SCHOOL OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
| Researcher : Blasco Garcia R |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Blasco Garcia R., An introduction to Spanish Language and Culture, Hong Kong Outstanding Students Association. 2009. |
| Blasco Garcia R., Round Table - Current developments on the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language, 1st CELEAP Conference - Cervantes Institute of Manila. 2009. |
| Blasco Garcia R., Spanish National Identity, European Studies - School of Modern Languages and Cultures. 2009. |
| Blasco Garcia R., The Spanish Programme at The University of Hong Kong, City University Community College. 2009. |
| Researcher : Chong L |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Chong L., Award: Salzburg Seminar 2009 Program, Salzburg Global Seminar . 2009. |
| Researcher : Cristaudo WA |
| Project Title: | A Rather Long War- Islam and the West |
| Investigator(s): | Cristaudo WA |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 12/2007 |
| Abstract: |
| The original objective was to produce an entire book. The award, however, was for a refereed article in a refereed international journal. I wish to affirm that I will be writing the one refereed article rather than the book. The project is still on Islam and its relationship with the West, although the title is to be changed to Theorising Islam and Western Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities' |
| Project Title: | International and Pluridisciplinary Conference Bringing Back Character and Grammar: Freeing Literature from Philosophy and Theory |
| Investigator(s): | Cristaudo WA |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 03/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cristaudo W.A., Bringing Back Character and Grammar: Freeing Literature from Philosophy and Theory, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour U.F.R . 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Christianity, Revolutions, and the West , Nankai University . 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Evil and Damage, Beijing Normal University. 2009. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Jean Paul Sartre, In: Baptist University Hong Kong , 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Love in the Religions of the World, Conference Love in the Religions of the World Conference . 2009. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Love in the Western Philosophical Tradition, Beijing Foreign Studies Univeristy. 2009. |
| Cristaudo W.A., On Providence, Power and the Spiritual Sequence of Revolutions in the Theo-history of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, conference “Translatio Imperii in the 3rd Millennium: Philosophy and Theology address Power and Revolution in History. 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Review Article : The Tenure Itch: Benjamin Pollock’s Franz Rosenzweig and the Systematic Star of Philosophy for First Things, 2010, 56-57. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Rosenstock-Huessy on the French Revolution and the Humanistic Turn, conference "Revolutions: Finished and Unfinished, from Primal to Final" . 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., Rosenzweig, Rosenstock-Huessy and Nietzsche, conference Franz Rosenzweigg and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy; The History of a Friendship held at Dartmouth College New Hampshire. Plenary Speaker. . 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., The Weight of Love and Evil in Augustine, In: Wayne Cristaudo, Wong Heung Wah, Saint Augustine : His Relevance and Legacy. Adelaide, ATF Press, 2010, 157-182. |
| Cristaudo W.A., ‘Rosenstock-Huessy’s Anti-Transcendent Critique of Karl Barth,’ and ‘The Great Gift: The Impact of Franz Rosenzweig’s Jewishness on Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy.’ , In: Wayne Cristaudo,Frances Huessy, The Cross and the Star: The Post-Nietzschean Christian and Jewish Thought of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and Franz Rosenzweig. Cambridge, CSP, 2009, xi-xxii. 139-161,277-289. |
| Cristaudo W.A., ‘The Meaning of the Mechanistic Revolution’ & speaker on a panel on death where I spoke on ‘Love as Strong as Death?” , University of Ljubljana . 2010. |
| Cristaudo W.A., ‘the importance of Franz Rosenzweig and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’, University of Macau . 2010. |
| Wong H.W. and Cristaudo W.A., St. Augustine: His Legacy and Relevance. Adelaide, ATP, 2010. |
| Researcher : Edwards LP |
| Project Title: | Men and Masculinity in Propaganda Cartoons of the Second Sino-Japanese War |
