Augmenting Culture: Reflection and Revitalization

How is Chinese culture represented globally? What role does culture play in (re)shaping Chineseness both domestically and abroad? Under this theme, we focus on the politics of culture and dive into various topics related to it. We will explore how Chinese cultural influence has developed over the years, and how China, Chinese culture, and the Chinese people are represented globally. Topics we’ll discuss include cultural rediscovery and innovation in the domestic scope in recent years, cultural output towards the international sphere, as well as representation and cultural imagination of China in pan-Chinese and global media and literature.

Potential research questions include:

1. How has the neo-Chinese style aesthetics (architecture, clothing, etc.) developed in recent years, and how does it reflect the way Chinese culture is received domestically and worldwide?

2. How has globalization transformed transnational Chinese cinema? 

3. How is the identity of the Chinese diaspora constructed on global screens/literature?

4. How have ultra-contemporary Chinese artists expressed their Chinese identity in their artworks?

5. What is the gap between domestic and global representation of Chinese culture?

6. What are some potential new directions for cultural education in China?