History

Promoting the Dignity of Disability in China

In 2008, professors at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability received a faculty grant to support their work in China. With the help of Dr. Fengming Cui, the Project has played an essential role in advancing Chinese disability laws, policies, and education.

Szonyi walking through a village in Yongtai county, Fujian province. Photo Credit: Zhang Peifen/張培奋.

A Scholar’s Journey Through Rural China’s History: Michael Szonyi reflects on his first trip back to China in four years

With the support of Harvard China Fund’s “(Re)engaging China” grant, Szonyi arrived in China in August 2023 after an almost four-year absence, the longest in my professional career and indeed my adult life.  Szonyi has been based at Xiamen University, where he studied as a graduate student and where he continues to collaborate with the Center for Local Historical Documents.  He’s been working on two main projects.