This past summer (June-September, 2023), PIETRA PhD student Xiaojing Zheng went on a three-month research stay in the Boston College, in the United States. She reflects on this enriching experience:
“The three months I spent in the Ricci Institute were truly immersive and fruitful, as I accessed primary sources ranging from woodblocks made in the 1850s to printed books produced by Tushanwan Press. After giving a talk about my research within the PIETRA project, I received valuable feedback from the scholars affiliated with the Institute and started to develop a much clearer idea about the plan of my PhD thesis. I also attended seminars and lectures given by scholars in my field, who have conducted research in Chinese-Christian exchanges across different historical periods. All of these helped me immensely to further my project.”
Xiaojing is now back at the University of Galway and is working assiduously on the first chapter of her thesis.