Problematization and de-problematization – 30 years of cultural studies and cultural criticism in mainland China

ABSTRACT

In the past 30 years, cultural studies in mainland China has developed its own history, theoretical characteristics and problem framework with the introduction of Western theory, discussion of Chinese issues and active dialogue with international cultural studies scholars. The studies of sociology, philosophy and politics have overlapped with cultural studies in problems such as rural governance, class research, the bottom society research, gender politics and consumer society theory. Chinese cultural studies started with a critical consciousness, then activated the drives of anti-authoritarianism and generated an illusion of emergency. Today, it has outgrown the paradigm of the 1950s, and must establish new theories and thoughts on the basis of a new sense of criticism at this moment.     

China’s modern image – contemporary Chinese art

Abstract

As a worldwide cultural phenomenon, contemporary art in China has not only been used as a diplomatic language but also a reflection of contemporary Chinese culture. Contemporary Chinese art, as an emerging field to display China’s global role, provides an important perspective to study China’s self-position in global relations, China’s diplomacy in exercising its soft power, contemporary Chinese culture, and the reinvention of China’s cultural/national identity in post-Mao China. Using the 2000 Shanghai Biennale and the Chinese pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale as case studies, this article investigates how the fluid construct of Chineseness is successfully promoted and demonstrated through the government’s support of contemporary Chinese art.     

Transcending Borders,Bridging Gaps: Opening a Dialogue Between the U. S. A. and Italy’s Migration Turn

ABSTRACT

This essay discusses recent theoretical engagements in the fields of migration and postcolonial studies in Italy by examining their contribution to American and transatlantic studies. It focuses on cultural critiques and manifestations which seek an interrogation or revitalization of Italy’s cultural identity. The analysis draws on the many links between past and present, a confrontation of the histories of migration from and to the country. For instance, the Italian/American influence is remarkable on transforming views of Italian identity, particularly regarding (im)migration. The objective of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it examines how artistic productions compel the Italian society to come to terms with the past. This phenomenon attests to a unique social and cultural transition in Italy, and represents a breeding research ground within Italian studies and the Anglo-dominated area of postcolonial and diaspora studies. On the other hand, the essay investigates how these changes enhance to the role of transatlantic migrations. In doing so, the significance of such cultural productions is framed within ongoing epistemological and scholarly endeavours. This is exemplified by the abundant number of publications, seminars, conferences and new curricula challenging, as well as advancing, contemporary debates on migration, multiculturalism, identity (Italian-ness) and memory.     

‘Vietnam is my country land,China is my hometown’: Chinese communities in transition in the south of Vietnam

Studies of Southeast Asian Chinese are voluminous; yet, those about the Chinese in Vietnam are comparatively few. This article provides an updated account of the Chinese Vietnamese with focuses on the Chinese associations in the South of Vietnam and the shifting Chinese identity. Many have discussed the Chinese Vietnamese who fled Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s, however, little is known about the plights of the Chinese inside Vietnam during those decades. This article elaborates on their situations in the post-unification decade in Ho Chi Minh City and the subsequent changes after the doi moi reforms in the 1990s. It will show how a liberalized economy and accommodative ethnic policies have resulted in a more proactive relationship between the Chinese minority and the Vietnamese society, which consequentially led to changes in the relationship between the Chinese in Vietnam and China.     

Crafting places through mobility: Chinese American “roots‐searching” in China

A cultural heritage tour to China that is jointly sponsored by Chinese American organizations and the People's Republic of China government represents the “forging” (Schein 1998) of a transnational relationship between Chinese Americans and China through which Chinese Americans re‐assess their identities. Multicultural discourses in the United States and mainland Chinese government narratives of modernity produce racialized and territorialized ideas of Chineseness that forcibly attach Chinese American identities to their places of ancestral origin in China. In contrast, the Chinese American participants in this program draw from cultural and historical references formed through their experiences in the United States and use their privileges of mobility to experience their ancestral places in China in ways that draw upon multiple understandings of their relationships to China as a place. Their visits reflect transnational processes that are built upon yet qualitatively differ from those of previous generations.     

Chinese in France: diasporic experiences vary depending on generation and age of arrival

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to the successful or unsuccessful integration of the Chinese diaspora in France. There is already a significant amount of literature that probes into the immigrant experiences of various other groups in France. However, the Chinese diaspora in France has remained insufficiently studied. This study aims to address this gap. The main findings of this study are that 1) unsurprisingly, the older the age of arrival, the less well integrated immigrants are in French society, 2) somewhat surprisingly, the less well integrated an immigrant is, the more likely he or she is going to believe that France is a tolerant and open-minded country, and 3) counterintuitively, the more deeply a member of the Chinese diaspora is immersed in French society, the more likely he or she is going to believe that France is hostile to people of Asian heritage.     

