On April 22nd, the “Discipline Construction of World History and Area Studies" high-level forum and the establishment ceremony of the Research Institute of Area Studies and School of Area Studies in Northwest University were held at the Chang’an Campus of Northwest University. Li Zhongmin, Vice Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party of Shaanxi Province, Wang Limin, President of the Social Sciences Literature Press, Guo Lihong, President of Northwest University, and Zhang Qing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, jointly unveiled the plaques.
At the opening ceremony of the forum, President Guo Lihong, Director Luo Lin of the Secretary Office for Area Studies of Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Education, and Liang Zhanjun, President of the China Society for Modern and Contemporary World History and Executive Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Capital Normal University, delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Wu Zhenlei, member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Northwest University.
Northwest University appointed Professor Luo Lin and Professor Liang Zhanjun as Honorary Deans of the Research Institute of Area Studies in Northwest University, Professor Han Zhibin as the Dean of the Institute, Professor Huang Minxing as the Director of the Academic Committee of the Institute, and Professor Wang Xingang, Professor Lu Shanbing, Professor Cao Ruonan, and Professor Yan Wei as Vice Deans of the Institute. President Guo Lihong presented appointment letters to the appointed experts.
At the closing ceremony, Professor Cao Ruonan, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, Northwest University, delivered a keynote speech. She emphasized that the establishment of the Research Institute of Area Studies and the School of Area Studies in Northwest University marks a new milestone, creating new points of disciplinary growth and providing a fast track to the development of new humanities characteristics for the School of Foreign Languages. Considering the characteristics and future development direction of foreign language disciplines, she stated that the School of Foreign Languages will take the opportunity of this area studies transformation to optimize the development path of disciplines, strengthen interdisciplinary communication, fully mobilize teachers’ subjective initiative and work enthusiasm, enhance ethical standards and professional conduct among teachers, encourage teachers to invest in scientific research with a rigorous academic attitude. By expanding the strength of core research teams and fostering an atmosphere of mutual learning with academic achievements, the school will coordinate and deepen organized research, pay full attention to global knowledge supply in area studies, innovate in foreign language and literature disciplines, and call on all teachers to advance consciously, spontaneously and wholeheartedly in the philosophy and social sciences work of the school’s 14th Five-Year Plan.
Photo: Some reprinted from Northwest University News
(https://www.nwu.edu.cn/info/1185/30942.htm)