Blackwell Reference Online

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To serve the scope and purpose of this dictionary, this entry focuses on the study of contemporary Chinese culture during the past two decades. Active contributors to this broad topic include international scholars, scholars in overseas Chinese-language speaking areas including Taiwan and pre-1997 Hong Kong, as well as those in mainland China. The last group is probably the least known in the West, and therefore contemporary Chinese cultural studies in mainland China forms the main body of this entry. According to Ning Wang, Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at Tsinghua University, the range and content of Cultural Studies in China are similar to those in the West. It covers at least four areas: ethnic studies, including studies of postcolonial, minority, and diasporic writing; area studies, including Asian and Pacific studies; gender studies, including studies of feminist, gay, and lesbian writings; and media studies comprising film, TV, and even internet studies. (Wang, Ning, 2003, p. 189) In many ways, contemporary Chinese studies have been intricately related to Western cultural and critical theory. The Chinese translation of Frederic Jameson's Postmodernism and Cultural Theories , published in 1986, marked the arrival of Western cultural and critical theory in the People's Republic of China. During the past two decades, these theories have ... log in or subscribe to read full text