Living Arrangements and Informal Support for the Elderly

ABSTRACT

A network of informal care and support provided by family, friends and neighbors often forms the basis for elderly care. Changes in the structure of Chinese family alter this supportive function, and changes in traditional values affect the nature of the network and support provided. This is especially so in modernized Hong Kong where the traditional role of the family and especially children's duty of care for their aged parents (“filial piety”) may be weakening. This proposition was investigated by a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 50 older persons in a modern new town (Tuen Mun) in Hong Kong. Living arrangements, geographical proximity and the quality of relationships between potential caregivers and the elderly affected needs for and provision of informal support. Traditional Confucian filial piety is undergoing modification, perhaps erosion, implying ongoing changes in inter-generational relations in this modernized Asian society.     

Historical trajectories and lost heritage of early Chinese schools in Singapore – case study of Yeung Ching School in ‘Chinatown’

ABSTRACT

The history of modern Chinese schools in Singapore may be traced back to the early 20th century, when efforts to provide vernacular education in the British colony were made by community leaders across Chinese dialect groups, with support of the Qing Empire. Only a handful of these were selected as elite schools for bilingual education under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) introduced in 1979 in independent Singapore. This paper examines the historical trajectories of these early schools from early association with Chinese nationalism to becoming multi-ethnic schools or simply defunct. It will focus on the case of the former Yeung Ching School in ‘Chinatown’ catering to the Cantonese community, to explore how the legacy of a Chinese school may be impacted by state formation and urban development since the 1950s, and also to point out a gap in current heritagisation pertaining to the role of education in shaping cultural identities.     

Understanding Chinese Battered Women in North America

SUMMARY

Spouse abuse is an ignored, invisible, but significant problem in the Chinese community. This paper describes the experience of Chinese battered women in North America and provides suggestions for culturally sensitive and competent interventions for them. The discussion is based on an extensive review of the literature regarding Chinese battered women. In understanding the experience of Chinese battered women and their strategic responses to the abuse, helping professionals are urged to consider cultural, contextual, as well as individual factors including family dynamics. A three-tier model of intervention for treatment of spouse abuse in the Chinese community is proposed that targets the individual battered women, the family system, and the larger community.     

Establishing a new scopic regime: the new landscape painting of Mao’s era

ABSTRACT

After 1949, with ‘serving the people’ established as the basic guideline of art, the reform of traditional landscape painting, which had been appropriated by the cultural elites for thousands of years, was put on the agenda as well. Beginning from the early of 1950s, there were continual debates on the reform of traditional Chinese painting within the art field, through which many artists gradually reached a consensus on the development direction of Chinese painting. At the same time, stimulated by the large-scale xiesheng movement sponsored by the government, Chinese landscape painting changed dramatically in subject, theme, and brushstroke technique, and developed a new style which has its own signifying system. Blending both Chinese and western drawing skills, the new landscape painting successfully created a unique scopic regime, which can establish an organic relationship between personal aesthetic experience and collective historical experience. As a prominent cultural achievement of Mao’s era, the new landscape painting embodies the cultural politics and the technologies of the self at that time.     

Subethnic interpersonal dynamic in diasporic community: a study on Chinese immigrants in Vancouver

ABSTRACT

Ethnicity is a social construct that can be conceptualised as a social classification delineating certain boundaries between an ethnic group and the dominant group. Members of an ethnic group are assumed to share similar cultural characteristics and to be homogenous among themselves. Many studies in ethnic organisations have indicated that subethnicity also exists within an ethnic group, but research on subethnicity is scant. Based on the findings of an exploratory study conducted in Vancouver, Canada, we examined how, at an interpersonal level, place of origin, language, mutual bias and discrimination and transnational politics divide the Chinese diasporic community subethnically. Meanwhile, being Chinese in the Canadian context and willingness to break the subethnic boundaries are noted as counterforces to the subethnic divide. We contend that interpersonal interaction is an imperative dimension for the understanding of the shaping of boundary between different subethnic groups.     

An Exploration of Nonresident Parents' Financial Provision and Children's Self-Esteem in a Chinese Context

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between the making of financial provision by nonresident parents and children's self-esteem in a Chinese context. It is found that the relationship depends much on the dynamics of the nonresident parents' participation in other areas of family relationships, such as parental conflict. As this is an exploratory study with a small sample size, the results are suggestive rather than conclusive. The study contributes by indicating the possible cultural difference in the family dynamics of the post-divorce families in the Chinese context of Hong Kong and the West, and the need to take into account the perspectives of both the resident and nonresident parents in studying nonresident parents' post-divorce involvement.     

