Professor Maria Jaschok FGCA has been elected as Chair of the Global China Academy Board of Trustees

The Global China Academy (GCA) is pleased to announce that Professor Maria H.A. Jaschok has been elected as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees. This appointment, made on 23rd February 2024 during the GCA Board of Trustees meeting, signifies an important moment for the Academy 2.0. With Professor Jaschok taking on the role of Chair, the Academy looks forward to leveraging her considerable experience and expertise. Her leadership is anticipated to contribute to the Academy’s ongoing efforts to promote academic and cultural exchanges, thereby deepening the understanding and cooperation between China and the global society. Professor Jaschok’s rich research background and dedication to interdisciplinary studies position her well to lead the Academy into its next stage of growth. 

About the new chair

Professor Maria H.A. Jaschok 叶玛丽教授 (PhD, London/SOAS) is a Life Fellow of the Global China Academy. Currently, she is a Senior Research Associate in Contemporary China Studies at OSGA and serves as a Supervisor and Tutor for the MSt in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Oxford. Most recently, she held a Visiting Professorship at King’s College, London, from 2019 to 2021. She was also the Director of the International Gender Studies Centre at Lady Margaret Hall from 2000 to 2018.

Her research interests are in the areas of gendered constructions of memory; feminist and aural ethnography; innovative research methodologies and uses of oral history in the writing of women’s history in Asian contexts. Long years of close research partnerships and friendships in the field engendered interest in feminist theorizing and ethnographic methodology and led to writing on collaborative modes of cross-cultural research and authorship. She is a member of many international academic and professional organizations, serving on steering committees, editorial and advisory boards. 

See more about Professor Maria Jaschok on her webpage at the University of Oxford website: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/find-an-expert/professor-maria-jaschok.

Recent publication 

Professor Maria Jaschok is co-editer of the book Ethnographies of Islam in China (2021). In the late 1970s Islam regained its force by generating novel forms of piety and forging new paths in politics throughout the world, including China. The Islamic revival in China, which came to fruition in the 2000s and the 2010s, prompted increases in government suppression but also intriguing resonances with the broader Muslim world – from influential theoretical and political contestations over Muslim women’s status, the popularization of mass media and the appearance of new patterns of consumption, to increases in transnational Muslim migration. Although China does not belong to the ‘Islamic world’ as it is conventionally understood, China’s Muslims have strengthened and expanded their global connections and impact. Such significant shifts in Chinese Muslim life have received scant scholarly attention until now. With contributions from a wide variety of scholars – all sharing a commitment to the value of the ethnographic approach – this volume provides the first comprehensive account of China’s Islamic revival since the 1980s as the country struggled to recover from the wreckage of the Cultural Revolution.

The authors show the multifarious nature of China’s Islam revival, which defies any reductive portrayal that paints it as a unified development motivated by a common ideology, and demonstrate how it was embedded in China’s broader economic transition. Most importantly, they trace the historical genealogies and sociopolitical conditions that undergird the crackdown on Muslim life across China, confronting head-on the difficulties of working with Muslims – Uyghur Muslims in particular – at a time of intense religious oppression, intellectual censorship, and intrusive surveillance technology. With chapters on both Hui and Uyghur Muslims, this book also traverses boundaries that often separate studies of these two groups, and illustrates with great clarity the value of disciplinary and methodological border-crossing. As such Ethnographies of Islam in China will be essential reading for those interested in Islam’s complexity in contemporary China and its broader relevance to the Muslim world and the changing nature of Chinese society seen through the prism of religion.

Recent activities

Professor Maria Jaschok chaired the Reception at the 10th Global China Academy anniversary celebration in conjunction with the conclusion of the 8th Global China Dialogue (GCD8) at the Lords of the House in the UK Parliament on 8th December 2023. At the reception, the launch of the Global China Academy and Global Century Press‘s two new websites was announced and briefly introduced by Professor Xiangqun Chang 常向群教授 FRSA FGCA, President of the Global China Academy; Honorary Professor at University College London (2015-2020); and Distinguished Professor at Nankai University, China.

During the 8th Global China Dialogue (GCD 8), Professor Maria Jaschok, along with speakers and volunteers from GCD 8, visited the university campus and enjoyed tea at the home of Professor Robin Cohen FGCA. The top two photos show Professor Li Xuelin FGCA, an architect, and Professor Jaschok, an anthropologist, engaging in dialogues, enjoying the rich history, beautiful architecture, and academic excellence of the place. They also visited the Dickson Poon University of Oxford China Centre together. The photo at the bottom shows GCA Fellows, speakers of GCD 8, and volunteers with Professor Robin Cohen and his wife Selina Cohen at their home. They enjoyed tea together and had a lively exchange and conversation. Click here to view more details.

Professor Jaschok’s selection reflects the Board of Trustees’ confidence in her ability to steer the Academy towards fulfilling its objectives with a commitment to maintaining high standards and fostering innovation.The Global China Academy looks forward to the invaluable insights and leadership Professor Jaschok will bring to her role as Chair of the Board of Trustees, steering the Academy towards new heights of academic excellence and global impact.