The University of Alberta's world renowned Mactaggart Art Collection will be the centre of attention in an upcoming lecture series Visualizing China's Imperial Order (1500-1800) presented by the University of Alberta Museums. The first session will being on October 29, 2015.
This year-long lecture series will feature fourteen leading scholars of late imperial Chinese history from around the world. The theme of this lecture series is China's imperial order and power, and the central question is how the order and power were structured and practiced in late imperial China and even in pre-modern Eurasia. Explorations of this question will stimulate the conversation to understand contemporary China's rise and strategies."We are very proud of the Mactaggart Art Collection here at the University of Alberta," said Janine Andrews, Executive Director of the University of Alberta Museums. "Through this lecture series, we will be able to build on the research about the Mactaggart Art Collection and continue to grow its reputation as one of the world's foremost collections of Asian art and textiles."
Presented in four sessions, topics will range from costumes and textiles from the Ming and Qing courts, political and military expansions, social history in the production and use of paintings, rituals, ceremonies, etiquette and more.
"China's present rests on a foundation from its past, with deep historical antecedents, " said Gordon Houlden, Director of the University of Alberta's China Institute. "The presentations will draw upon China's rich material culture and, will use these resources to draw insights that will facilitate a deeper understanding of Chinese society and state, relevant both to Imperial and contemporary China."
The Mactaggart Art Collection Lecture Series will take place, free of charge, on the University of Alberta campus.
The University of Alberta Museums is committed to initiating and leading innovative museum strategies and solutions that ensure the U of A Museums are relevant to the University of Alberta academic, research and community engagement missions and to make museum collections universally accessible to students and researchers, and our diverse local and international communities.