TBC Anton Library
Last Sunday (June 23) The Beijing Center (TBC) hosted Dr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ, an Italian writer and Editor-in-chief of La Civiltà Cattolica and organizer of the China Forum for Civilization Dialogue, to discuss how dialogue and encounter are essential elements for moving toward global friendship and cooperation as China emerges as a global leader.
Antonio Spadaro discussed how essential the role of China is in addressing the challenges of globalization, and how initiatives such as One Belt, One Road and retracing the Silk Road are fundamental in promoting interaction and deepening understanding amongst different cultures. Listen to the full talk by clicking below.
Dr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ, is an Italian writer and the editor-in-chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, a journal of culture, thought and civilization in the modern world. Dr. Spadaro holds a Degree in Philosophy from the University of Messina (1988), and a Doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University (2000), where he has taught as an invited professor. Spadaro has published a wide range of volumes of literary and religious criticism in dialogue with the contemporary culture. As an author, he published about 30 books, including Nelle vene d’America. Da Walt Whitman a Jack Kerouac (ivi 2013), Cyberteology. Thinking Christianity in the Era of the Internet (Fordham University Press 2014) translated into 8 languages, Web 2.0. Relationship in the Internet Age (Paulines 2014), Friending God. Social Media, Spirituality and Community (Crossroad 2016).
Dr. Spadaro is also an organizer of the China Forum for Civilization Dialogue. The China Forum convenes Chinese academics and public figures with international partners to discuss common challenges at the intersection of culture, ethics, and global society. The forum is a collaboration between Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) and La Civiltà Cattolica (Rome).
Established in 1998 by Ron Anton, SJ, The Beijing Center (TBC) is a not-for-profit center of higher education and research in mainland China committed to fostering mutual understanding between China and the rest of the world through cultural exchange, education, and research. What makes us unique is our placement in a long and storied tradition of Jesuit education, one that teaches us that true cultural engagement starts first with friendship.
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.