| Investigator(s): | Edwards LP |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 01/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| This project explores the presentation of masculinity in propaganda cartoons produced during the second Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945). It aims to examine the ways in which Chinese men and masculinity are mobilised in materials produced by the Chinese for Chinese consumption in their lengthy war against Japan. In so doing, the project aims to contribute to the global understandings of men and masculinity as well as the extensive research conducted on the culture of war internationally. Propaganda is a crucial part of warmongering and war strategy. Chinese military and political leaders made ample use of this tactic during the second Sino-Japanese war. On the one hand, propaganda is undertaken to shore up support for the war effort by seeking to enhance enlistment rates or increase popular contributions of funds and energies to the war effort. On the other, because war is a brutal and wearisome project ordinary folk in an occupied or invaded nation need constant propagandizing to ensure their continued hatred of the designated enemy and to inspire the desire for vengeance. Wartime propaganda is vital to ensuring that people do not surrender, capitulate or defect to the oftentimes apparently stronger enemy. In occupied territories it also functions to inhibit collaboration with the enemy. As the major active participants in wars, men are major targets of war propaganda and feature predominantly in the narratives and imagery of this material. To date, there have been no comprehensive analyses of the propaganda produced by the Chinese sides during the Sino-Japanese War that explore the nature of the masculinity presented therein. Chinese wartime propaganda has not been explored as a gendered product. This project will fill that gap. The key issues to be explored in this project are: • How are male bodies presented in wartime propaganda? When, if ever, are injuries or death displayed? • In what ways does the age of men transform the masculinity presented? Are elderly men presented in particular ways that differ from fighting-age men? When and how are boys drawn into the adult combat world? • What are the key differences between the presentation of men as combatants and as civilians? • How does class status affect the depiction of men and masculinity in this wartime context? Are the privileged classes targeted at all in recruitment narratives? • How are men from the enemy depicted (both as soldiers and civilians)? Does this differ from men who are traitors (hanjian)? • How does the presentation of groups of men differ from the presentation of individual men? How is male bonding and camaraderie mobilized to achieve propaganda goals? • How is male sexuality depicted in propaganda cartoons? • Is there anything unique about Chinese masculinity in wartime propaganda in an international perspective? |
| Project Title: | 「戰爭、性別與日常生活」 Clothing and cloth in wartime conditions: Transformations in women’s engagement with textiles and dress |
| Investigator(s): | Edwards LP |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 06/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Edwards L.P. and Jeffreys E., Celebrity in China , In: L.Edwards and E. Jeffreys, Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong Press, 2010. |
| Edwards L.P., “Chinese feminism in a transnational frame: between internationalism and xenophobia,” , In: M. Roces and L. Edwards, Women’s Movements in Asia: feminism and Transnational Activism . London, Routledge, 2010, 53-74. |
| Edwards L.P., “Military Celebrity in China: The Evolution of ‘Heroic and Model Servicemen’”, In: L. Edwards, E. Jeffreys , Celebrity in China . Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong Press, 2010, 21-44. |
| Edwards L.P., “Twenty-first Century Women Warriors: Variations on Traditional Themes,”, In: G. Rawnsley, M.-Y. Rawnsley, and J. Stringer, Global Chinese Cinema: The Culture and Politics of ‘Hero’ . London, Routledge, 2010, 65-77. |
| Jeffreys E...J... and Edwards L.P., “Celebrity/China” , In: E. Jeffreys and L. Edwards, Celebrity in China . Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong Press, 2010, 1-21. |
| Roces M. and Edwards L.P., Women’s Movements in Asia: Feminism and Transnational Activism, In: M. Roces and L. Edwards, London, Routledge, 2010. |
| Researcher : Kang Kim HW |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Kang Kim H.W., "Korean Language and Korean Studies in Hong Kong: The history and the current status of Korean Language Education in Hong Kong and its future prospects", In: Ha Y. W. et al. , Diaspora of the Korean Language and Its Ramifications . USA, U. C. Berkeley, 2009. |
| Kang Kim H.W., Korean Language Education in Asia, In: Kang Kim Hyewon, Chan Wai-meng et al., Guest Editor. Singapore, e-FLT of National University of Singapore (NUS), 2010, 150 pages. |
| Kang Kim H.W., “从韩国学发展过程看到的香港对韩国觀的变化(The Change of the Image of Korea & its people in Hong Kong through the Development of Korean Studies)”, In: Park Jae Woo, 韓中語言文學硏究會, Korea, 韓中語言文學硏究會, 2009, 12 pages. |
| Researcher : Lai EYW |
| Project Title: | Pronunciation - teaching pedagogy for native Cantonese teachers of second languages |
| Investigator(s): | Lai EYW |
| Department: | Japanese Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Other Funding Scheme |
| Start Date: | 01/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| To promote general pronunciaton culture of Cantonese speakers; to help native Cantonese teachers of second languages develop effective pronunciation - teaching strategies. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai E.Y.W., Intensive pronunciation and accent training seminar to 30 government Administrative Officers, 2009. |
| Lai E.Y.W., Public lecture at City University on Cantonese and English phonology, 2010. |
