The Australian Studies Centre of Beijing Foreign Studies University, established in 1983, is one of the first of such centres in China. The Centre hosted the first Australian studies conference in China in 1988 and initiated the establishment of the national association. Professor Hu Wenzhong, the former director of the Centre, had been the president of the Australian Studies Association of China since its founding until 2000. From 2004 to 2010, Prof. Du Xuezeng was the president of the Australian Studies Association of China. Currently, Assoc. Prof. Li Youwen, director of foreign affairs of BFSU, is the director of the Centre. She has also been the secretary-general of the Australian Studies Association of China since 2004.

In addition to offering courses on Australian history, society and culture at the undergraduate level, the Centre focuses on the development of postgraduate programs of Australian studies. There are around 20 postgraduates at the Centre.
Faculty Members of the BFSU Australian Studies Centre:

HU Wenzhong,Professor
Area of Interest: Australian Literature, Cross-cultural Communication

DU Xuezeng, Professor
Area of Interest: Australian Language undefinedamp; Culture

COLIN Mackerras, Visiting Professor
Area of Interest: China-Australia Relations, Australian Foreign Policies

LI Youwen, Assoc. Professor
Area of Interest: Australian Cinema, Culture, Multiculturalism

DAI Ning, Assoc. Professor
Area of Interest: Australian Politics, Diplomacy, Education

CHEN Lanfang, Assoc. Professor
Area of Interest: Australian History

XIA Yuhe, Assoc. Professor
Area of Interest: Australian Society, Nationalism

LI Jianjun, Lecturer
Area of Interest: Australian Literature

DOU Wei, Lecturer, PhD Candidate
Area of Interest: Australian Women Studies

ZHOU Dujuan, Lecturer, PhD Candidate
Area of Interest: Australian Society, Politics, IC Mass Communication

HU Dan, Lecturer, PhD Candidate
Area of Interest: Australian Legal System
MA Courses Offered by the BFSU Australian Studies Centre:

Australian History

Australian Society and Culture

Australian Language and Culture

History of Australian Literature

Australian Cinema

Australian Politics

Australian Nationalism

Research Methods

Social Theories

Social Issues

Australian Foreign Policies

China-Australia Relations

Western Images of China
Australian Academics and Scholars Who Have Taught at BFSU Australian Studies Centre

Colin Mackerras (Griffith University)

Ann Aungels (Wollongong University)

Stan Aungels (Wollongong University)

Chilla Bulbeck (Adelaide University)

Mark Finnane (Griffith University)

David Carter (University of Queensland)

Nicholas Jose (writer)

Wayne Hudson (Griffith University)

Georgina Murray (Griffith University)

Ken Armitage (Griffith University)

Robyn Iredale (Wollongong University)

ACC Funded Competitive Projects:

Australian Cinema in the Multicultural Context (1998)

Preparation of a Postgraduate Course on Sociology and Contemporary Australian Society (2001)

Presentations by BFSU Students at University of Melbourne Mass Historia Conference (2001)

Australian Studies in China’s Academic Field (2002)

Restorative Justice in Australia: Perspectives and Evaluations (2002)

Translation and publication of Exploring Australia in China (2003)

Australia through the Eyes of the Chinese (2003)

Athlete Career and Education: Elite Sport in Modern Australian Society (2004)

The Australian Greens and Australian Environmental Movement (2004)

Understanding Australia Website: Translation (2004)

Australian Foreign Policy towards Asia after the Asian Economic Crisis (2004)

Gender and the Australian Government’s Information Policy in the 1990s (2005)

Tourist Poster Representations of Ethnicity and Ethnic Culture in Australia and China (2005)

A Critical Study of Australia’s Cultural Tourism Strategy for the 2000 Olympic Games (2005)

Research on the Images of Australia Constructed in Chinese Newspapers Since 2000 (2006)

Gender and Suburbia: A critical examination of the impact of changing suburbia in identity construction of Australian women since the fifties (2006)

From Periphery to Centre: an Inquiry into Australia’s response to the Female Asylum Issue (2007)

Australian Women’s Leadership in Green Non-Governmental Organisations (2007)

Creating Themselves: A Critical Study of the Feature Films Directed by Australian Aboriginal Filmmakers since the 1990s (2007)

A Documentary Analysis of Australian Multicultural Policy under the Howard Government (2008)

Publication of “Australia Through the Eyes of the Chinese” (2009)

Primary resources and Australian values: media analysis of attitudes to the export of energy products to China (2009)

Caring for water vulnerability and integrated water resources management in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia (2009)

An analysis of Australian Government’s involvement in sustainable Indigenous tourism (2010)

Diversity in harmony – 20 years of Australian Studies in China (2010)

A New Anthology of Australian Literature (2011)

Publications on Australian Studies: selected titles

Australian History 1788-1942, Beijing Publishing House, 1992.

Collected Papers on Australian Studies in China, Xiamen University Press, 1992.

Australian Society on the Screen, FLTRP, 1993.

A Chinese Perspective on Australian Literature, FLTRP, 1994.

“Monolingualism VS Multilingualism in Australia,” 1998.

“Australian National Identity and Multiculturalism,” 1998.

Australian Language and Culture, FLTRP, 2000.

“Girls Own Stories？” 2000.

“Australian Slang — A Mirror of Oz History,” 2001.

“Australian National Cinema,” 2001.

“A Note on Christina Stead and China,” 2003.

“Mate and Mateship in Australian Society,” 2004.

“Teaching Australian Studies in China – a cross-cultural communication perspective,” 2004.

“A More Open Mindset for A Brighter Future: Australian Policies and Practice on International Education Business in China,” 2004.

“The Representation of China in Christina Stead’s Novels,” 2004.

“A Chinese-Australian Intellectual’s Ambivalence towards Australia in Ouyang Yu’s Eastern Slope Chronicle,” 2004.

“Images of Australia in Selected Chinese Newspapers,” 2005.

“American Influence on Australian English,” 2006.

“Making it National,” 2006.

“Representing Australianness to the Chinese Audience,” 2008.

“Cronulla Riots: A New Round of Debate on Australian National Identity,” 2008.

“Man Proposes and God Disposes-Commonwealth Expansion in the Development of Australian Federal System,” 2008.

Society and Culture of the English-speaking Countries (Part III Australia), FLTRP, 2008.

Exploring Australia, FLTRP, 2008.

Australia Through the Eyes of the Chinese, Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 2009.

Pictures

Chinese and Australian recipients of the inaugural Australia-China Council Awards: Prof. Colin Mackerras (third from left), Prof. Hu Wenzhong (third from right), Adelaide, 1999.

Professor Du Xuezeng’s Australian Language and Culture won 2002 ACC Book Prize

The library of the Australian studies at BFSU

BFSU students meeting with Gough Whitlam, Melbourne, 2001.