A symposium on the history of Oxford University Press was held on June 19 at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The event, co-hosted by China Social Sciences Press and Beijing Foreign Studies University, brought together over 40 guests from universities, publishing institutions, and mainstream media from around the world.
Using The History of Oxford University Press: Volume III: 1896 to 1970 as a focal point for discussions, participants explored various topics, including the history of international publishing, cultural communication in the Global South, China-Africa publishing exchanges, and the digital transformation of publishing.
The book, The History of Oxford University Press: Volume III: 1896 to 1970, provides a comprehensive overview of the century-long development and changes at the publisher, highlighting its history of overseas publishing. It is regarded as an authoritative work for understanding the evolution of international publishing and cross-cultural communication. The Chinese edition, published by China Social Sciences Press, is set to be released soon.
In his speech, Ji Weimin, president of China Social Sciences Press, said that Oxford University Press' long history of publishing in Africa offers many valuable case studies for analysis, adding that as countries in the Global South continue to rise rapidly, the international publishing industry encounters both opportunities and challenges.
The Chinese publishing sector is dedicated to openness and mutual exchange, learning from international best practices while maintaining cultural confidence, and actively fostering deep integration between Chinese and global culture, he noted.
During the keynote speeches and discussion sessions, Tang Zhichao, deputy director of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reflected on the history of equal and mutually beneficial publishing exchanges between China and Africa since the 1960s. He emphasized that as Chinese publishing aims to "go global", it should collaborate with the Global South to create a new publishing order characterized by diversity, equality, and mutual learning.
Jude Chudi Okpala, professor of instruction, philosophy, and classics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, took the translation of the Bible into African languages by Oxford University Press as an example to explain how knowledge and power are deeply connected.
On the one hand, it helped improve literacy and standardize writing in Africa. On the other hand, it introduced colonial-era perspectives that disrupted local cultures and worldviews.
However, he said, Africans did not simply accept these changes. They adapted the translations to fit their own languages, customs, and beliefs, creating a unique African Bible. This process also shows that Africans have always been active creators of biblical thought rather than passive recipients, he said.
James Kiarie Kamau, CEO of East African Educational Publishers Ltd in Kenya, said in the early years of Kenya's independence, collaborating with international organizations like Oxford University Press was essential to quickly expand education and address material shortages. However, relying heavily on foreign-produced textbooks can introduce external perspectives and distort local culture.
Therefore, education expansion should align with cultural independence and support local industries. International partnerships should enhance local publishing and enable a shift from knowledge reception to creation, ensuring sustainable education and cultural sovereignty, he said.
Elizabeth Wanguiwa Goro, a visiting scholar at the School of Global Affairs at King's College London, said the extinction of a language is not just the loss of vocabulary; it signifies a break in the social, cultural, and global knowledge systems behind it.
She emphasized the need to confront the unequal power dynamics left by colonialism and to protect languages as a shared global cultural heritage through non-exploitative cooperation and solidarity.
Only by rooting efforts locally and leveraging technology and international collaboration to empower communities can we truly promote universal literacy and cross-cultural understanding, she added
