B (Bowen) Ran, MA

Biography

Bowen Ran is a postdoctoral researcher and PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Working at the intersection of contemporary cultural history, public history, and philosophy of history, his research examines the practical power of historical representation and its socio-political implications—in other words, what historical narrative does—in a global context, from both empirical and philosophical perspectives.

Through a hermeneutic reconceptualization of historical distance, his doctoral dissertation, “Historiographic Activism: Edward Palmer Thompson, Natalie Zemon Davis, and the Configuration of Historical Distance,” examines how and to what extent scholarly historical writing constitutes a form of political engagement in the second half of the twentieth century.

He is also the principal investigator of “Memory as Care,” a public history project funded by Convergence Resilient Delta Initiative. Bringing together academics and societal partners, the project investigates how participatory storytelling can foster the well-being, social belonging, and mnemonic inclusion of older Chinese immigrants in Rotterdam.

Alongside his research, he works as a freelance academic translator, having translated books, articles, and audiovisual materials into Chinese. He also co-runs a social media platform dedicated to history and theory, fostering intellectual exchange between the Sinophone academia and the West.