In Memoriam: R. Keith Schoppa
Thanks to AAS having reposted the obituary released by Loyola University, where R. Keith Schoppa was Professor Emeritus, most of you will have already seen the sad news of Keith’s death on June 27, 2022, aged 78 (https://www.loyola.edu/en/news/2022/0711-schoppa-obit.). Although the obituary is a fitting tribute to one of the most prolific and influential scholars of modern Chinese history, it did not reflect Keith’s important contributions to developing the journal Twentieth-Century China (TCC). He, in fact, played a pivotal role in transforming the Republican Studies Newsletter—edited by Barry Kennan—into the journal Republican China. Keith served as the journal’s editor from its first issue, Vol. 9, no. 1 in November 1983. In 1991, Keith also assisted Stephen C. Averill, who had taken over the editorship, in changing the journal’s name to Twentieth-Century China and encouraging its expansion into coverage of the history of the PRC period.
In addition to his role guiding the transition from newsletter to fully fledged journal, Keith was also a founding member of the Historical Society for Twentieth-Century China (HSTCC)—now TCC’s sponsoring organization. He served as HSTCC’s president (2006-2008) and organized the biannual conference at the East-West Center in Hawaii in June 2008.
June 15, 2020
Dear HSTCC members:
I hope you’re all safe and well in your respective locations around the United States and world. Here in Boulder, Colorado, Covid-19 is largely under control, though of course we’re all being cautious about the speed with which we return to “normal” life.
I’m writing to solicit proposals for panels, roundtables, or individual papers for HSTCC’s Biennial Conference, “China’s Engagement with the Modern World,” which we’ll be holding, remotely via Zoom, beginning on Friday, August 14. The conference will run for several days (because we will only run two sessions per day), with the number of days being dependent on the number of presentations we will have. Conference sessions will be scheduled to take place in the mornings, United States time, to facilitate participation from as many people outside the United States as possible. We will make sure that all conference Zoom sessions are secure.
Our hope is that you will submit proposals for fully formed panels, including a discussant. If you are able to put together a panel but not to identify a discussant, we will assign someone to serve in that capacity. If you would like to submit a paper but cannot find others to form a panel with you, we will work to group you with others who have submitted lone paper proposals. Roundtable proposals are also welcome.
The conference will be conducted in English and proposals and presentations should also be in English. Discussions may take place in both Chinese and English.
Proposals should include the following information:
Panels: Panel title, panel abstract (250 words), participants’ names (three plus a discussant) and contact information, individual presentation titles, and one-paragraph abstracts for each paper (200 words). Each presentation should be 20 minutes in length.
Roundtables: Session title, session abstract (250 words), participants’ names and contact information, titles or subjects to be discussed by respective participants. A roundtable should consist of 4 or 5 participants, each of whom should prepare to speak for 5 – 7 minutes.
Individual papers: Paper title, paper abstract (200 words), author’s name and contact information.
Please submit your proposals to both: weston@colorado.edu and hms@vt.edu by no later than Monday July 20, 2020. Applicants will be notified whether their proposal has been accepted by July 30, 2020.
Please note that you must be a member of HSTCC (and up to date on your dues payment) to take part in the conference, either as a presenter or a member of the audience.
With best wishes,
Tim Weston
President, Historical Society for Twentieth-Century China
Associate Professor of History
University of Colorado Boulder
Older Announcements:
The HSTCC 2018 Conference program is now available on the Conference Page.
The HSTCC 2016 Conference program is now available on the Conference Page.
