14th Spring History Symposium

The modern world has been and is increasingly shaped by cross-border movements. In most cases, people serve as the agents of such movements. People of various occupations, including intellectuals, merchants, diplomats, soldiers, missionaries, craftsmen, and artists, among others, and encompassing those of diverse gender, race, and national identities, in crossing paths with each other beyond borders, have sparked some of the most significant creations and conflicts in history. The web of global movement, however, extends beyond people alone. Business exchanges and the quest for scientific knowledge, as common interests shared around the world, have mobilized and redirected human efforts with remarkable momentum, forming extensive networks often unnoticed by people within them. Commodity circulation and the dissemination of science and technologies thus provide new vantage points from which to observe and re-examine historical linkages that were previously ignored and to rethink the meanings of global encounters. 

The organizers of the 14th Spring History Symposium call on postgraduates and early career scholars to submit proposals about global encounters and movements, focusing on both human stories across various sectors and those narratives where commodities and technologies take center stage. We particularly encourage studies exploring topics with links to Asia from the 18th century onward.

To apply, please submit an abstract of between 200 and 300 words and a 1-page CV via the form below. Abstracts and CVs should be combined into a single pdf document labeled in the following format: Familyname_Givenname_shs14 (ex: Lei_Boyun_shs14). 

The Spring History Symposium will sponsor accommodation for a limited number of non-local participants. If you will be coming from outside Hong Kong, please indicate via the form if you will require accommodation. 

The deadline for submission is 31 January 2025, and applicants will be notified of the results in February. All papers must be presented in English. 

Please direct any enquiries to Ms. Iris Boyun Lei at hkuhistorysymposium@gmail.com.