【Advancing Connected Futures Project】—— The Disabling Word: Philology and Working With the Chuci (Stephen Owen)

▍Lecturer: Stephen Owen
▍Event Date: 4/2 (Tuesday) 15:00-17:00
▍Event Location: NTU College of Liberal Arts Lecture Hall
▍Organizers: National Taiwan University College of Liberal Arts, Trend Education Foundation

The lecture will be held in English, click here to register (https://forms.gle/nWDTjCQxWkK2WxxS6)

  Trend Education Foundation has donated the “Advancing Connected Futures” project to our university, which is being implemented by the College of Liberal Arts. There exists a close and complex relationship among civilization, literature, culture, and history. They intertwine with each other, and shape the trajectory of human societal development. Literature, as a significant form of cultural expression, conveys thoughts, emotions, and experiences; literary works simultaneously are products of and shapers of culture. Through language, style, themes, and other aspects of representation, they demonstrate the essence of specific cultures and their unique charm. Cross-cultural communication and understanding the diversity of the world are facilitated by literature, making it an indispensable medium. As for interpreting historical events and societal changes, depicting life scenes, and reflecting the characteristics of the times and people, literary works pass them on to future generations through words, imagination, and artistic representation. The significance of literature not only reflects the achievements of civilization but also propels the progress of civilization.

  The inaugural lecture of the “Advancing Connected Futures” project featuring an international scholar will be held in the lecture hall of the College of Liberal Arts. We are honored to invite Professor Stephen Owen, a renowned Sinologist from the United States and the James Bryant Conant University Emeritus Professor at Harvard University, to deliver a lecture titled “The Disabling Word: Philology and Working with the Chuci” on April 2^nd from 15:00 to 17:00.

  Professor Owen is a forward-thinking scholar known for his exploration of the exchange and integration of civilizations. He is not only a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society, but also the recipient of the 2018 Tang Prize in Sinology. Professor Owen has been deeply engaged in the study of classical Chinese poetry and literary theory, as well as comparative literature and world literature. He is particularly renowned for his groundbreaking research on the works of Du Fu.

  Over the course of eight years, He translated nearly 1,400 poems by Du Fu, culminating in the publication of The Poetry of Du Fu, totaling over three thousand pages. He has authored several monographs and essays, including The Poetry of the Early Tang, The Great Age of Chinese Poetry: The High Tang, Remembrances: The Experience of the Past in Classical Chinese Literature, Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, Tashande shitou ji, Milou: Poetry and the Labyrinth of Desire, The End of the Chinese ‘Middle Ages’: Essays in Mid-Tang Literary Culture. Most of these works have been translated into Chinese and published successively. The translated work An Anthology of Chinese Literature was honored with the National Translation Award by the American Literary Translators Association. Professor Owen’s academic and creative endeavors have transcended national borders and cultural boundaries, earning him international acclaim for his remarkable contributions. His participation in this project will offer a fresh perspective to the study of classical literature and provide the academic community in our country with the most cutting-edge research trends.