| Lai E.Y.W., Public seminar to 450 audience at Australian International School., 2009. |
| Lai E.Y.W., Public seminar to 450 audience at Australian International School., 2010. |
| Researcher : Levi JA |
| Project Title: | The Third ABORNE Annual Meeting Border and Border Crossing in Lusophone Africa. |
| Investigator(s): | Levi JA |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 09/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Levi J.A., August 4, 2009. Recipient of book by Tommaso Pellin. Lessico grammatical in Cina. (1859-1924). Milan: Franco Angeli, 2009, in recognition of assistance in locating material on missionary linguistics in China. [recognized in his book for my contribution to missionary linguistics]., 2009. |
| Levi J.A., Gastronomia macaense: Sinal de identidade entre dois mundos, In: Eds. Margrit Manz, and Martin Zeller, Food-Scape. Swiss Cultural Explorations. Hong Kong, MCCM Creations, 2009, 112-114. |
| Levi J.A., July 1, 2009. Recipient of award from Professor Maria de Deus Beites Manso, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal, research fellow at the Instituto de Macau, Macau, May 1-July 2, 2009, for distinguished service to the Portuguese language and the Lusophone world. Book launch: Manso, Maria de Deus Beites. A Companhia de Jesus na Índia (1542-1622). Actividades Religiosas, Poderes e Contactos Culturais. Macau: Universidade de Macau/University of Macau and Universidade de Évora, 2009. Instituto Internacional de Macau/Macau International Institute, Rua de Berlim, Ed. Magnificent 240 2º, NAPE, Macau, 2009. |
| Levi J.A., July 1, 2009. Recognized by the Confucius Institute of Macau for distinguished service to the Portuguese language and the Lusophone world. Instituto Internacional de Macau/Macau International Institute, Rua de Berlim, Ed. Magnificent 240 2º, NAPE, Macau, 2009. |
| Levi J.A., Macau’s Foodscape: Identity Marker within Two Worlds, In: Eds. Margrit Manz, and Martin Zeller, Food-Scape, Swiss Chinese Cultural Explorations. Hong Kong, MCCM Creations, 2009, 105-109. |
| Levi J.A., Reviewed: "O conto alegórico e Nova Literatura em Portugal", In: Dr. Sheri Long, Reviewing Editor, HISPANIA, HISPANIA, a journal devoted to the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese, published by the AATSP (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese). American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, 2009. |
| Levi J.A., translated by Ms. Cathy Wong, 澳門食物風景: 兩個世界中的身份標記, In: Eds. Margrit Manz, and Martin Zeller, Food-Scape. Swiss Chinese Cultural Explorations.. MCC Creations, 2009, 109-111. |
| Researcher : Martinez VJ |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Martinez V.J., Student mobility and intercultural competences: an example of research in Hong Kong. , Colloque Canton 2009. |
| Researcher : Meyer DC |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Meyer D.C., "Cultural Icons : Textual and Contextual Readings", International Conference : "Pour une recherche-action en didactique du FLE dans la Chine d’aujourd’hui"; South China Normal University, Canton. Canton, China, 2009. |
| Meyer D.C., "There From Elsewhere and Us from Over There : Depictions of Japan From the 16th Century Jesuits to Roland Barthes", International Conference "Imagining the Other: The Missionaries in the Far East"; University of Artois, France. University of Artois, France, 2009. |
| Meyer D.C., A Sense of Floating Selves : Kikou Yamata's Mediation of Japan, In: School of Modern Languages and Cultures, SMLC Seminar Series, Hong Kong University. Hong Kong, 2010. |
| Meyer D.C., A Sense of Floating Selves, United International College (UIC), Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University, Zhuhai. Zhuhai, Guangdong, P.R. of China, 2010. |
| Meyer D.C., Clés Pour La France En 80 Icônes Culturelles [keys To France In 80 Cultural Icons], Paris, Hachette Education, 2010, 192 pages. |
| Meyer D.C., Culture, Language and the Fragrant Harbour, Hong Kong Echo. Hong Kong, The French Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong, 2009, No. 55: 19. |
| Meyer D.C., French Cultural Icons, Alliance Francaise of Hong Kong. Hong Kong, 2010. |
| Meyer D.C., Monde Flottant - La Médiation Culturelle Du Japon De Kikou Yamata [a Floating World: Kikou Yamata's Cultural Mediation Of Japan], Paris, L'Harmattan, 2009, 320 pages. |
| Meyer D.C., Portraits Du Quotidien, Chez Marianne 3 – Français Pour Les Adultes. Helsinki, Finland, Finn Lectura, 2010, 1. |
| Meyer D.C., The French Education System, Beijing, China, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2009. |
| Meyer D.C., Towards the Formation of a University of Asian Countries, In: French Education Ministry and the French Teachers Association of Taiwan, Second Symposium of French Studies in Asia; Fujen University, Taipei. Taipei, Taiwan, 2010. |
| Researcher : Murakami F |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Murakami F. and Yorozu M., Co-editor, In: Yorozu Miho and Murakami Fuminobu, Japanese Language Education and Japanese Culture in Globalized Society. グローバル化社会の日本語教育と日本文化, Tokyo, Hituji, 2009, 309 pages. |
| Murakami F., Co-editor, In: Richard Stanley-Baker, Murakami Fuminobu, Jeremy Tambling, Reading the Tale of Genji. Folkestone, Global Oriental, 2009, 1-188. |
