From August 3 to 6, 2015, jointly organized by the School of International Studies of Peking University, Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (formerly known as Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange) of Peking University and Department of Political Science of the University of Chicago, the second session of the PKU-UChicago Summer Institute on IR Theory and Method was successfully held. Top teachers from the University of Chicago, Peking University, Princeton University and other universities jointly taught at the UChicago Center in Beijing, bringing an academic “feast” of theories and methods in international relations to young students and scholars at home and abroad.
Professor Wang Yizhou, Deputy Dean of School of International Studies, Peking University, and Professor Dali L. Yang, Director of the UChicago Center in Beijing, delivered speeches, introducing the cooperation between Peking University and the University of Chicago, and extended welcome to more than 130 students from various countries. The four-day summer session included 23 courses, covering such fields as methodology, game theory, the theory of international relations, international security, international political economy, and China’s diplomacy. Professor Robert Pape from the Department of Political Science of the University of Chicago described the construction of causal logic in international relations studies. Professor Andrew Moravcsik from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University introduced the latest trend of “digitalized citation” in qualitative research. Professor Andrew Kydd from the Department of Political Science of the University of Wisconsin-Madison taught the game theory and its application in international relations. Other professors from the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of British Columbia, Mcgill University and the National University of Singapore also gave wonderful lectures. Moreover, teachers from School of International Studies, Peking University including Wang Yizhou, Zhang Xiaoming, Zha Daojiong, Zhang Qingmin, Yu Tiejun, Wang Dong and Jie Dalei gave lectures and conducted experience exchanges on theories and methods of China’s international relations, China’s international political economy, China’s international security studies and China’s new diplomacy. In addition to traditional courses, the summer session is also interspersed with round-table discussions on the objectives of theoretical research on international relations, academic writing and female roles in academic researches to enable students to further listen to the exchanges and debates among different scholars. The summer session also set up a “workshop” session, which not only provided a platform for some young doctoral students to share their research results, but also enabled students to participate in practical discussions on how to produce knowledge products through criticism and refinement.
At the end of the four-day session, a brief but warm ceremony was held to award the certificate of completion. Professor Pape from the University of Chicago and Wang Dong, Executive Deputy Director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding, Peking University (formerly known as Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange), jointly awarded the certificate of completion to the students.
The summer program attracted more than 130 young scholars, masters, doctoral students and undergraduates from China, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Mexico, Thailand and other countries. Each class aroused active questions and positive thinking from the students. Many students said that one of the biggest gains of attending this summer program is to be able to engage in close academic exchange with top scholars in the field of international relations, and to gain an in-depth understanding of the logical and empirical importance of social science research in the exchange of ideas.
Through this summer program, the students broadened their horizons, deepened their understanding of the research methods of international relations, and laid a sound foundation for their further study and research in the future. The summer program is an important cooperation project between Peking University and the University of Chicago, as well as another successful example of China-US people-to-people exchange and educational cooperation. It helps to enhance China’s international voice and influence in the field of international relations research and humanities and social sciences.
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