The Center for the Study of Contemporary China (CSCC) at Duke Kunshan University (DKU) has appointed Dr. Annemieke van den Dool, assistant professor of environmental policy, as its new co-director, effective January 2025.
Van den Dool shares the CSCC leadership responsibilities with Dr. Melanie Manion, a distinguished political science scholar and the Vor Broker Family Professor at Duke University.
Van den Dool brings extensive expertise in environmental policy and public health policymaking in China, with research that examines stakeholders’ roles, policy design, and drivers of change. Her work spans topics such as antimicrobial resistance, epidemic outbreaks, food safety, and environmental disasters. She also teaches undergraduate courses on policy analysis, crisis management, and sustainability.
Van den Dool’s interdisciplinary background — with degrees from Leiden University, the University of Manchester, Lund University, Central European University, and the University of Amsterdam — positions her to contribute fresh perspectives to the center.
“In a world that is increasingly polarized, the CSCC builds bridges through empirically rich social science research on China,” Van den Dool said. “A key part of the center is to advance a deeper understanding of China, including its cultural, social, and political nuances to help overcome divides and address polarization. By strengthening connections within the DKU academic community and with Duke and Wuhan University, we seek to cultivate an environment that supports interdisciplinarity, mutual understanding, and research excellence.”
“The CSCC’s innovative, world-class research, inclusive discussions, and cross-cultural exchange, help address important societal challenges while preparing the next generation of China-focused researchers through mentoring, awards, grants, and our annual poster session,” said Van den Dool.
Since its establishment in 2018, the CSCC has become a hub for scholarship on contemporary China’s society, politics, and economy. It facilitates research and cross-cultural exchanges, serving as a bridge between scholars studying China both within and beyond the country.
Manion, CSCC’s other co-director, highlighted the center’s unique position at DKU. “The CSCC at DKU brings together a substantial, diverse collection of scholars, most in the social sciences and humanities, who study and teach about contemporary China in contemporary China.”
She added, “the vantage point is a tremendous asset to produce high-quality research that describes and explains contemporary China to those with and without China expertise. Not least of all, studying China in China is a vantage point that CSCC scholars share with their undergraduate students at DKU, contributing valuable knowledge and understanding of China to broad audiences today and for the years ahead.”
The CSCC comprises six research clusters focusing on key topics such as China and the Global South, care and gender, digital technology and society, and governing China. Last year, each cluster published an average of nine research papers in leading journals.
The CSCC supports research through five grant categories and has funded projects for approximately 60 faculty and students annually. From 2021 to 2023, it provided 208 students with opportunities to work alongside faculty, fostering hands-on learning experiences. Faculty affiliates have garnered recognition for their work, securing funding from organizations such as the Columbia-Harvard China and the China Program and the Jiangsu provincial government.
In 2023 alone, the center organized 84 events, including lectures, workshops, and exhibitions, attracting more than 3,000 participants. It also hosted 209 global scholars who shared their latest research with DKU students and faculty.
