Message from the Dean

Welcome to the IAS-Fudan website, the site of knowledge, thinking and mission.

Fudan Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences was established in 2008 with a mission to build a (n) inter/ (non-) disciplinary academic system with China-based academic criteria. On the founding principles of Fudan University—self-perfection and the cultivation of talents, the IAS-Fudan is committed to the attainment of human well-being and strives for academic excellence.  

Since 1840 China social sciences, as the think-tank of the national independence and prosperity, have been inextricably linked with the vicissitudes of Chinese people and undergone many upheavals. The last three decades since 1978 has witnessed the considerable growth of various disciplines. Despite remarkable intellectual breakthroughs made by numerous distinguished scholars, the fundamental autonomy of China social sciences remains to be achieved, as manifested by the lack of the original high-caliber works, the absence of Chinese problematic awareness and the low exposure to international dialogue. 

Today’s China in the global construct brings both challenges and opportunities to the growth of the social sciences. In its transition from theoretical import and replication, China social sciences must emancipate itself from two prevailing critical tendencies: one being the absence of Chinese awareness in the westernized global discourse and the other being the disciplinary dissection of China. Convinced in its constructive role in world transformation, IAS-Fudan aims at building new discourse system of social sciences by breaking the existing disciplinary barriers.  

Drawing on the experiences of the world famous institutes such as Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton, IAS-Fudan seeks to combine a variety of training and interactive modules such as work-shops, academic clubs, and international symposiums as well as critical journals in the hope that more junior scholars with global vision will be dedicated to in-depth theoretical research with Chinese commitment.

IAS-Fudan takes the initiative to usher in China’s access to the global academic community in the firm belief that Chinese wisdom will make a difference to the direction of the world development. We welcome you to share the joy of the independent thinking, the theoretical inquiry and the advances of human knowledge.

                                                                                                 Prof. Deng Zhenglai

                                                                                                              Dean

                                                                                                         IAS-Fudan