Kevin Bockholt

The character 通 (tōng), meaning “to connect” or “to communicate”, aptly encapsulates the main theme of my research endeavors. In my dissertation titled “Chinese Reporting on the First World War (1914-1919)”, 通 symbolizes the efforts of journalists of that era to keep communication channels to Europe open and bridge the distances to the battlefields, thereby enabling Chinese audiences to comprehend the conflict and making China part of the global discourse on the war.

通 is equally significant in my current involvement in the project Writing History with China, which aims to integrate Chinese historiographical discussions into Western academia. Within this project, my primary focus lies in exploring how Chinese historians conceptualize and reinterpret modes and dynamics of transcultural interactions.