Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies

Promoting the study of contemporary China

The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS) plays a vital role in shaping an Australian approach to the study of contemporary China, and serves as a significant source of research-based information on China, Chinese societies and Chinese economies in the 21st century.

The Centre's mission is to transform our understanding of contemporary China and its place in the world, and to identify and nurture the young intellectual, business and political leaders who will guide the Australia-China relationship in coming decades. The Centre enhances Australia's bilateral partnerships with top Chinese universities and acts as a hub for contemporary China studies in Melbourne.

Directors Profile

Staff Profiles

Australia in the Asian Century

The University of Melbourne is at the forefront of Australian Research on China. The university has one of the oldest and largest Chinese Studies programs in Australia and is one of the largest concentrations of multi-disciplinary expertise on China and Chinese societies within Australasia.

Australia continues to debate how it should position itself in a world shaped by the rise of China. Domestically, Chinese investment in certain sectors is coming under increased scrutiny, while the Australian Government's response to the geopolitical implications of China's growing wealth and power has been uncertain. The end of the mining boom raises a whole new set of questions about how social, economic and political affairs in the Chinese century should be managed. As a focal point for the University's China expertise, the Centre can inform these debates and help guide business people, policy-makers, educators and the general public as they negotiate the Asian Century.

Objectives

1. To raise the profile and reputation of the University nationally and internationally by harnessing China-related research from within the Faculty of Arts and across the University
2. To provide a highly visible, interdisciplinary, research-focused nexus physically and virtually so as to create and support expert networks for local and international engagements within this area of research
3. To provide a framework and focal point for the University's extensive China and Chinese-related teaching, research and research training, and to lead and support the development of new China-related projects
4. To assist with the development and realisation of the University's strategy for an enhanced engagement with China and the Asia-Pacific region

Asia Scholars

The Asia Scholars Program provides new joint appointments across the Faculty of Arts, targeting outstanding scholars from the Asia region. The Program builds the Faculty's research, teaching and engagement profile through collaborative research projects and joint publications with scholars from the best universities in the Asia region.

The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies is pleased to host three Asia Scholars: Professor Ling Zhu (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Professor Yao Yang (Peking University) and Professor Martin K. Whyte (Harvard University). Yao Yang was at the Centre from mid-July to August 2017, after short visits in 2015 and 2016, strengthening the collaboration between the Centre and Peking University's National School of Development on China's economic transition and development. Martin Whyte joins the Centre (and the School of Social and Political Sciences) for three months in 2017 (February to May), continuing in 2018 and 2019 by contributing to teaching and collaborative research on the sociology of contemporary China.

Asia Scholars

The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS) welcomes applications from students to study for a PhD in Chinese Studies by research.

As The University of Melbourne's hub for Chinese Studies, the Centre provides students with an interdisciplinary, collaborative and rigorous research environment in which to pursue their interests. Addressing the challenges and opportunities of the Asian Century necessitates closer understanding of and partnership with China on a number of fronts. Understanding contemporary China is part of defining the contours of economic cooperation, such as through trade and investment and taxes; political collaboration such as effective diplomacy and sustainable security; and social connection through building peer-to-peer linkages and addressing shared social challenges such as an ageing population.

The Centre welcomes enquiries from graduate students with the requisite analytical skills in the social sciences who wish to pursue PhD thesis topics on contemporary China’s economy, politics, society and environment. Our team of early career and established researchers can supervise students on topics including economic development, public finance, public administration, governance, trade and security, social policy (health, education, housing), urbanisation (land use, zoning, rural-to-urban migration), agricultural development, environmental management and other topics.

Initial enquiries should be directed to china-centre@unimelb.edu.au

The table below lists students currently undertaking PhD studies with the Centre and the title of their theses.

Name		Titles	Contact	Supervisor
Randong Yuan		Exploring options for Social Security Reform in China: A Quantitative Simulation approach with Subnational Modelling	randong.yuan@unimelb.edu.au	Professor Christine Wong
Zhenjie Yuan		Spatiality, education and subjectivity: prescription, negotiation and the spatial politics of interethnic interactions in a Xinjiangban school	zhenjiey@student.unimelb.edu.au	Dr Lewis Mayo
Lei Yu		Affordable housing provision in Chinese cities: a solution for whom?	lei.yu@unimelb.edu.au	Professor Christine Wong
Xiao (Monica) Tan		Towards enhanced primary care system in China: Redefining the Governments role	xtan2@student.unimelb.edu.au	Professor Christine Wong
Tianru Guan		Political communication space in the Chinese context — a case study of the Chinese media’s reporting and discussion of Sino-Japanese relations	tguan@student.unimelb.edu.au	Dr Sow Keat Tok
Ted Liu		As assertive China in the Middle East to North Africa: more autonomy for the Arab States?	tedl@student.unimelb.edu.au	Dr Sow Keat Tok
Tianyang Liu		The Politics of the Self: Regulatory Representation of Terrorism in the Xinjiang Region	tianyangl1@student.unimelb.edu.au	Dr Sow Keat Tok
Song Yao		Explaining the Actorness of Chinese Provincial Governments: the Case Study of Yunnan	songy3@student.unimelb.edu.au	Dr Sow Keat Tok

Scholarships

Applicants should also consider Australian Postgraduate Awards and other scholarship opportunities at the university while applying for the Oriental Studies Trust Fund.

