Modern Chinese Literary and Cultural Studies in the Age of Theory

These groundbreaking essays use critical theory to reflect on issues pertaining to modern Chinese literature and culture and, in the process, transform the definition and conceptualisation of the field of modern Chinese studies itself. The wide range of topics addressed by this international group of scholars includes twentieth-century literature produced in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China; film, art, history, popular culture, and literary and cultural criticism as well as the geographies of migration and diaspora. One of the volume's provocative suggestions is that the old model of area studies-an offshoot of U.S. Cold War strategy that found its anchorage in higher education - is no longer feasible for the diverse and multifaceted experiences that are articulated under the rubric of Chineseness.As Rey Chow argues in her introduction, the notion of a monolithic Chineseness bound ultimately to mainland China is, in itself, highly problematic because it recognises neither the material realities of ethnic minorities within China nor those of populations in places such as Tibet, Taiwan, and post-British Hong Kong. Above all, this book demonstrates that, as the terms of a chauvinistic sinocentrism become obsolete, the critical use of theory - particularly by younger China scholars whose enthusiasm for critical theory coincides with changes in China's political economy in recent years - will enable the emergence of fresh connections and insights that may have been at odds with previous interpretive convention.Originally published as a special issue of the journal boundary 2, this collection includes two new essays and an afterword by Paul Bove that places its arguments in the context of contemporary cultural politics. It will have far-reaching implications for the study of modern China and will be of interest to scholars of theory and culture in general. The contributors include: Stanley K. Abe, Ien Ang, Chris Berry, Paul Bove, Sung-cheng Yvonne Chang, Rey Chow, Dorothy Ko, Charles Laughlin, Leung Ping-kwan, Kwai-cheung Lo, Christopher Lupke, David Der-wei Wang, and, Michelle Yeh.

ISBN 0822325977   Pages 344 ISBN13 9780822325970 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Duke University Press   Weight (grammes) 572 Imprint Duke University Press   Published in North Carolina Format Paperback   Series title B2 Books and Asia Pacific Publication date 01 Jan 2001   Height (mm) 235 Library of Congress 00029425   Width (mm) 155 DEWEY 951   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

		Acknowledgments
		Introduction: On Chineseness as a Theoretical Problem by Rey Chow		1
		Narrative Subjectivity and the Production of Social Space in Chinese Reportage by Charles A. Laughlin		26
		Three Hungry Women by David Der-wei Wang		48
		Two Discourses on Colonialism: Huang Guliu and Eileen Chang on Hong Kong of the Forties by Leung Ping-kwan		78
		Beyond Cultural and National Identities: Current Re-evaluation of the Kominka Literature from Taiwan's Japanese Period by Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang		99
		Wang Wenxing and the "Loss" of China by Christopher Lupke		127
		If China Can Say No, Can China Make Movies? Or, Do Movies Make China? Rethinking National Cinema and National Agency by Chris Berry		159
		Look Who's Talking: The Politics of Orality in Transitional Hong Kong Mass Culture by Kwai-Cheung Lo		181
		Bondage in Time: Footbinding and Fashion Theory by Dorothy Ko		199
		No Questions, No Answers: China and A Book from the Sky by Stanley K. Abe		227
		International Theory and the Transnational Critic: China in the Age of Multiculturalism by Michelle Yeh		251
		Can One Say No to Chineseness? Pushing the Limits of the Diasporic Paradigm by Ien Ang		281
		Afterword: The Possibilities of Abandonment by Paul A. Bove		301
		Index		317
		Contributors		325

"Chow's vision has implications beyond the narrow realm that the title of this volume suggests to the unpacking of any monolithic identity and the contesting of any cultural locale in an increasingly globalized context. As such its appeal extends to comparatists in the widest sphere of literary and cultural studies." --Hilary Chung, "The China Review"

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