| Murakami F., Crosscultural Interpretation of Movies, 映画の異文化解釈, In: Yorozu Miho and Murakami Fuminobu, Japanese Language Education and Japanese Culture in Globalized Society. グローバル化社会の日本語教育と日本文化, Tokyo, Hituji, 2009, 197-207. |
| Murakami F., Person, Honorifics and Tense in The Tale of Genji, In: Richard Stanley-Baker, Murakami Fuminobu, Jeremy Tambling, Reading the Tale of Genji. Folkestone, Global Oriental, 2009, 80-100. |
| Researcher : Nakano Y |
| Project Title: | Presenting Japan to the World, 1953-1970: "Self-Orientalism" as an Interactive Process |
| Investigator(s): | Nakano Y |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 10/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) What materials were created by Japan Airlines to promote their services in overseas markets between 1953 and 1970? 2) How did Japan Airlines present and represent “Japan” in its advertising and branding in the United States and Hong Kong? 3) How and why did it select particular images and symbols of “Japan”? 4) How did non-Japanese intermediaries contribute to the selection process? 5) How did it balance domestic and international needs when selecting images? 6) How did these strategies evolve and change as their customer focus began to shift from American to Japanese travelers? |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Nakano Y., Japanese Ads in Hong Kong Newspapers 1950-2000 (No. 8 to 13), In: Hongkong Japanese Club, Hong Kong, Bi-monthly Magazine of the Hongkong Japanese Club. Hong Kong, 2010, various. |
| Nakano Y., Where There Are Asians, There Are Rice Cookers: How "National" Went Global via Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2009, 214. |
| Nakano Y., “Localizing Japanese Rice Cookers with a Chinese Touch: How "National" Went Global via Hong Kong”, International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Kunming, China, 2009. |
| Nakano Y., “The First Trip Abroad, 1965-1970: Teaching ‘Western’ Manners to Japanese Package Tourists”, International Convention of Asia Scholars. Daejeon, Korea, 2009. |
| Nakano Y., “The First Trip Abroad, 1965-1970: Teaching ‘Western’ Manners to Japanese Package Tourists”, Society for East Asian Anthropology. Taipei, 2009. |
| Researcher : Nakayama I |
| Project Title: | Periodic Struggles: Menstruation Leave, Gender, Labour, and Science in 20th century Japan |
| Investigator(s): | Nakayama I |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 03/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| My dissertation (“Periodic Struggles: Menstruation Leave in Modern Japan,” Harvard, 2007) examined the history of menstruation leave in modern Japan. Menstruation leave, as articulated in Article 67 of the Japanese Labor Standards Law of 1947, gave menstruating women the right to absent themselves from work if they were experiencing difficulties working or were engaged in types of labor activity considered hazardous to the menstrual cycle. My project provides the first historical analysis of this uncommon protective legislation, and through the lens of menstruation leave, demonstrates unusual processes of cooperation and co-optation by the state, labor scientists, labor unions, and female workers in pre- and postwar Japan. With this grant, I plan to complete the conversion of my dissertation into a publishable manuscript primarily by researching several key unresolved questions, conducting new archival research, and elucidating them in a comparative setting, making the project accessible to a wider audience. Strengthening and refining key conceptual elements to the project ranks high on my agenda. With the support of the Seed Fund, I will seek to bolster the substance and conceptualization of the dissertation as I revise it substantially. This study of a unique form of protective legislation, for instance, should more thoroughly address issues of illness and work, the conflict between concepts of physiological time and modern industrial work schedules, and notions of “civilization” expressed in public discussions of menstruation. It is vital to think through a more sophisticated, theoretically informed explanation of my ideas about gendered citizenship, or the relationship between the state and individual bodies, that will theorize beyond menstruation leave, and make explicit the implications of my findings and arguments for the study of state, labor management, and white and blue-collar female workers in Japan. I will also add two new chapters to the manuscript, which will require extensive research in a wide range of archives. First, I will selectively examine the history of gender, work, and menstruation in late nineteenth and early twentieth century America. This exercise will highlight the contemporaneous problematisation of female workers’ health in the new age of industrial labour in the United States and Japan, and illustrate the different paths taken to protect women’s health. The second new chapter will consider the historical processes and recent discussions on menstruation leave in China and Taiwan, and to a lesser extent, South Korea and Indonesia, as these Asian countries all have a form of labour legislation concerning menstruation. I aim to write a book that is grounded in Japanese history, yet address issues crossing regional and disciplinary boundaries. |
