Lecture by James Miller, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Graduate Program in Cultural Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.
October 25, 2016
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
University at Buffalo North Campus
Clemens 120
Buffalo, NY 14260 United States
As China charts a path towards an “ecological civilization,” and a rise to global superpower status, it is in the process of creating a new and uniquely Chinese form of modernity. This form of modernity includes economic development and rapid urbanization, but with lower carbon intensity and fewer environmental costs. It also includes a new dialog with China’s traditions, including the rehabilitation of traditional Chinese forms of culture and religion. How are these two aspects of the new Chinese modernity related? Can China’s rich cultural traditions inform its goals of a peaceful economic development while preserving the environment? This presentation focuses on Daoism, China’s indigenous religious tradition, to ask how Chinese traditions can contribute to the development of a new and ecologically sensitive Chinese modernity.
James Miller is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the interdisciplinary graduate program in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He is a leading scholar of Chinese religions, and especially the views of nature and environment in Daoist philosophy and religion. He has published five books including most recently a co-edited volume on Religion and Ecological Sustainability in China (Routledge 2014). He is co-chair of the Religion and Ecology group of the American Academy of Religion.
This event is free and open to the public.
Organized by the Confucius Institute, University at Buffalo