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Research

Chair of Chinese Culture and Society: Current Research Projects

Research projects at the Chair of Chinese Culture of Society focus on topics related to modern and contemporary China, including: visual art and literature; cultural entrepreneurship and the creative industries; activism and the new media; Internet culture; women writing; book culture; urban culture; youth culture; intellectuals; political discourse; etc.

Jiang Zhi, Rainbow out of service (2008), c-print, courtesy of the artist.
Jiang Zhi, Rainbow out of service (2008), c-print, courtesy of the artist.

The Chinese Dream

The Chinese Dream

This project brings to the fore the complex dynamics between visual arts and China's political situation by discussing the artistic practice by Jiang Zhi, Chen Wei, and Cao Fei. Their contemporary works deploy the same strategy of the Chinese Dream, namely imagination and speculation, and invite further reflection on what is behind this beautified facade.

 

Zhao Zhao, Taklamakan Desert (2015), installation, mixed media.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

This research sheds light on underrepresented visual narratives of the BRI in Xinjiang and Gansu provinces by analysing the contemporary works by contemporary artists Zhao Zhao and Zhuang Hui. As these regions undergo extensive urban transformations at the expenses of their socio-cultural heritage, the artists' work opposes this tendency and shifts the focus from the economic to the cultural role of these two provinces.

Artists under Xi Jinping

Artists under Xi Jinping

The primary subject of this project lies in the overlaps between visual arts and China's socio-political present. It is an interdisciplinary investigation that deploys mixed qualitative research methods, including visual analysis, archival research, interviews, critical theory, philosophical investigation, and qualitative, empirical visual analysis. 

Publications

For more information on our research and publications please see on our blog and our Alexandria page: Prof. Dr. Daria Berg

 

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