| Researcher : Swirski P |
| Project Title: | Educating John Doe: Literature, Politics, Justice |
| Investigator(s): | Swirski P |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 07/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) Examine the degree and the nature of political orientation among contemporary works of popular art (fiction and essayistic nonfiction). The working assumption is that, selling in the tens of millions, popular bestsellers that openly engage in the political process have a high impact on the public political opinion in the United States (and, by extension, abroad). The degree, efficacy and accuracy of such mass political education is of utmost importance. 2) Examine the level of these works' political, and specifically, partisan involvement. Inasmuch as they clearly and openly identify themselves with political parties or instantly recognizable political platforms, the objective is to examine them with a view to how contemporary popular art can effectively further such political programs. 3) Examine the degree and nature of its rhetoric. Given their phenomenal appeal, the popular bestsellers under study are effective opinion-makers. As such, they demand scrupulous analysis of their content, form, style, and rhetoric in order to establish their degree of factual, sttistical, historical and ideological veracity. Given that the works come from both sides of the political spectrum, from the Republican right to the Independent and Democratic left, such analysis is needed to clear the rhetorical smokescreens dispensed by the artists themselves and their political allies and critics. 4) Examine the domestic aspects of the American political system. In view of the turbulent recent political history, such a re-examination will set the record straight on the politics, history, and socioeconomic policies of the recent times. Significantly, the works under study do not merely employ politics as a backdrop--they take on the political system comprehensively and directly, in the process becoming political instruments in their own right. 5) Examine the deliberate effort to bridge high intellectual content with popular art forms, journalistic immediacy and "nobrow" appeal. For example, the assorted works include a great deal of statistical data, comparative tables, or historical references—extremely unusual in popular bestsellers. This nobrow bridge between serious political content and popular art forms is in need of analysis, both in terms of its effect on political culture in the United States and its effect on the art/literary scene. 6) Examine what's topical in American political art with a view to its performance of the roles traditionally performed by the mass media: information bearer and an important elements of the systems of check and balances built into the American democracy. While making every effort to situate my analyses historically, I focus on contemporary politics and contemporary political art in order to examine its efficacy and accuracy in (in Conrad's words) "bringing the visible world to justice." |
| Project Title: | 2009 Congress of the Humanities and the Social Sciences American City or Global Village? |
| Investigator(s): | Swirski P |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 05/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | 4th International American Studies Association (IASA) World Congress “American Empire in the Global Context: Literature, History, Politics.” |
| Investigator(s): | Swirski P |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 09/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 09/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Researcher : Teo VEL |
| Project Title: | The Globalisation of Sino-Japanese Strategic Competition: Reputation, Great Power Aspirations and Grand Strategy |
| Investigator(s): | Teo VEL |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 12/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 12/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Is a country’s reputation and aspirations worth fighting for? History has shown that nations have confronted each other in order to ‘protect’ their reputation today rather than risk letting the “unthinkable” happen and ruin their reputation tomorrow. Ironically, it is often the brightest minds and the sharpest souls within a country’s foreign policy establishment that have been at the forefront of advocating of a war today in order to avoid a conflict tomorrow. This observation in turn begs more questions: Why and how should a nation go about acquiring the reputation of being a “great power” in the first instance and to what extent would and should the nation protect this reputation and aspiration? How should a nation react when she finds herself sharing the same desire for a status of eminence, seeking the same “great power” status with her closest neighbour? Would great power rivalry a natural inevitable consequence of this realization or would co-operation be possible for the two countries seeking strategic eminence and reputational supremacy? Nowhere in the world is this more apparent than in Northeast Asia. After almost half a century after the Second World War, Japan is seeking to be a “normal country” once again. Today, Japan is reconsidering its pacifist Constitution, reorienting its foreign policy, dispatching troops abroad to support US and UN Peacekeeping operations. Most recently, Japan is actively trying to become a permanent member on the United Nations Security Council as a step in its quest towards “normality”. The irony is that while Japan considers a “greater role” in world affairs and a security seat as steps towards ‘normality’, other countries would consider them as nothing but steps towards realizing Japan's dream of becoming a Great Power. China while considered by many to be the destined hegemon in East Asia, has over the last two decades kept a relatively low profile on regional leadership issues. Scholars have noted that it may be possible that China silently detests the “leadership” role Japan professes to project in the region today. Nonetheless, as much as the Japanese feel insecure about China’s ascendance, China likewise is still quite apprehensive of Japan’s technological, economic and military prowess. Rightly or wrongly, both China and Japan still perceive themselves a great power. While they may have not articulated it expressively, both China and Japan have since their pre-modern history aspired to be “prosperous” and “strong” (富國強兵 / ふこくきょうへい) – a goal shared by the governments and people alike. The nationalism exhibited by both nations has made it remarkably clear that both countries would seek the “number one” status as the dominant power in East Asia by any measure or indicator. Unfortunately, by definition, the nature of being “number one” means that it precludes any one else from sharing the same status and that most foreign policy issues between them will be essentially cast in zero sum terms i.e. there can only be one number one and hence one winner. This image of the future in which there cannot be two “number one” unfortunately creates a certain sense of “zero-sum” strategic anxiety for both the people and governments of Japan and China. Most countries in the region, including the United States included, are worried that Japan and China might institute more hawkish and confrontational policies towards each other precisely because both would like to pre-empt a forthcoming hegemonic confrontation or a clash over resources. Simply put, China and Japan might meet head-on in order to deny each other in gaining strategic advantages (real or perceived) in their quest to become the eminent power in the region. Other than possessing nuclear weapons, a permanent seat at the UN Security council, maintaining an exceptionally strong economy, one other possible hallmark of becoming a great power is achieving true global reach and influence and the exhibition of leadership. Both China and Japan have set the course to develop intrinsically its comprehensive national strength and externally its political influence to achieve that illusive great power status. Like most other issues, the contestation of exerting influence in global affairs is also starting to take on a zero-sum game dimension. Despite the diplomatic niceties that have pervaded the discourse on Sino-Japanese relations in the post Koizumi era, and the communiqués that both countries have signed recently, there is ample prima facie empirical evidence that Sino-Japanese strategic competition have taken on a new dimension that the world has never seen before. From 1996 to 2008, China and Japan have vied openly for Russia to build an oil pipeline carrying Siberian crude to their respective energy hungry economies and maneuvered against each other for oil concessions in the Middle East, notably in Saudi Arabia and Iran. Chinese firms are competing with Japanese companies for exploration and mining contracts in Africa and Latin America. Chinese capital is challenging Japanese funds for the best investment opportunities worldwide. China and Japan are silently but surely trying to boost their capabilities in military technology, biotechnology, space exploration and to become the financial centre in Asia. The objectives of this research project are therefore to: 1. Understand the conceptualization of the “great power” self-image of China and Japan i.e. how the contemporary Japanese and Chinese people and government officials view their own country’s national aspirations, and correspondingly their desired developmental trajectory and consequences for their respective foreign policies. 2. Compare and contrast Japan’s and China’s mutual perceptions of each other as a potential or actual great power and their concerns if any, that this ascendance might bring for the future of their own countries. 3. Examine and characterize the globalization of the strategic competition between China and Japan. While not greatly publicized yet, Japan and China appears to have clashing policies and interests beyond the traditional bilateral quarrels such as those over historical issues. Essentially this involves identifying Japan’s and China’s interests and positions across certain issue areas which are listed as follows: a. The Securing of Energy Supplies & Resource Materials in Africa, Latin America and Russia. b. Defence Co-operation with third parties excluding the United States. c. Innovation, acquisition and co-operation of new technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology. d. Joint economic ventures with governments and firms in Africa and Middle East. e. The competition between China and Japan to become the finance hub in Asia. f. Space Exploration. 4. Identify, delineate and chart out the corresponding patterns of Chinese and Japanese Post Cold War diplomacy in the Middle East, Russia and Africa. |
