Co-hosted by RASBJ, Yale Club of Beijing, and Yale Center Beijing. This talk is part of the Greenberg Distinguished Colloquium and the 'For Humanity' Lecture Series.

Event Time

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Registration

6:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Presentation

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Q&A

8:00 pm - 8:15 pm

Social & Networking

8:15 pm - 8:25 pm

Location

Yale Center Beijing 
36th Floor Tower B of IFC Building 8 Jianguomenwai Avenue Chaoyang District, Beijing (Yong'anli Subway Station, Exit C) 

Registration and Fees

Registration
Please click “HERE” further below to register.

Please send an email to yalecenterbeijing@yale.edu if there are any problems. If you encounter any payment issues, please attach a screenshot that identifies the issue.

Ticket: Free for Yale alumni and participants who have paid in advance for the 'For Humanity' Lecture Series; RMB 28 for regular admission and a complimentary PDF copy of the introductory chapter of the book.

*The registration fee for the event is non-refundable. Unless due to a force majeure reason, Yale Center Beijing will not refund any part of the registration fee if a participant fails to attend the event.

Walk-ins will not be accepted.

The language of the event will be English.

Note: Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Event

On March 26, Odd Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, and Jian Chen, Distinguished Global Network Professor of History at NYU Shanghai, will discuss their new book, The Great Transformation: China's Road from Revolution to Reform. With gripping detail and deep insight, they explore the tumultuous events of the long 1970s and their lasting impact, showing how understanding this period in Chinese history is key to understanding China today.

In conversation with Melinda Liu, Vice President of RASBJ, the authors will share how they uncovered the revealing, granular details that make their book memorable—and why the final publication turned out differently from what they envisaged at the beginning of the project.

Speakers

Odd Arne Westad (Online)
Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs, Yale University

Odd Arne Westad is a scholar of modern international and global history, with a specialization in the history of eastern Asia since the 18th century. He is also the author of 16 books, most of which deal with 20th-century Asian and global history. Westad joined the faculty at Yale after teaching at the London School of Economics, where he was School Professor of International History, and at Harvard University, where he was the S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations. He is a fellow of the British Academy and of several other national academies.

Jian Chen (Onsite)
Distinguished Global Network Professor of History, NYU Shanghai

Jian Chen is a leading scholar of modern Chinese history, the history of Chinese-American relations, and Cold War international history. He currently serves as Distinguished Global Network Professor of History at NYU Shanghai, and Global Network Professor in the Department of History at NYU. Before joining NYU Shanghai, he was the Michael J. Zak Professor of History for U.S.-China Relations at Cornell University, the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics, and visiting research professor at the University of Hong Kong (2009-2013).

Greenberg Distinguished Colloquium

Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Starr Insurance Companies, and a member of Yale Center Beijing’s Advisory Committee, Yale Center Beijing is pleased to host the Greenberg Distinguished Colloquium, which convenes thought leaders from all sectors who, in the spirit of Mr. Greenberg, play pivotal roles in building bridges among China, the U.S., and the rest of the world.