Circulatory histories in focus: Scholars gather to reflect a legacy of transformative ideas
In August 2025, more than 30 former and current students of Prasenjit Duara, Oscar L. Tang Family Distinguished Professor of East Asian Studies at Duke University, gathered at Duke to celebrate his enduring scholarly legacy (and his 75th birthday). The event blended the intellectual rigor of an academic conference with the collegial air of a multi-generation reunion. It highlighted Duara’s profound impact on the fields of history, particularly Asian history, and transnational studies.
Held over two days, the conference theme, “Global China: Circulatory Currents in History and Culture,” reflected Duara’s interdisciplinary approach, which interrogates how sovereignty, empire, and modernity have been constructed, negotiated, and contested across different historical and cultural contexts, though with particular focus on China. His more recent work on environmental history and the material infrastructures of empire also informed several discussions, connecting ecological and economic questions to regional and multinational histories.
The highlight of the conference was Professor Duara’s keynote address which illuminated some of his personal history alongside his contributions to the field over time and in multiple places around the world. He concluded by presenting his diagram of an “epistemic engine,” depicting the historical, spatial, and political structures that both enable and constrain human actions. The conference honored Professor Duara’s lifetime of scholarship by showcasing the central role he played throughout his life in guiding new generations of scholars. The event modeled a rich, multifaceted approach to understanding a global history that transcends borders and conventional categories, shedding light on the realities of modern East Asia.
A more detailed summary of the conference can be found on the conference website.