On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Jian Ren successfully defended his dissertation titled "Dancing at the Periphery: Knowledge and Experiments in China-Latin America Relations, 1949-1989". The dissertation committee consisted of committee chair Kathleen López and members David Foglesong, Aldo Lauria-Santiago, and Adrian Hearn of the University of Melbourne.
“Dancing at the Periphery” explores the evolving relationship between China and Latin America from 1949 to 1989. Drawing on a wide range of previously unexamined archival materials from China, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States, this dissertation examines the creation of Latin American Studies in China in the 1950s, China’s involvement in the Cuban Revolution, Chinese connections with Chile in the 1960s, the role of Latin American diplomats in China in the 1970s, and the deepening of Chinese-Latin American ties in the 1980s. It examines how the exchange of ideas, goods, and people during this period shaped how Chinese officials understood Latin America, as well as how Latin American politicians, entrepreneurs, Chinese immigrants, and the public perceived China.
Additionally, Dr. Ren will be joining the Hoover History Lab in Fall 2025 at the Hoover Institution in Stanford University as a Research and Teaching Fellow. For this position, he will be associated with the Hoover History Lab’s project “Global Futures – History, Statecraft, System” and help teach a Stanford University undergraduate course under this project. During the fellowship, Dr. Ren will revise his dissertation "Dancing at the Periphery" into a scholarly book.
CLAS sends their congratulations to Dr. Jian Ren for defending his dissertation and for his upcoming position at Stanford Univeristy!