To promote the high-quality development of discipline construction and to upgrade the quality of teaching, training, and research, the Sub-committee of Literature, History, Philosophy and the Arts of the Open University of China (OUC) held its second plenary meeting and academic workshop on 8 November 2022 online and offline.

Fang Zhiyuan, chief advisor to the Chinese Society on Ming Dynasty History and professor at Jiangxi Normal University, as well as Professor Ni Degang, vice president of Chinese Association of Scientific Socialism, and superintendent of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, were invited.

Main venue in Beijing: members of the Sub-Committee of Literature, History, Philosophy and the Arts attended online and offline

Professor Li Song, director of the OUC Academic Committee and vice president of the OUC, delivered a speech, proposing that the sub-committee should focus on answering major theoretical and practical questions of the “new era”, and implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education via useful and accessible student-centred resources that promote pragmatism, discipline construction and research. He called on the teachers and students to contribute to developing the features and key majors of world-class open universities and to building the disciplines of literature, history, philosophy and the arts with Chinese characteristics.

Li Song, director of the OUC Academic Committee, delivering a speech

Professor Huang Pinghuai, director of the sub-committee of Literature, History, Philosophy and the Arts, deputy secretary of the Party Committee, and president of Jiangxi Open University, introduced the work of the sub-committee. He said that future work will further highlight the university’s strategy of "creating excellence and improving quality", training, and new-discipline development for literature, history, philosophy and the arts in the “new era”. The sub-committee will work hard with teachers to optimise the “Lectures by Famous Teachers” and invigorate f educational practices, serve the university’s strategy, and enhance the research skills and literacy of teachers and students.

Jiangxi venue: Huang Pinghuai, director of the sub-committee of Literature, History, Philosophy and the Arts, delivering a speech

Jiangxi venue: Professor Fang Zhiyuan giving a special lecture

Main venue in Beijing: Professor Ni Degang giving a special lecture

This event had offline venues in Beijing and Jiangxi.

Branch teachers and students watching the meeting and workshop

During the closed-door session of the committee, Huang Pinghuai led discussions of its work plan for 2023, with consensus being reached during the exchanges, covering discipline construction in the OUC system and the development of scientific research.

11,004 people watched the event via mobile phone, with teachers and students in more than 30 areas and 138 cities watching the event via 2,299 access points.

Written by Xiao Wanying, and Yu Anji; photos by Zhuge Huanyu and Xu Xingxing, OUC