We are delighted to welcome Sooyoung An, who is visiting us from Fudan (Shanghai). She will be with us for the next 8 weeks. Here is a brief description, provided by Sooyoung herself:

I am currently a PhD student at Fudan University, Shanghai, supervised by Shaoxin Dong. I came to Warwick to spend a visiting period, and Anne Gerritsen is my adviser while my stay here. My research concerns cultural, intellectual and commercial aspects of the circulation of herbal medicine within, and between, East Asia and Europe. My PhD thesis, by taking a comparative perspective as well as attending to the transmission of knowledge, focuses specifically on the history of Ginseng – in a “connect” world of the long 18^th century. It intends to illuminate how the regional and global transmission of knowledge, transfer of material and commerce of the item contributed to shape the trajectories of knowledge in each region: developing a distinctive system of “Bencao” knowledge in East Asia while, in Europe and America, drug knowledge evolved mostly in such formats of expansive intellectual pursuits as natural history, materia medica or Sinology.

Research interest:

Ginseng; Bencao knowledge; Materia Medica; herbal medicine; history of natural history in 18^th century Europe; therapeutic commodities; East Asia regional network; early modern history; Chinese consumption culture

The Power of Ancestors: Tombs and Death Practices in Late Qing China’s Foreign Relations, 1845–1914

Past & Present, Volume 239, Issue 1, 1 May 2018, Pages 113–142

See also Song-chuan's blogpost here, about the background to writing this piece.

Robert Fletcher's latest publication: 'Decolonization and the Arid World', in The Oxford Handbook of the Ends of Empire, edited by Martin Thomas and Andrew Thompson.

Abstract:
Decolonization transformed political geographies; in many ways, it made the world in which we live. But the constraints and possibilities of physical geography were not as readily disregarded. This chapter considers the comparable and connected histories of the world’s desert environments in the era of decolonization. It explains how decolonization and the Cold War took a distinct path in the arid world, asks whether we’ve given enough weight to the place of arid regions in these wider histories and reflects on how, in many ways, these regions still resist being folded into the national stories of imperialism’s successor states.

Public Lecture: Professor Bishnupriya Gupta

In 1947 India was one of the poorest countries in the world. Did colonial rule lower living standards? Evidence on wages and estimates of per capita GDP from 1600 show that living standards declined absolutely and relatively before colonization and continued to stagnate under British rule. The decline coincided with increased integration with international markets and expansion of the transport network. The high point of prosperity before modern economic growth was in 1600 during the reign of Emperor Akbar and before the rising trade in textiles. Indian growth reversal began in independent India with the policies of regulation of trade and industry. The changing fortunes of the Indian economy had depended on the fortunes of agriculture and public investment in agricultural infrastructure and technology.

The lecture is open to all staff, students and the general public.

CAGE Working Paper 355

If you are new to the idea of a PhD in History at Warwick: In your first year, you will need to attend courses and seminars on methodologies and you are encouraged to apply a different approach to your research. It involves extensive reading, but it is totally worthy to spend lot of time on it, it will provide you with a solid foundation for your research. Then, in your second year, you can continue to combine ideas and start to collect data from primary resources. This year, you will routinely have discussions with your supervisor, about more details of your research. I enjoyed a lot of this year, as my supervisor was super-intelligent, she did not teach me what to do or how to do, but tried to inspire me how/what I want to do. It made me realize my potential. In your third year and fourth year, the writing starts, and the pressure increases. But don’t worry, you are not alone. In terms of my best experience so far: my supervisor and other faculty members’ encouragement over these two years. During the four-year study, there were many conferences, workshops, and seminars in the department, where I met other academics in the fields. Just talk to them, you would be surprised how helpful they are.

If I could provide only one piece of advice to future students, that would be, try your best to enjoy your research and graduate school years, enjoy life as student; as they say: it is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.