Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History

Conference announcement, Berkeley, 21-22 October 2011

Conf. Ann: - Berkeley 21-22/10/11

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Center for Chinese Studies and Institute of East Asian Studies,
University of California
21.10.2011-22.10.2011, Berkeley

This conference takes up the global history of Quotations from ChairmanMao-perhaps the most visible, ubiquitous, and enduring symbol oftwentieth-century radicalism. Conference participants will examine theproduction and adaptation of the "little red book" in China, as well asits circulation, appropriation, and impact around the globe. Thepocket-sized Quotations from Chairman Mao was probably the most printednon-religious book of the twentieth century and by the late 1960s becamethe must-have accessory for red guards and revolutionaries from Berkeleyto Bamako. The little red book'sworldwide circulation, in dozens of languages, is a testament to itshistorical importance, but until now there has been no serious scholarlyeffort to understand the Quotations as a global historical phenomenon.

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Friday, October 21, 2011
9:00-9:15: Welcome

Alexander Cook, Assistant Professor of History, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley
9:15-11:00: Panel 1
China: "Things Develop Ceaselessly"

A Single Spark: Origins and Spread
Daniel Leese, Assistant Professor, Institute of Chinese Studies,Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

Translation and Internationalism
Xu Lanjun, Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies, National Universityof Singapore

Quotation Songs: Portable Media and Pop Song Form in the Chinese 1960s
Andrew F. Jones, Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures,University of California, Berkeley

Revolutionary Nostalgia: Community, Mediation, and Capital
Yang Guobin, Associate Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures,Barnard College

Discussant: Thomas S. Mullaney, Assistant Professor of History, StanfordUniversity
11:15-12:45: Panel 2
Second World: "Monsters of All Kinds"

The Book that Bombed: Mao's Little Red Thing in the Soviet Union
Elizabeth McGuire, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Academy Scholars

The (Bi-) Partisans' Little Red Book: Common Cause along SouthernEurope's Iron Curtain
Dominique Reill, Assistant Professor of History, University of Miami

Albania and China: Best Friends Forever?
Elidor Mëhilli, Ph.D. Candidate in History, Princeton University

Discussant: John Connelly, Professor of History, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley

1:00-2:00: Lunch break
(Lunch is not provided)

2:00-3:30: Panel 3
First World: "Paper Tigers"

TBA
Bill V. Mullen, Professor of English, Purdue University (participant inabsentia)

Principally Contradiction: The Flourishing of French Maoism
Julian Bourg, Associate Professor of History, Boston College

Red All Over: The "Mao Bible" in East and West Germany
Quinn Slobodian, Assistant Professor of History, Wellesley College

Discussant: Tyler Stovall, Professor of History, University of
California, Berkeley
4:00-5:00
Keynote Lecture

Ban Wang, William Haas Professor in Chinese Studies, StanfordUniversity
In the Beginning Was the Word: The Liberal Education of Mao's Little RedBook

Saturday, October 22, 2011
9:30-11:15: Panel 4
Third World: "True Bastion of Iron"

Mao and Mali: Non-Textual Translation in West Africa
Brandon County, Ph.D. Candidate in History, Columbia University

Maoism in Tanzania: Material Connections and Shared Imaginaries
Priya Lal, Assistant Professor of History, Quinnipiac University

The Influence of Maoism in Peru
David Scott Palmer, Professor of International Relations and PoliticalScience, Boston University

A Mighty Cyclone? The Twists and Turns of South Asian Maoism
Sreemati Chakrabarti, Professor of East Asian Studies, University ofDelhi

Discussant: Darren Zook, Assistant Professor of Political Science,University of California, Berkeley
11:30-12:30 Roundtable: The Global Perspective / Wrap-up Discussion

Alexander Cook, Assistant Professor of History, University ofCalifornia, Berkeley

Discussant: Daniel Sargent, Assistant Professor of History, Universityof California, Berkeley

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Elinor Levine
Program Director
Center for Chinese Studies
University of California
2223 Fulton Street, room 505
Berkeley, CA 94720-2328
Email: ccs [at] berkeley.edu

http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events/2011.10.21w.html