Founded in 1985, the Center for American Studies(CAS) at Fudan University is one of the leading and earliest-established research institutions and the first entity researching on American studies in institutes of higher learning nationwide. Professor Xie Xide, late President of Fudan University and Founding Director contributed tremendously to the establishment and development of the Center.
In December 2000, the CAS was designated by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China as one of the Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences in University Nationwide, successively appraised as the State Innovative Institute for American Studies in 2006. The Center for American Studies at Fudan University took the lead in 2015 to jointly establish Collaborative Innovation Center for New Model of China-U.S. Major-Country Relationship with Peking University, Renmin University of China, PLA Academy of Military Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations and Institute of American Studies Affiliated to Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. China’s Ministry of Education and Fudan University have provided financial aid to the CAS ever since. The CAS has been greatly facilitated and supported by the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program under the U.S. Agency for International Development via The Fudan Foundation based in Washington, D.C., which has also launched the Xie Xide American Studies Scholarships at Fudan University to commemorate the eminent professor’s outstanding endeavors for boosting China-U.S. ties.
Currently, the full-time CAS research group consists of 10 professors and 4 associate professors.
The missions of the Center for American Studies encompass academic research, policy consultation, talent cultivation and international exchanges, specialized in American studies and Sino-U.S. relations, falling into the areas of American politics, American economy, American diplomacy, American society and culture, China’s U.S. policy as well as Sino-U.S. relations.
Fudan American Review, whose Editor-in-Chief is Professor WU Xinbo, Director of the Center for American Studies and Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, is an academic research journal professionally edited and issued by the editorial board at CAS and has blossomed into one of the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) source core journals, incorporated into CNKI(China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and Wanfang Database with broad academic influence and social prestige. In addition, the CAS community has always been expediting the compilation and publication of The Series on the United States and the World in the 21st Century. The Center for American Studies actively carries out decision-making and advisory service, establishing close ties with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. The CAS faculty members are committed to undertaking numerous national policy research projects, invited to attend meetings of experts designated and organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, leading or participating in overseas surveys organized by government departments. The Center offers more than 10 major courses in Chinese or English for postgraduate and undergraduate students at Fudan Univeristy. Since its establishment, the Center for American Studies has cultivated over 200 master graduates and around 100 Ph.D. graduates in the field of American studies and Sino-U.S. relations. The CAS enjoys broad contacts with prominent political figures, among whom former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former U.S. Seretary of State Henry Alfred Kissinger, former U.S. Seretary of State Warren Minor Christopher, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the Center successively. Over the past three decades, the Center for American Studies has built firm bonds and partnerships with the following world-wide prestigious think tanks: The Carter Center, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, etc.
List of Directors of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University:
Professor XIE Xide, 1985 - 2000
Professor NI Shixiong, February 2000 - April 2006
Professor SHEN Dingli, April 2006 - March 2013
Professor WU Xinbo, March 2013 - Present
Facilities
The Center for American Studies boasts an architectural complex, encompassing a total area of 8000 square meters. The four-storey premise includes sorts of 12 conference rooms and antechambers, one administration office on the first floor, 8 classrooms of different sizes to accommodate up to around 500 students per interim on the second floor, a grand library on the third floor, and 15 faculty offices on the fourth floor. Dozens of leading domestic and international symposiums are convened every year as scheduled in the multi-purpose auditorium equipped with simultaneous interpretation devices. Specifically, the unique central triangular atrium with an ingeniously-crafted dome has been a distinctive venue for major events, including the speeches delivered by former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Minor Christopher and Senator Curt Weldon.
Xie Xide Auditorium
Newly-renovated and inaugurated in 2005, the more-than-400-seat Xie Xide Auditorium embraces cutting-edged audio-visual aids with facilities for simultaneous interpretation in four languages, serving as the premier venue where a wide range of academic activities are convened and hosted by the Center for American Studies to promote international exchanges.
Library
The CAS Library collects an accumulation of books and materials in the field of American studies. With the utmost support and generous concern of Fudan University, The Fudan Foundation, The Liberty Bell Foundation, Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang(founder and former director of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and professor emeritus of Otology and Laryngology at the Harvard Medical School and also professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the late American political journalist and historian Theodore Harold White, the CAS Library holdings comprise over 20,000 volumes of English books and more than 3,000 volumes of Chinese books with subscriptions to 38 English journals, 2 English newspapers, 74 Chinese journals and 20 Chinese newspapers respectively.
Strategic Orientation
As the only Key Institute Researching on American Studies in University designated by China’s Ministry of Education, the Center for American Studies at Fudan University is committed to evolving into one of the China’s major research and academic hubs on American studies, strengthening its building to enhance the consultation capacity on China-U.S. relations and correlated issues, serving as a vital platform for experts and scholars in the academia worldwide to conduct broad academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of the dynamic trends of researches on Sino-U.S. relations to foster the ties between China and the United States.
Development Objectives
In the new era, the overall development objectives of the Center for American Studies are as follows:
Evolving around the development, dynamic trends in America and the profound evolution of China-U.S. bilateral ties in the service of boosting the prosperity of academic researches and enhancing the scientific decision-making, targeted researches on major issues are conducted to achieve corresponding academic successes while settling the practical and policy issues of invaluable significance. With concerted efforts and in five years or so, the Center for American Studies at Fudan Univeristy is expected to turn into one of the leading research and academic hubs on American studies, underscoring the extensive domestic prestige and international influence accordingly.
Please stay tuned for the updates of latest news, upcoming events, advances in research and further information on the following CAS website: http://www.cas.fudan.edu.cn/.
