curriculum vitae

Personal data:

Born 1955, married to the writer and publisher Wolfgang M. Schwiedrzik, three children (born 1983, 1986 and 1994), since 2002 Professor of Sinology at the Department for East Asian Studies of the University of Vienna, Austria, since October 2010 Dean of the Faculty for Philological and Cultural Studies.

Academic career:

2004-2010 Vice Dean of the Faculty for Philological and Cultural Studies

1989-2002 Professor for Modern Sinology at the Center for Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg

1999-2001 Vice-President of the University of Heidelberg

1989 Habilitation approved by the Faculty of East Asian Studies, Ruhr-University, Bochum

1983-1989 Post-doc (Hochschulassistent) at the Faculty for East Asian Studies at Ruhr University, Bochum

1983   Doctoral promotion approved by the Faculty of East Asian Studies, Ruhr-University, Bochum

1979-1983 Pre-doc (Assistant m.d.V.b.) at the Faculty of East Asian Studies, Ruhr-University, Bochum

1978   MA at the Faculty for East Asian Studies, Ruhr-University Bochum

1977   Translator’s Diploma at the School for Oriental Languages, Bonn University

1973-1978 Undergraduate Studies of Sinology, Japanology and Political Science at universities in Bonn, Beijing and Bochum

1973   Graduation from Amos Comenius Gymnasium, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany

International affiliations:

1974-1978     Scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes)

1975-1977     DAAD scholarship for studies at Beijing University, Beijing, PRC

1978-1979     Scholarship for Doctoral Studies provided by the German National Academic Foundation

1980   DAAD scholarship for doctoral research at Beijing University, PRC

1984-1985 Research Fellow at the Center for Chinese Studies, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

1987   Research Fellow at Qinghua University, Beijing, PRC

1992   Research Fellow at the Center for the Humanities, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan and at Qinghua University, Beijing, PRC (sponsored by Volkswagenstiftung)

1996-2002 Grant of the Klaus Tschira Stiftung for the development of intercultural training programs

1997   Research Fellow at the Hong Kong University for Science and Technology, Hong Kong

1999   Research Fellow at the Center for Chinese Studies, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

2005   Madeleine H. Russell Visiting Professor for Non-Western and Comparative Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA

2006   Field studies in cooperation with Shihezi University in Xinyang County, AR Xinjiang, PRC (August/September 2006), sponsored by the Eurasia-Pacific University Network (EPU) in preparation of a three year project on Capacity Building in Health Care among Nomads in Xinjiang (sponsored by a FWF grant).

2007   Second field study (July 2007) in Xinyang County.

On-going research projects:

2011   Research grant on circular economy in China and Europe provided by the Austrian National Bank (ÖNB)

2010- Transitional Justice (in cooperation with National Chengchi University, Taipeh)

2009-2011 Neue Fischers Weltgeschichte: Geschichte Ostasiens im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert (in cooperation with Wolfgang Schwentker, Unviersity of Osaka)

2008   Research grant on Green GDP provided by the Austrian National Bank (ÖNB)

2006-2010 Capacity building in rural health care (in cooperation with Shihezi University, PRC)

Research interests:

History: 20th century Chinese and East Asian history, especially Chinese historiography

Political Science: Politics in the PRC, especially good governance in health care and environment, political economy of reform and opening since 1978

Cultural Studies: Trauma and memory, especially in the context of the Great Famine (1959-1961) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

Memberships

Member of the AAS, EACS, Historical Society of 20th Century China

Member of the Editorial Board of Pacific Affairs

Member of the Editorial Board of Twentieth Century China

Member of the Editorial Board of China Information

Member of the Editorial Board of Edition Weltregionen (Vienna)

Editor (together with Axel Schneider) of the Monograph Series: Chinese Historiography in Comparative Perspective (Leiden)

Elected member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Austrian Science Foundation

Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Modern East Asia Research Center at Leiden University

Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute for Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipeh

Delegate of the Österreichische Rektorenkonferenz (Rector’s Conference of Austrian Universities) to the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre for Asian Studies and Social Anthropology of the Austrian Academy of Science, Vienna (2007-2011)

Peer reviews for European Research Council, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei, University of California, Berkeley etc.