Shi, Anbin

About the author: Anbin Shi is currently Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in St. Olaf College. He earned his BA and MA in English at Peking University and his PhD in Comparative Literature at Penn State. He has co-authored Demonizing China (1996), a national bestseller in China, and published numerous articles and translations in Social Semiotics, Boundary II, and Contemporary Chinese Thought.

Comparative Approach to Redefining

2003 0-7734-6846-3
This study explores the changing conceptualization of social/cultural/gender/ethnic identities in contemporary China under the crushing power of capitalist globalization. His analysis integrates the ’cultural studies’ approach into the survey of contemporary Chinese society and culture. He selected verbal/visual texts range from rock music, bestsellers, and film to advertisements and TV commercials. Chapters include a review of ‘Chinese-ness’ as a geopolitical and cultural concept; an examination of Chinese rock singer Cui Jian; gender identity, as seen in contemporary feminist writing in Wei Hui’s Shanghai Jewel, and gay literature such as Wang Xiaobo’s novella “East Palace, West Palace”; and finally examines ethnic identity through the writing of Zhaxi Dawa (Turbulent Shambhala) and other ethnic minority writers.