| Project Title: | Online Digital Archive and Multimedia Digital Teaching Portal |
| Investigator(s): | Teo VEL |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Leung Kau Kui Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants |
| Start Date: | 05/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| This project aims to develop a portal that could significantly improve the learning experiences of students taking the courses on Sino-Japanese relations (JAPN2014) and Japan and China as Great Powers in International Affairs (JAPN2047), but it could be also utilized for courses in East Asian Studies in general. Due to the nature of its contents, its dissemination strategy as well as the anticipated scholarly visitors that the portal wants to attract in order for it to be successful, the portal cannot be hosted on the HKU WebCT as it requires people visiting the site to have HKU password. A private domain and a commercial webhosting service needs to be solicited for the portal. The portal would provide an online archival resource and a digital interactive learning forum for the students. This would be elaborated in further details under the “Content” part of the proposal. However, examples of thematic topics that could be presented in the portal focusing on China, Japan and greater East Asia are as follows: a) Antagonisms over history (history textbook, revisionism, Japanese militarism, comfort women, war crimes, apologies and compensation for war atrocities; right wing activities in Japan and China; militarization); b) War Commemoration and Remembrance; c) Social Memories, Nationalism and National Identity; d) Contemporary Foreign and Security Policy of China, Japan and Korea. The portal might actually be the first of its kind as it would attempt to utilize sources from three languages in its presentation. By collating various materials in one place, this portal would provide not only an invaluable one stop resource for the students studying East Asian studies, Sino-Japanese relations, China and Japan in World affairs in HKU, but would also benefit other students in higher education institutions locally and worldwide. Faculty members and students worldwide would hopefully be able to make use of the resources on this portal, and in time to come, become an indispensable resource for any course on Sino-Japanese relations and East Asian Affairs worldwide. This resource can be advertised permanently on Association for Asian Studies Website and International Studies Association Website. The second focus of the portal is to enable the students to understand the epistemological roots of their knowledge on the subject matter, and to invite the students to think critically and evaluate about the assumptions they hold on the topics within the courses. In order to do this effectively, the portal would highlight to the students that they themselves are very much part of the phenomenon they are studying. This is especially true when the students are studying phenomenon such as nationalism in Sino-Japanese relations. This multimedia portal would mediate the learning experiences of students as they approach the various topics in the courses by presenting to them evidence, arguments and primary material from a variety of mediums, languages and locations. These materials would cover those ranging from Sino-Japanese controversies over historical textbook interpretation to debating whether or not Japan is a resurgent military power etc. At the same time, the portal would empower the students as it allows them an opportunity to make contributions towards the teaching materials. This portal would also help emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of international and area studies to the students. By fusing digital multimedia sources such as clips, pictures, photos with traditional articles and book chapters, the portal would help students to learn more become familiar with contemporary approaches to and issues in international security, especially with regards to great power realpolitik, international law and institution building in the East Asia context. Lastly, the portal will also ensure that the students can through a very interactive learning environment, gain a comparative insight the changing roles Japan and China are beginning to play in global international affairs, especially as security actors themselves. Through this process, the portal will develop each student’s ability to think independently about texts and reports on international security, in particular those related to Japanese and Chinese foreign and security relations. In particular, students should be able to contextualise Japanese and Chinese bilateral interactions with third parties in global affairs. |
| Project Title: | 18th International Conference on China, Chinese Civilisation and the World: History, Modernity and Future Prospects Between Enmity and Partnership: Great Power Status, International Reputation and National Interests in Sino-Soviet/Russian Relations |
