September 16, 2016 at 11:02 am

Hill Presents on ‘Right to Bear Arms in Early Chinese Republic’

Participants at the 2016 Institute of Modern History’s Young Scholars Forum on the History of the Republic of China.

This past August, Dr. Joshua Hill, Assistant Professor of History, recently gave a talk on “The ‘Right to Bear Arms’ in the Early Chinese Republic” at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Modern History in Beijing.

He discussed the curious (and little known) appearance of “Second Amendment”-style protections for private ownership of firearms in 1920s China.

Hill’s paper, part of his scholarly explorations of the history of citizenship and democratic thought in modern China, was presented as part of the Institute of Modern History’s Young Scholars Forum on the History of the Republic of China. This international conference brought together scholars from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States to share methods, ideas, and materials for the study of early twentieth century China. This conference (the first of its kind) and Hill’s participation received coverage in the Chinese language press, including in the influential online publication The Paper.

For more on Hill’s research and teaching interests, visit his History Department profile.