Workshop organized by project C09 "Knowledge Transfer in the Context of Differentiation and Institutionalization in the 16th and 17th-century Korea" (Head: Prof. Eun-Jeung Lee) in cooperation with Korean Studies, Freie Universität Berlin.

How did Confucian academies shape and influence the intellectual history of the Far East? What was their contribution to the transfer and production of knowledge in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam during the 800 years of their existence?

While most of the previous scholarship focused on the origins of the academies during 12th century Song period, their development during subsequent dynasties and the import of this concept into other countries, our workshop strives to overcome perspectives of local contexts, societies, and periodization by analyzing adaptation, alternation, or modification of the academy model across East Asia. This conference invites scholars from different research areas to present on diverse aspects of Confucian academies ranging from their curricula, economic foundations, social backgrounds, or religious role to their current reflections as a part of cultural and intellectual heritage. Through individual cases of Confucian academies and related debates in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam the workshop aims to document both continuity and radical changes which the concept of a scholar community gathered around the local academy underwent until the coming of modern times. The unique position of the academies within the traditional education system enables us to better understand the role of institutions and knowledge organizations within the Confucian discourse of premodern East Asian societies.