Greetings! I am Xintong Chen from Swatow, China. I graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in 2020 with a major in diplomacy. With the freedom to tailor my undergraduate curriculum, I received core training in international politics, tried out historical approaches, explored economics and anthropological theories, and learned different languages. During the pandemic, I served as a research assistant at the Institute for Global History, BFSU. I am excited to join the cohort and enjoy the program.
I am interested in the movements of people and ideas across the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, the connection and ruptures among China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Africa. I also find the borders of the Oceans a fascinating theme for exploration.
At Columbia and LSE, I hope to explore the South China Sea as a social, cultural, or intellectual space and advance our understanding of the seafarers’ or migrants’ sea-borne activities, and the changing network they had been continuously engaging. I believe this program will bring inspiring possibilities to develop and revise this preliminary idea.
Beyond my academic interest, I like water sports, urban sketching, and traveling.
