PhD candidate Aixin Yi co-organized panel at 2026 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies
With support from a CURA Travel Grant, Boston University PhD student Aixin Yi (GRS’28) traveled to Vancouver in March to present her research at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), the largest international conference in the field.
Yi co-organized the panel “What Can Christianity Do in a World at War?”, which examined how Christian communities in China and Japan responded to wartime crises through social welfare and cross-border cooperation. She presented her research on Christian rural reconstruction in wartime China, receiving valuable feedback that will inform her dissertation.
The conference also provided opportunities to connect with leading scholars in Chinese Christianity, participate in the Chinese Christianity Studies Group, and develop new collaborations. A chance meeting with a descendant of missionaries who served in Sichuan, the focus of Yi’s dissertation, has already led to the sharing of previously unknown primary source materials. She was also invited to discuss her research on a Chinese Christian podcast, expanding the public reach of her work.
Reflecting on the experience, Yi noted that CURA’s support transformed the conference into “a significant boost to both my research and professional development.”