LEUVEN, Belgium — Professor Chen Li, director of the Irish Studies Center at the School of English and International Studies (SEIS), and doctoral student Liu Yukun took part in The Future of Irish Studies, an international symposium hosted June 26–30 at KU Leuven and co-organized by the Keough‑Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame and KU Leuven’s Irish Studies Center. The gathering convened leading voices in the field to consider new directions for research, teaching, and collaboration.
In a keynote address titled “Irish Studies in China: Development and Challenges,” Chen outlined the rapid growth of the field in China alongside headwinds facing the humanities—such as constrained funding and uneven development—and highlighted practical pathways for cooperation, including scholarly exchange, shared resources, and network building.
Professor Chen Li delivers a keynote at “The Future of Irish Studies,” KU Leuven.
Chen also contributed to two thematic roundtables, “Funding and Resources” and “Global Interdisciplinary Alliance for Irish Studies,” which explored sustainable models for institutional partnership and field-building across regions.
Doctoral student Liu Yukun participated in the Ph.D. forum “Globalization and Ireland’s Global Influence,” part of the symposium’s New Directions track, sharing emerging research and connecting with peers from across continents.
Doctoral forum “Globalization and Ireland’s Global Influence” highlights new work by early‑career scholars.
The symposium drew more than 100 scholars from 25 countries and regions, providing a platform to share new work and map the field’s next chapter.
SEIS’s participation reflects the school’s long-standing strengths in area studies. The Irish Studies Center sits within a network of research centers that support scholarship across literature, linguistics, translation, and regional studies.
(School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University.)
