5th Book Sharing: The Rise and Spread of the New Culture
Upcoming Event
| Introduction | To encourage students to read more and engage in greater interaction with faculty members, the New Era International Education Institute has organized a monthly reading club led by academic staff. Each session lasts two hours and aims to facilitate direct academic exchanges with students through guided readings and discussions. In the second session of the second series, Dr. Siew Wen Jia from the International Education Institute will serve as the guide. All are welcome to participate in the discussion or attend as observers. |
| Speaker | Dr. Siew Wen Jia (Senior Lecturer, New Era University College) |
| Reading Material | Chen Pingyuan: " The Rise and Spread of the 'New Culture ", Beijing: Peking University Press, 2015. |
| Content Overview | "Mass media, while constructing 'national consciousness' and creating 'fashion' and 'trends', are also creating 'modern literature'. A simple fact is that 'modern literature' differs from 'classical literature' not only in terms of ideology, aesthetic taste, and language tools but also in its production process and forms of publication. In other words, in literary creation, mass media such as newspapers are not just tools; they have deeply embedded themselves in the thinking and expression of writers." Professor Chen Pingyuan from the Department of Chinese at Peking University believes that understanding mass media is not only the responsibility of journalism historians or media workers. As a literary historian, he chooses to explore the production mechanisms and dissemination methods behind modern Chinese literature and culture from the perspectives of "newspapers" and "publishing". Placed in the context of the late Qing Dynasty and the May Fourth Movement, the so-called "new culture" refers to the proliferation of newspapers, literary magazines, and other publications, which influenced the stylistic forms of modern literature and subsequently sparked new literary or ideological trends. The guide will lead everyone to appreciate how the influence of mass media permeated literary production and subsequently changed the direction of social thought from four dimensions: late Qing images, newspaper research, publishing models, and stylistic characteristics. |
| Seminar Information | Date: April 27, 2023 (Thursday) Time:7.30pm - 9.00pm Platform: ZOOM Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/bp4uyeav *Free registration, due by April 26, 2023. |
