On the evening of November 2nd, 2020, "International History of Cold War in Archives", the first Selected Short Course for Graduate Students at Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University (IIAS-THU), was launched at Conference Room 205 of the Central Main Building. Prof. Shen Zhihua, a well-recognized historian, was invited as the keynote speaker in this event, who covered a wide range of international relations in the historical archives, including Sino-US, Sino-Soviet, Sino-North Korea, Sino-Mongolia, Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Prof. Shen started with the compilation and utilization of historical archives in the first session. He focused on the vital role of historical archives in academic research and put forward the important concept that archives are not history, while the research and utilization of archives can represent and even create history. Prof. Shen explained the cataloging, classification, segmentation and utilization of historical archives, which involved not only the general principles and rules in archives studies, but also valuable experiences and lessons in the utilization of international historical archives. He also gave specific guidance on how to write excellent academic articles with substantial arguments on the basis of solid and extensive archival data collection and research.
During the Q&A session, doctorate students at IIAS actively interacted with Prof. Shen on current management conditions of historical archives in various countries in the world, the problems of historical archives in Southeast Asia, the challenges of archives collection, the cataloguing of archives and computer-aided archives research.
The first session of the short course "International History of the Cold War in Archives" kicked off with the compilation and utilization of archives and combined theoretical significance with practical experience. It helped enrich research ideas and provided specific research methodologies, which deeply impressed the doctorate students on the spot.
One of the leading historians in China, Prof. Shen Zhihua serves as Tenured Professor at the Department of History, Director of Cold War History Research Center and Director of Institute for Studies of China's Neighboring Countries and Regions at East China Normal University. He is also Member of the Academic Committee of Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University and acts as Research Fellow or Honorary Research Fellow at National Institute of International Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Renmin University of China, University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prof. Shen’s research interest includes Sino-Soviet relations, Sino-Korean relations, Korean War, Chinese diplomacy and Soviet diplomacy. His books, including Mao Zedong, Stalin and Korean War, Helpless Choice: Cold War and the Destiny of Sino-Soviet Alliance and The Last “Celestial Empire”, are published in Chinese, English, Japanese and Russian, which have extensive academic influence at home and abroad.
By: Du Moran
