Event Details
WHAT: "Empires: Retrospects and prospects on their rise and fall", a Zoom talk by Prof. Felipe Fernรกndez-Armesto
WHEN: 7-8 PM Beijing Time, Tuesday 10th March (online)
ABOUT THE EVENT: Renowned historian Felipe Fernรกndez-Armesto raises problems about the nature of empires and the historical relationship between imperial and post-imperial China and other great powers. China's global ambitions cannot be understood simply as a return to empire or as an imitation of Western models, but as a hybrid shaped by deep historical habits and modern constraints. The future is unlikely to belong to empires as we have known them, but neither will it belong to a world that has fully escaped their shadow.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Felipe Fernรกndez-Armesto studied History at the University of Oxford and pursued his academic career at the Faculty of Modern History from 1981 to 2000. After Oxford, he held academic positions as Professor of Global Environmental History at Queen Mary College, University of London, and as the Prince of Asturias Professor of History at Tufts University in Boston. In 2009 he joined the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame, where he is William P. Reynolds Professor of Historyโa role he continues to hold, with concurrent appointments in Classics and, more recently, History and Philosophy of Science.
Many works by Felipe Fernรกndez-Armesto have appeared in Chinese translations. His most recent books are Straits (2022), The Oxford History of the World (2023) and (with M. Lucena) How the Spanish Empire Was Built (2025). He has won, among other prizes, the Caird Medal, the John Carter Brown Gold Medal, the IACP Prize, and Spainยดs national prizes for geographical research and food-writing. The King of Spain awarded him the Grand Cross of Alfonso the Wise in 2016.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Alan Babington-Smith is President RASBJ. His MA from Cambridge University in Economics and History included study of the rise and fall of European global empires.
HOW MUCH: Free for members of RASBJ; 50RMB for members of RAS partner branches: 100 RMB for non-members. Alipay may be an easier payment method than WeChat. You can also pay by credit card. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships/
HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Those who want to attend should click "Register" or "I will attend" and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event online. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. Members of partner RAS Branches: Please register 72 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification. You'll receive three emails from us: the first confirming receipt of your registration request, the second requesting payment, and the third confirming receipt of your payment, with a link to join the event online. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.
REFUND POLICY: If the event is cancelled by RASBJ, registrants will be refunded in full.
