Instead of contrasting local phenomena with global phenomena, which is the more common approach taken, this conference, entitled "Global Approaches in European and Chinese Modernisms," aims to explore different approaches to understanding the global world. It aims to emphasize the diversity of global visions and the modernisms in China and Europe. The conference is being organized by Dr. Chunjie Zhang, an assistant professor at the University of California Davis. She is currently doing research at the Dahlem Humanities Center (DHC) of Freie Universität as a visiting scholar and fellow of the Volkswagen Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.

The DHC concentrates a spectrum of research in the humanities and promotes international cooperation in the humanities at Freie Universität. With its focus on the study of manifestations, principles, and modes of cultural dynamics, it creates an interdisciplinary research framework for the broad spectrum of humanities disciplines and activities at the university.