Early Career Researcher Workshops

The MCI Early Career Researcher workshops were initiated in 2019 by MCI postdoctoral researcher, Dr Tao Wang. The overall aim of these talks is to provide an informal, multidisciplinary forum to enable constructive feedback for early-career scholars studying Greater China. The talks not only provide speakers with a valuable platform to review ongoing research with peers and seniors, but also an opportunity to practice presenting for conferences or job openings. Each event comprises a thirty-minute presentation from the speaker and a subsequent Q&A session, with a tailored audience.  

Early Career Researchers

The talks are held in-person at regular intervals at the Manchester China Institute Building (178 Waterloo Place) and the MCI has an open invitation for all PhDs, postdocs, and lecturers from the Humanities to present their research related to the Chinese-speaking world. If you are interested to participate, please send an email to mci@manchester.ac.uk indicating your presentation topic and availability.


Recent ECR Talks at the MCI

Thu, 25 May 2023

"How is e-commerce exploited and harnessed to foster rural revitalisation in China? Evidence from less developed rural West China"

Yitian Ren, PhD Candidate in Planning, Property and Environmental Management, Manchester Urban Institute

Thu, 11 May 2023

"From Beijing to Amur – A four-border sphere in literature of exiles in Qing Northeast China"

 Tianshu Liu, Doctoral Researcher in Human Geography, University of Manchester

Thu, 20 April 2023

"Governance as Translation: A Case Study on the Governance of Dulongjiang Township"

Dr Tong Wu, Lecturer, Southwest Forestry University & Ye Tian, PhD Candidate in Translation Studies, Queen’s University Belfast; MCI Visiting Scholar

Wed, 8th February 2023

"Between Official and Vernacular Memory: Mediated Remembering of Han Migration to Xinjiang"

Dr Jin Dai, PhD in Media & Memory Studies, Loughborough University; MCI Visiting Scholar

Thu, 8th December 2022

"Rising Powers and Norm Contestation: Understanding China’s Approaches to Civilian Protection in Conflict-Affected Regions"

Qiaochu Zhang, PhD candidate in Politics at the University of Manchester

Thu, 1st December 2022

"The Chinese Christian Community in Britain: Spirituality, Unity & Division"

Yinxuan Huang, Research Fellow in Religion, London School of Theology

Thu, 10th November 2022

"How do Chinese students apply for UK universities?"

Ying Yang, PhD candidate in Education, University of Manchester

Tue, 7th June 2022

“Easter in Faraway China”: Orthodox Religious Celebrations and Chinese Orthodox Network Formation, 1900-1917

Anastasiia Akulich, PhD in History, University of Manchester

Tue, 17th May 2022

"Shiminhua: The Urbanisation of China’s Rural-Urban Migrants"

Joseph Hongsheng Zhao, PhD candidate in Land Economy, University of Cambridge

Thu, 28th April 2022

“It looked so attractive, and I couldn’t resist”: Porn-Watching Experiences Amongst Chinese Youth

Chong Liu, PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Leeds

Tue, 15th March 2022

"Do pay gaps between executives at different career stages shape firm performance? Evidence from China"

Chang Yang, Post-doctoral Fellow in Accounting, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Tue, 8th February 2022

"China’s Nascent Crime Victims’ Movement: A Study on the Parents of Missing Children"

Haiyun Zhao, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Oxford

Thu, 9th December 2021

"Spatial Order and Imagination in Hong Kong’s Umbrella and Anti-Extradition Bill Movements"

Leon Nelson Kunz, PhD in Politics, SOAS University of London

Fri, 12th November 2021

"UK-China Relations: The Role of British MPs in China Policy Making"

Mark Logan, PhD candidate in Politics, University of Manchester

Thu, 21st October 2021

"Pyrodrama in Manchester's Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and Changing Depictions of China"

Tracey May Boyce, PhD candidate in History, Manchester Metropolitan University

Wed, 17th March 2021

"A Better Experience, or a Better Investment? A Case Study of Chinese Students at a British Branch Campus in China"

Jingran Yu, Doctoral Researcher in Sociology, University of Manchester

Thu, 27th February 2020

"The ‘Coolie’ and the ‘Comity of Nations’: Human Trafficking, Foreign Advisors and the Incorporation of Qing China Into an Unequal Liberal Order"

Nicholas McGee, PhD Candidate in History, University of Toronto, Canada

Thu, 21st November 2019

"The Baton Effect of Internationalisation in a Chinese University"

Xi Xi, Doctoral Researcher in the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester

Wed, 13th November 2019

"Emotional Mobilization in Hong Kong: Contesting Chinese Patriotism in the Anti-National Education Campaign, 2011-2012"

Yun Tong Tang, PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Manchester

Tue, 15th October 2019

"Money Is Sweet When It Says Love"

Cong Peng, Research Associate in Social Psychology, University of Manchester