On May 21, the Institute hosted Evan Osnos as part of its Contemporary China Speakers Series at the University of Chicago. The series brings experts from across professions, perspectives, and disciplines—including from academia, government, think tanks, journalism, and industry—to the University’s Hyde Park campus for stimulating talks and discussions on contemporary China.
Evan Osnos, a Washington, D.C-based reporter for The New Yorker, was a correspondent in the magazine’s Beijing bureau from 2008 to 2013. He is author of the recently-released book, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China. Both the book and the event traced the rise of the individual in China, and the clash between aspiration and authoritarianism. Osnos said that the challenge in China today is keeping up with the change of pace, and his lecture noted the magnitude of the changes that have occurred in his years covering the country.
Prior to The New Yorker, Osnos served as the Beijing bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, where he contributed to a series that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He is a contributor to This American Life and Frontline, and has received the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, the Livingston Award for Young Journalists and a Mirror Award for profile writing.
