The Second Shanghai Jiao Tong University–Wesleyan University Bilateral Conference Concluded Successfully

On October 2–3, the second bilateral conference between Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Wesleyan University was held at Wesleyan University. Themed "Caring for Health and Well-Being: Literary, Institutional, and Philosophical Perspectives," the conference brought together scholars including Stephen C. Angle, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Fries Center for Global Studies at Wesleyan University; Tan Ying Jia, Associate Professor of History, Science and Technology Studies, and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University; Cai Wenjing, Vice Dean, and Guo Liandong, Professor, both of the School of Humanities, SJTU; Li Yite and Yao Siyu, tenure-track assistant professors at the School of Humanities; and Zhao Yiran, postdoctoral fellow at the School of Humanities, together with dozens of master's and doctoral students from both universities.

At the opening ceremony, Nicole Lynn Stanton, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wesleyan University, delivered welcoming remarks. She extended a warm welcome to the SJTU School of Humanities delegation and offered an overview of Wesleyan University. She expressed her hope that the two universities would further deepen their collaboration in joint student cultivation and international research projects.

Over the two days, scholars from both universities engaged in in-depth discussion on public health, conceptions of health, medical practice, and the relationship between medicine and artificial intelligence. Drawing on research cases from different historical periods and sociocultural contexts, they examined how knowledge of health is formed and what social impact it carries, and turned their attention to the role of literary and philosophical research in understanding illness and bodily experience. Cai Wenjing delivered the keynote lecture "Revisiting Freedom and Shame—A Phenomenological Perspective," which sparked lively interaction and sustained discussion among faculty and students.

The conference was supported by the Sha Ye Humanities Exchange Fund of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. In June 2025, SJTU and Wesleyan University jointly held the first bilateral conference in Shanghai, where they signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Student Exchange Program Agreement, laying the groundwork for academic exchange and talent development between the two universities. This year's conference continued the two universities' academic engagement in the humanities, effectively advancing interdisciplinary intellectual exchange and providing new opportunities for joint research and deeper collaboration in the humanities.