Symposium on

"Science and Technology in Contemporary China:

Advancements and Challenges in the Era of Globalization"

Thursday, March 28, 2013, 4:30pm

Alexander Library, Teleconference Lecture Hall 403

169 College Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ

Speakers:

Danian Hu, The City College of New York

“Einstein’s Man in Deng’s China: The Story of Xu Liangying”

Inspired by the role model of Albert Einstein and emboldened by the rising social status of Chinese scientists in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, Xu Liangying (1920-2013), a veteran CCP member and physicist-turned historian of science, emerged as a leading Chinese scientific dissident and advocate of political reform in the Deng Era. This presentation will focus on Xu’s career and activities during this post-Mao period. The story and controversies concerning Xu may help reveal complex changes taking place in the contemporary Chinese science, in the state-science and state-scientists relations, and in the Chinese society as a whole.

Fa-ti Fan, State University of New York at Binghamton

“Public Participation in Science and Technology, Hypothetically Speaking”

Science and technology policy, decision, and practice often have broad impact on society. To what extent and in what ways should the public have a say in these matters? This is a question that contemporary China increasingly has to confront. In this talk, I will first introduce some basic ideas and theories about public participation in science and technology. I will then use some recent examples and possible scenarios to illustrate how this question is evolving in China.

Roger Hart, Texas Southern University

“What Can History Tell Us about Chinese Science in the Global 21st Century?”

Throughout the twentieth century, science and modernity were routinely identified with "the West": in the first half of the twentieth century, science was held to be exclusively Western; in the latter half, during which the dominant approach can be bestsummarized by the phrase "science and civilizations," science was held to measure the progress of civilizations toward modernity, with modern Western science serving as the teleological endpoint. I will argue that more careful analysis of worldhistory of science suggests that throughout history, scientific practices circulated globally, resulting in constantly shifting centers of activity. The grand narratives of the twentieth century -- which are better understood as acts of collective self-fashioning -- leave us ill-prepared for the shifts we will see in coming decades.

* This symposium is partially supported by the GAIA Centers under its 2011-2013 Biennial Theme "Technologies Without Borders: Technologies Across Borders."

All are welcome Open to the public