Aims and History

The European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) is an international organisation representing China scholars from all over Europe. Currently it has more than 700 members. It was founded in 1975 and is registered in Paris. It is a non-profit organisation not engaging in any political activity.

Purpose

The purpose of the Association is to promote and foster, by every possible means, scholarly activities related to Chinese Studies in Europe. The EACS serves not only as the scholarly representative of Chinese Studies in Europe but also as contact organisation for academic matters in this field.

Activities

One of the Association’s major activities are the bi-annual conferences hosted by various centres of Chinese Studies in different European countries. The papers presented at these conferences comprise all fields from traditional Sinology to studies of modern China. In addition, summer schools and workshops are organised under the auspices of the EACS. The Association carries out scholarly projects on an irregular basis. Since 1995 the EACS has provided Library Travel Grants to support short visits for research in major sinological libraries in Western Europe. The scheme is funded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation and destined for PhD students and young scholars, primarily from Eastern European countries. The EACS furthers the careers of young scholars by awarding a Young Scholar Award for outstanding research. A jury selects the best three of the submitted papers, which are then presented at the next bi-annual conference. This scheme is also supported by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation.

Publications

The EACS issues a Newsletter twice a year (June and December). It publishes, among other items such as internal EACS affairs or conference announcements, surveys of Chinese Studies in various European countries as well as the results of scholarly projects and conference proceedings.

Organisation

The EACS is governed by a Board consisting of 24 members. These are elected by the members at the General Assembly held during the bi-annual conferences. The day-to-day administration is done by an Executive Committee made up of the President, the Secretary General, and the Treasurer. Further officers are a Vice-President, the Newsletter Editor, and the Webmaster. The President and Board members are elected for a period of two years. They may be re-elected for two further consecutive terms of office.