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurs Have Expanded Restaurant Business in the United States" presented by Dr. Zai Liang, Professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Albany. 
  • "Zero-COVID, Carbon Neutrality, and the Future of Coercive Environmentalism" presented by Dr. Yifei Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU Shanghai and Global Network Assistant Professor at NYU.
  • "China Planet: Environmental Implications of the Rise of China" presented by Dr. Judith Shapiro, Director of the Masters in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development for the School of International Service at American University.
  • "Pulling the Nation’s Noodles: Ramen and the Chinese Origins of Modern Japanese Cuisine?" presented by Dr. Barak Kushner, Professor of East Asian History and Co-Chair of the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
  • "Can China Sustain Its Current Level of Food Security?" presented by Dr. Zhangyue Zhou, Former Director of the AusAsia Business Studies Program and Adjunct Professor at James Cook University in Australia.
  • "Why Chopsticks? Utensil-use, Changing Foodway and Eating Style in Asia" presented by Dr. Q. Edward Wang, Professor of History and Coordinator of Asian Studies at Rowan University in the US and Changjiang Professor of History at Peking University in China. 
  • "Learning, Teaching and Schooling in China: Ideals, Realities and Prospects" presented by Dr. Jun Li, Chair and Professor of the Academic and Research Cluster of Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies of Western University Faculty of Education.
  • "Improving Students’ Learning: East Meets West in Mathematics Classroom" presented by Dr. Jinfa Cai, Kathleen and David Hollowell, Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Delaware, and a Fellow of American Educational Research Association.
  • "Bad Dragon?: Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World" presented by Dr. Yong Zhao, a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas.
  • "The Gendered Pursuit of Individualism: Fertility Intentions in Contemporary Urban China” by Dr. Yun Zhou, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan.
  • "America Seen through Chinese Lenses" by Dr. Wang Xi, Professor of History at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
  • "Nezha and Miaoshan: Myth, Desire, and Chinese Patriliny" presented by Dr. P. Steven Sangren, Hu Shih Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University. 
  • "Hollywood and Chinese other" presented by Dr. Tan Ye, Professor of Comparative Literature and Chinese at University of South Carolina.
  • “The Present as Prologue: The Gloomy Outlook for US-China Relations” by Dr. Avery Goldstein, David M. Knott Professor of Global Politics and International Relations, University of Pennsylvania.
  • "Food Consumption Changes Due to COVID-19: Lessons from China" presented by Ann Veeck, Marcel Zondag, Jeffrey Xie, and Russell Zwanka along with Hongyan Yu (Sun Yat-Sen University) and Hong Zhu (Northeast Normal University). 
  • "US-China Trade War and Economic Relations" presented by Dr. Huizhong Zhou, professor of economics at Western Michigan University.
  • "Sensory Experience and Chinese Painting circa 1800" by Dr. Michael Hatch, assistant professor of East Asian art at Miami University.
  • "Is the trade war between US and China over?" by Dr. Christina Liu, managing director of Bellwether International Group in Hong Kong and member of the Global Council of Asia Society (USA).
  • "Pacific narratives of Chinese and American female intellectuals in the first half of the 20th century" by Dr. Lijuan Huang, professor of English and comparative literature at the International Institute of Chinese Culture, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
  • "Tourism-Driven Urbanization in China's Small Town Development" by Professor Li Yang, associate professor of geography and recipient of the Timothy Light Center for Chinese Studies Research Grant.
  • "Jade as Painting" by Dr. Yang Liu, head of the Chinese, South and Southeast Asian art department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  
  • "Power and Beauty in China's Last Dynasty: A New Approach" by Dr. Yang Liu, head of the Chinese, South and Southeast Asian art department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
  • "Displacement as Opportunity" by Professor Xuefei Jin (Ha Jin), plans to give a short talk in combination with some poetry reading in both English and Chinese. Free and open to the public.
  • "Mediating Cybersecurity Discourse: A Comparative Study between China and the United States" by Dr. Junfang Zhang, a professor at School of Journalism and Communication in Shanghai International Studies University, China.
  • "Bohai—A Mysterious Kingdom in Northeast Asia" by Professor Migkun Huo, a visiting scholar from Heilongjiang University, China.
  • "Eastern Han Tomb Figurines from Fengjie County: The Diffusion of Han Culture" by Ms. Haowen Chen, a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Renmin University, China.
  • "Korea's Crisis, China's Problem" by Dr. REN Xiao, professor of international politics at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and Director of Chinese Foreign Policy. Free and open to a public.
  • "Dragon and Eagle in Africa: Comparing China and America's Influence in Africa" by Dr. Jijun Ran, a Fulbright visiting scholar affiliated to SAIS of Johns Hopkins University.
  • "Journey to the West: the True Story of Xuanzang (602-664)" by Dr. Victor Cunrui Xiong, professor of history and a recipient of the WMU Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award.
  • "Crossing the 1949 Dividing Line: A New Trend in the Study of Modern China" by Dr. Hanchao Lu, director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
  • "To the People, Food is Heaven: Politics and Quotidian Life in Recent Chinese History" by Dr. Hanchao Lu, director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
  • "China's Pork Industry: A Globalization Story" by Dr. Fred Gale, senior economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • "China's Emerging Role in Global Agriculture" by Dr. Fred Gale, senior economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • "Social Turmoil in Hong Kong: Challenging Chinese Sovereignty?" by Dr. Helen Siu, professor of anthropology at Yale University.
  • "Urbanization and Social Change in Early 20th-Century Xikang (in Tibet), China" by Yang Liu, assistant research fellow and PhD candidate at the Institute of Urban Studies at Sichuan University, China.
  • "How to Make Chinese Cities Skilled" by Dr. Shihe Fu, Fulbright scholar and professor of economics at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.
  • "Social Media in China: An Update" by Dr. King-wa Fu, associate professor of journalism and media studies at the University of Hong Kong. 
  • "Rebalancing or Debalancing: The U.S. Strategies and New Asian Order" presented by Dr. Ling Wei, professor of international studies and director of the East Asian Studies Center at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. 

Accessibility

We are happy to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. To request accommodation, please contact Asian Initiatives staff at @email at least five business days before the event.

View All WMU Events
Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2026 — 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 — 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Classroom 223 Marilyn J Schlack Culinary and Allied Health Building
418 E. Walnut St.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008 US
Asian Initiatives