IAS Distinguished Lecture: Constructing Worlds: Technologies of Knowledge in Classical Chinese Social and Political Theory
Abstract
Over the course of the classical Chinese tradition, a complex set of debates developed around the ways that knowledge is formed and the ways that these processes of knowledge formation can be manipulated. The goal of the lecture will be to explore these debates and to discuss their larger implications. The speaker will argue that the theories from classical China have much to offer to contemporary discussions.
About the Speaker
Prof. Michael PUETT is the Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology who holds a joint appointment in the EALC and Anthropology departments of Harvard University. His interests focus on the inter-relations between religion, history, anthropology, and philosophy. In his research, Prof. Puett aims to bring the study of China into larger historical and comparative frameworks. He has published many articles on early Chinese history (c. 1200 B.C. - c. 755 A.D.), as well as on classical Chinese ritual, social, and political theory. Prof. Puett is the author of The Ambivalence of Creation: Debates Concerning Innovation and Artifice in Early China and To Become a God: Cosmology, Sacrifice, and Self-Divinization in Early China, as well as the co-author, with Adam SELIGMAN, Robert WELLER, and Bennett SIMON, of Ritual and its Consequences: An Essay on the Limits of Sincerity. Prof. Puett has received multiple awards for his teaching and advising, including the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize, the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award, the Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising, and the Harvard College Professorship for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Since 2012 his General Education course, “Classical Chinese Ethical and Political Theory,” has been one of the most highly enrolled undergraduate courses at Harvard University.
For Attendees' Attention
Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
DATE & TIME:
March 18, 2025 (Tue) / 3:00 - 4:30 pm
WHERE:
Kaisa Group Lecture Theater (IAS LT), Lo Ka Chung Building, Lee Shau Kee Campus, HKUST
EVENT FORMAT:
Seminar, Lecture, Talk
SPEAKER:
Prof. Michael PUETT
Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology, Harvard University
RECOMMENDED FOR:
Faculty and staff, PG students, UG students
CONTACT:
Email: ias@ust.hk
LANGUAGE:
English
INTEREST AREA:
#HKUST #IASDistinguishedLecture #MichaelPuett #ClassicalChineseTheory #KnowledgeFormation #SocialPoliticalDebates