Rather than a pre-circulated paper before the seminar meeting, a paper will be circulated afterward. For inquiries, please contact earlychinaseminar.columbia@gmail.com.

Engineering and Defense in the Later Mohist Military Chapters: The Organization of People, Objects, and Landscapes
Erica Brindley (Pennsylvania State University)

The Early China Seminar adheres to the traditional definition of the word “seminar,” which derives from the Latin seminarium, meaning “a nursery for plants,” and ultimately from the Latin semen, or “seed.” In the true spirit of this meaning, the Early China Seminar is envisioned as a monthly meeting of scholars to discuss and exchange ideas that are still growing, and to create new ideas along the way. Thus, we especially welcome and encourage presentations that may not have fully formed and polished. We pledge to make the Seminar a safe arena for everyone to talk about nascent or incipient ideas. As part of this commitment to one another as a scholarly community, we ask everyone to respect the privacy and sanctity of the Seminar. This means that by requesting a copy of the seminar paper, you are committing yourself to respecting the intellectual property of the speaker as well as the participants by not circulating the paper, especially unpublished manuscripts, and the content of the Seminar without permission from the speaker and the Seminar participants.