The Humanities Center Colloquium Series kicks off with a lecture from En Li, assistant professor of history, on Sept. 23, 3–5 p.m., in Levitt Hall. “Betting on Empire: Examination, Lottery, and Public Life in Nineteenth-Century China” begins with a study of a civil service examination scandal in 1885. A highly organized lottery scheme, where money was bet on surnames that would pass the state’s official selection examination, spurred manipulation of the exam results. This research shows gambling became an important part of public culture in late-Qing China for its reorganization of interpersonal relations; cultivation of a self-governed society; and facilitation of exchanges in information, materials, and capital in an increasingly interconnected empire.

—Jeff Karnicky, Associate Professor of English