Towards Culturally Sensitive EAP Counseling for Chinese in Hong Kong

Abstract

With the economic recession in Hong Kong, employee assistance programs (EAP) have become increasingly imperative. This paper reviews the existing methods of operation of EAP counseling in Hong Kong. Two models of operation-internal and external-are identified. While each model has its strengths and weaknesses, neither has taken into account the importance of cultural context. Most EAP counseling services in Hong Kong reflect an unrefined attempt to adapt Western theories to the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong. The result is often a mismatch between the theoretical framework and the cultural realities. This paper suggests a non-normative, culturally sensitive model that concentrates on the strengths of the employees and the organization. The model is based on a solution-focused framework that integrates cultural, organizational factors and intervention approaches.     

Breaking Down or Breaking Through

Abstract

Case studies of ten Hong Kong women diagnosed with depression demonstrate that depression is not necessarily, but can be, one strategy for dealing with the problems of everyday life. Neither is it always an outspoken critique of the family as an institution and the gender inequality in the Hong Kong society. However, depression should never be understood simply as personal or social pathology, but as an attempt to negotiate with social reality. These women used their bodies for experiencing, interpreting, and communicating about emotions and social issues. Depression is one of the strategies these women used to resist social forces and transform them into conditions that made possible the creation of space for personal changes.     

Pessimism of the will,optimism of the intellect: endings and beginnings

ABSTRACT

This essay argues for the need for an ‘optimism of the intellect’ – in the form of the need for cultural studies – in the face of a growing ‘pessimism of the will.’ It illustrates the value of cultural studies by considering three contemporary problematics: post-truth, polarization and consent.     

Building Relationships with Aboriginal People: A Cultural Mapping Toolbox

Abstract

This article describes a cultural mapping tool developed specifically for working with Aboriginal people experiencing mental health problems. The tool has broad scope, drawing from ecological and systems approaches. It will assist social workers to understand cultural and family obligations and build relationships with Aboriginal service users. Students learning about cultural diversity have expressed concern about asking culturally-sensitive questions. Australian human service workers typically state they feel inadequate in addressing Aboriginal culture in their practice approaches. The three components of the cultural mapping toolbox, (a) the social and emotional wellbeing cluster map, (b) the community and cultural diversity map, and (c) the migration map, provide social workers with a way of supporting a culturally connected lifestyle in contemporary society.     

Assessing Tradition in Chinese Elders Living in a Changing Social Environment

SUMMARY

Social workers are increasingly challenged to provide culturally sensitive services to older immigrants from diverse backgrounds. Assessment tools developed in the elder's own cultural context can maximize appropriate assessment and planning. This article describes the development of a tool for measuring adherence to tradition in Chinese elders. In Chinese tradition, an elder's purpose, meaning, and self-worth are derived, in large part, from their contribution to family, relatives, and the community. Existing measures of filial piety and acculturation do not capture this dimension. Filial piety involves being on the receiving end of care, honor, and obedience from younger generations. Acculturation is the opposite of adherence to tradition. One thousand five-hundred and two Chinese elders in China were asked questions on mutual aid and intergenerational exchange. Factor analysis extracted nine items loading into two factors reflective of traditional exchange. This measure could prove useful in understanding the effect of traditional beliefs upon various psychosocial outcomes.     

Cultural adaptations in psychosocial interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder among refugees: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to systematically review randomized controlled trials on non-pharmaceutical interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adult refugees with a focus on identifying common cultural adaptations and reviewing possible effects of such adaptations on outcomes. The conducted systematic search yielded 11 studies. The strongest support was for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Commonly used cultural adaptations in the reviewed studies included modifications in personnel and setting context, changes in content, and translation or adaptation of evaluation tools.     

Reading European football,critiquing China: Chinese urban middle class fans as reflexive audience

ABSTRACT

This essay explores European football’s cross-cultural appeals in China by focusing on Chinese fans’ active readings of this globalized cultural text. Using analytical tools from both sport sociology and transnational reception studies, I understand Chinese urban middle-class supporters as a reflexive audience whose meaning-making of European football is contextualized in their local urban experience. The in-depth interviewing reveals that these fans’ interpretations of their favourite European football teams as symbols of ‘collective cooperation’ and ‘beautiful football’ produce critical reflections on the discourses of ‘competitive individualism’ and ‘utilitarian commercialism’ which are part of the rising ideology during China’s neoliberal reform. Through the comparison among European football, Chinese football, and popular ‘national’ sports in China, the participants further contest the prevalence of these discourses in China’s broader economic and social arrangements over which they are engaged in constant material struggles. I further discuss how the transnational consumption of European football offers the Chinese urban middle-class a symbolic space to project their reflexivity on the reforming process.