April 27, 2024

Far East Currents

The Portuguese and Macanese Studies Project – U.C. Berkeley

Great News for the Macanese Studies Project !!!


The United States Department of State and the U.S. Consulate General of Hong Kong and Macau recently announced that the director of the Portuguese and Macanese Studies Project, Dr. Roy Eric Xavier, was awarded a “Public Diplomacy” grant to study the origins of the printing industry in Macau and Hong Kong.

The grant is intended to foster bilateral collaboration with China through the University of Macau and the Hong Kong Museum of History by contributing to a long term study of Macanese printing, economic diversity, and community development in Macau and Hong Kong.

Initial activities will support Phase 2 of the study: “Seeking the Origins of Macanese Printing” in Macau from 1600 to 1830, and in Hong Kong from 1830 to 1950. This will be achieved through informal presentations and symposia with local scholars, museum personnel, students, and the general public in 2022.

An exciting feature of the study is the opening of dialogues with Chinese institutions to explore the cultural diversity of Macanese printers, the influence of printing on community building and cultural identity, and economic growth related to current information and technology development in China and the United States.