Oriental Studies Trust Fund

The Oriental Studies Trust Fund - Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies Scholarship is a living allowance to be awarded annually to students who have applied for admission to or are currently enrolled in a PhD degree at The University of Melbourne on a topic related to public policy, economics and society related to Chinese public policy.

Applications for this scholarship are not currently open.

For more information please email China Centre.

Taiwan Ministry of Education APEC Scholarship

The Ministry of Education in Taiwan is partnering with universities to offer a scholarship to students of the member economies of APEC for a PhD candidate or postdoctoral research fellow.

For more information please see the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) scholarship flyer

Further details are available on the APEC Education Portal.
Enquiries should be emailed to australia@mail.moe.gov.tw

Subjects available in 2018

Graduate Coursework
Semester 1

Social Change in Contemporary China (ASIA90014)
Professor Martin Whyte
This subject presents an overview of the patterns of social life in China and how these have changed since the revolution in 1949. The socialist transformations led by Mao Zedong after 1949 and the market and other reforms led by Deng Xiaoping after 1978 receive equal emphasis. Topics covered include political institutions, economic policies and work organizations, rural social life, urban life and urbanization, religion, family life, population, gender relations, schooling, and inequality patterns. The course will be taught by Martin Whyte, a sociologist from Harvard University and Asia Scholar at the University of Melbourne who specializes in research on social change in post-1949 China. Prof. Whyte’s lectures will focus on both the origins and dynamics of social change in China as well as current issues and debates spawned by these changes. Documentary films dealing with contemporary social patterns and trends in China may be shown outside of class hours.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Graduate Coursework
Semester 2

China and the Environment (ASIA900016)
Dr Sarah Rogers
This subject provides an introduction to the key environmental challenges in contemporary China and to China’s environmental governance. The subject is structured around four topics: water resources, land resources, air pollution, and energy andclimate change. For each of these topics lectures and tutorials will analyse impacts, policy and governance arrangements, citizen and NGO involvement, government and media discourse, and international linkages. Students will be introduced to key theoretical debates in China studies, development studies and human geography to help them understand the complexities of China’s environmental challenges. Using the environment as a lens, students will gain an understanding of politics and state-society relations in contemporary China.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

China's Economic and Social Development (ASIA90011)
Professor Christine Wong
This subject examines China’s economic and social development experience from a generally economic standpoint. Contents include: patterns of traditional Chinese society and economy; geography and resource constraints, development since 1949, the transition to a market economy and contemporary problems and options.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Contemporary China (ASIA90017)
This subject provides an introduction to Contemporary China, focusing on the economy, politics, society, and China’s changing role in the world. Topics will include China’s economic history from the early 20th Century, its geography and resource constraints, the Maoist economy, market reforms, migration and urbanization, global economic integration, and China's future.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Rising China in the Globalised World (INTS90007)
Dr Sow Keat Tok
This subject looks at the impact of a rising China in the globalised world. It examines contemporary China's relations with various powers, regions and global institutions, particularly in the context of its phenomenal rise in the last fourdecades. The subject also explores key issues related to China's rise: state-society relations, economic development, participation in regional and global institutions, disputes and conflict resolution etc.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Asia and the World (ASIA90008)
Dr Sow Keat Tok
This is an advanced introduction to international politics in Asia. The subject explores the shift of global power to Asia and and provides a broad coverage of the regions relations with the great powers and international/regional institutions, including important issues like democratisation, economic globalisation and security. The course consists of three sections. The first section provides historical reviews of developments in Asia through understanding the roles played by external powers, and how the Asian powers are aligned both vertically (historically) and horizontally (across a specific historical juncture). Section two examines the issue of economic globalisation after the 1990s, particularly the rise of China and India. These seminars also cover Asia’s responses to economic globalisation by looking at particular reforms at the state level and initiatives at the regional level. The last section investigates topical interests related to Asia: democratisation, the environment, energy security and other security issues.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Undergraduate Subjects
Semester 2

China Since Mao (CHIN20008)
Dr Sow Keat Tok
This subject examines cultural and social tendencies in contemporary China, and shows how they have developed from the socialist system. It analyses the culture of China's different social groups - men, women, young people, workers, farmers, the elites, minorities, intellectuals and business people. It aims to give a sense of the contemporary Chinese cultural landscape and how this has been analysed by scholars.

For further information please see the Handbook entry

Understanding Contemporary China

The Centre provides a focal point for China-related research across The University of Melbourne and leads an inter-disciplinary program on contemporary Chinese public policy, economics, environment, and society.

Our four research themes are:

• Governance, public policy, & domestic economy
• Agriculture & environment
• Civil society & social change
• Global China

The latest publications by Centre staff can be found on our New Staff Publications page.

Open access Research Briefs summarise the latest research from our staff and other scholars of contemporary China.

The Centre also supports the Chinese Studies Research Group.

A poverty resettlement project in Shaanxi Province — Sarah Rogers, 2018.

An NGO-led eco-tourism and local capacity building project in Amdo, southern Gansu Province – Fengshi Wu, 2018.

Coffee plantation adjacent to the Nu River, Yunnan Province — Zoe Wang, 2017

Resettlement village near the Bui dam in Ghana — Xiao Han, 2015.