An Ecological History of Modern China

Date: November 28th | 10 am – 11:30 am MT

Book Cover Stevan Harrell’s An Ecological History of Modern China tells the history of the People’s Republic not through elite politics or cultural change, but through the interaction between China’s demographic and economic growth and the physical environment of the country. It asks whether sustainable development is possible and how China’s ecological history has affected the world environment. Harrell will introduce some primary arguments of the book, a panel of scholars will present their critiques, Harrell will reply to the panelists, and we will conclude with general online discussion.

AUTHOR
	Stevan Harrell Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington Stevan Harrell is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington, where he taught from 1974-2017. He has conducted ethnographic and interdisciplinary field research in Sanxia, Taiwan, and in Liangshan and Aba Prefectures in Sichuan. He is now working on the history of agriculture in Whatcom County, Washington.
DISCUSSANTS
	Philippe Rheault Director, The China Institute at the University of Alberta L. Philippe Rheault is the Director of The China Institute at the University of Alberta, following a 25-year career in the Canadian foreign service with a primary focus on China and East Asia. He has been posted to the region six times: Beijing, Taipei, Chongqing (twice), Mongolia, and Guangzhou. Notably, he led two of Canada's missions in Mainland China: as the inaugural Consul General in Chongqing from 2012 to 2017 and, most recently, as the Consul General of Canada for South China based in Guangzhou (Canton) from 2019 to 2023.
	Ashley Esarey Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta Ashley Esarey is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta. He is coauthor, with Hsiu-lien Lu, of My Fight for a New Taiwan: One Woman’s Journey from Prison to Power and coeditor of Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State, Taiwan in Dynamic Transition: Nation Building and Democratization, and The Xi Jinping Effect (in press).
	Loretta Lou Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Degree Director for the Master’s Program in Global & Planetary Health at Durham University Loretta Lou is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Degree Director for the Master’s Program in Global & Planetary Health at Durham University. Her research focuses on sustainable living in Hong Kong and perceptions of pollution and well-being in Southern China. She is the co-editor-in-chief of Worldwide Waste: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.
MODERATOR
	Jia Wang Deputy Director, The China Institute at the University of Alberta Jia Wang is Deputy Director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, where she manages research, programs, and government and media relations since 2011. Jia has over 15 years of direct management experience focusing on the economic and political dimensions of contemporary China and Canada-China relations in various capacities.