Lectures and Seminars

Harvard University Asia Center http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/. This should be your starting point for all Asia-related academic and cultural activities in the Boston area.  Listings frequently include non-Harvard events as well as Harvard lectures and seminars that are open to the public.  You can also find links and listings here for the numerous research centers, programs and faculty related to Asia at Harvard.  For connections to China-related scholars and research projects, you may consult in particular the sites of the Fairbank Center for East Asia Research (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fairbank/), and the Harvard-Yenching Institute (http://www.harvard-yenching.org/).

Researching China in Boston.

In addition to the using the resources listed in the “Culture and History” section, these are places where you might begin looking for China-related materials in the Boston area, though by all means extend your search to other area universities as well.

Harvard-Yenching Library http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvard-yenching/. One of the finest Asian collections in the country.

Fairbank Center Collection, H.C. Fung Library http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fairbank/library/library.html.  The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies maintains its own collection specializing in contemporary China, housed in the H.C. Fung Library.

Wellesley College Library http://www.wellesley.edu/Library/Research/chinese.html. Wellesley’s collection is particularly useful for Chinese literature and media.

Several branches of the Boston Public Library, including the main branch at Copley Square, have decent basic collections of both English-language studies of China and Chinese-language popular works:  http://www.bpl.org/

The Chinese Cultural Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston maintains a Chinese-language library: http://www.ocac.gov.tw/boston/

Repositories - History of Chinese communities in New England.

Researchers should start off by consulting A Resource Guide to Researching Asian American History and Culture in New England, compiled by the Asian American Research Institute at UMass Boston. A PDF version may be downloaded at http://www.iaas.umb.edu/research/resource_guide.shtml. The following collections are of particular interest:

The Boston Historical Society and Museum http://www.bostonhistory.org/

The Massachusetts Historical Society http://www.masshist.org/welcome/

US National Archives and Research Administration, Northeast Region http://www.archives.gov/northeast/index.html

Chinese Historical Society of New England. Two Boylston Street, Suite G-3, Boston, MA 02116. (617) 338-4339.  Maintains archives, and offers a CHSNE/Waterman-Waring Scholarship to Chinese-American high school seniors planning to attend New England area colleges.

Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston http://www.iaas.umb.edu/. Sponsors a wide range of research projects on Asian communities in the Boston area and New England, and also works to promote community development.

Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum http://pem.org/museum/library.php. Houses a strong collection of printed material and manuscripts related to China trade, art, and general Chinese history (consult in particular the Frederick Townsend Ward and Herbert Offen collections.)

See also links under “Community and Outreach.”

Also keep in mind that many educational institutions in the Boston area have long histories of China connections, which are well worth exploring through university archives, special collections and alumni associations.