2026 | Korea, East Asia and the World: Neo-Confucianism in Comparative Perspective
Conference dates: 15 - 18 October, 2026
Brasenose College, University of Oxford
The overarching ambition of the conference is to build further links between Korean intellectual history and the field of global history by establishing connections and comparisons with the rest of East Asia and the wider world. It will do this through a reappraisal of the role of Neo-Confucianism, the dominant intellectual movement in East Asia of the long early modern period before the rise of European imperialism. Arising in China during the Song dynasty (960-1279), neo- Confucianism became the dominant ideology of the Chinese state until the early-twentieth century. It was successfully exported across east Asia, to Vietnam, Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) and Joseon Korea (1392-1897), where it had a particularly profound impact, becoming the undisputed ideological basis of Joseon rule. This conference, in partnership with scholars from Korea University, offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary and international exchange on recent developments in Korean scholarship on this subject.
Associated Researchers:
Professor Alan Strathern, Faculty of History
Dr Ross Moncrieff, Faculty of History
This project is funded through the TORCH International Partnership Scheme.
TORCH International Engagement