| Investigator(s): | Teo VEL |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 10/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 10/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | A Comparative Study of The "China Threat": Views From New Delhi, Moscow, Tokyo, Hanoi and the United States |
| Investigator(s): | Teo VEL |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 06/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| The purpose of this research is to initiate a systematic comparative study of the perceptions generated by and associated with the scendance of China as a Great power in the International system over the last twenty years. While there is no doubt a huge volume of literature to do with various dimensions of China’s growth over the years, there has been no systematic studies of the reactions of different countries to China’s ascendance. Officially, the diplomatic discourse characterises that most countries welcome and embrace China’s rise, and that China is portrayed as a positive force in regional development and global stability. However, since the demise of the USSR in 1991, there has been a chorus of voices from Washington DC to Canberra, from Tokyo to New Dehli from Moscow to Singapore commenting and debating the “China Threat”. The sense of strategic anxiety has not gone unnoticed by Beijing. Zhongnanhai has responded to the China Threat theory in 2003 by lauching its own theoretical narrative surrounding the “Peaceful Rise” (和平崛起) of China. First coined by the Vice Principal of the Communist Party School Zheng Bijian in 2003 (subsequently published in Oct 2005 issue of Foreign Affairs), this term was changed to “Peaceful Development” (和平发展) by the Hu administration in order not to paint a picture that China would be a challenge to the status quo, but rather evolve to become a responsible major power and a stakeholder in the current International system. Rather than pursuing an irredentist realpolitik strategic agenda, the image that Beijing wants to project is that the new China is one that focuses on improving the lives of the Chinese people and a China that contributes to world peace by its development. The new China would rely on Soft power and persuasion rather than hard power and military capabilities in order to achieve its strategic objectives. In 2004, Premier Wen Jiabao stressed that China's rise "will not come at the cost of any other country, will not stand in the way of any other country, nor pose a threat to any other country”. Yet, Beijing’s official discourse of Peaceful Rise/Development have not stifled narratives/discourses of the “China Threat” outside of the PRC. If anything, the manifestation of the “China threat” discourse through various allegations appear to have increasingly diversified beyond the traditional military and economic realms. Beijing is seen to be jeopardising regional healthy security (via PRC’s problematic system/behaviour in dealing with the SARS outbreak); threatening food security (via the alleged incident of exporting poisonous dumpling to Japan); endangering the international financial system (via its alleged undervaluing of the Yuan and the running of huge trade deficits with her trading partners) and “colonising” Africa in its bid to secure resource supplies. China has also been accused of taking hardline stand in her territorial disputes in East and South China Seas with Japan, and violating Human Rights of minorities such as those of the Tibetans and the Ughyurs or religious groups like Falungong domestically. In order words, critics see China’s rise as anything but peaceful, and that a strong China will seek an undeclared but considered irredentist and ambitious strategic agenda bent on challenging the status quo rather than to preserve it. This project is concerned with a few issues: first, if the Chinese government really believes in the Peaceful Rise theory, then would simply stating this (China’s Peaceful Rise) via official discourse help its case? Chances are that unless proponents of the China Threat theory inside/outside China accepts the reasons propagated by Beijing, the voices advocating the “China Threat” would never be marginalised. Second, the concept of “China Threat” and “Peaceful Rise” has not been subjected to very detailed academic scrutiny, and it is not entirely clear who discusses/employs these concepts; beyond that, how are these concepts defined/discussed and the policy implications for the perceptions formed by these discussions are important issues for this research. Third, it is also unclear how the Chinese narratives of peaceful rise and discourses of China threat interacts. There is a chance that without common denominators, these narratives/discourses have little linkage with each other i.e. people are just talking past each other. This means that any hopes of Beijing to increase the utilisation of its soft power to achieve strategic objectives cannot be easily obtained. In a nutshell, this study aims to: • Conduct a theoretically informed empirical study of perceptions and policy implications related to the ascendance of China in the International system • Understand and dissect the discourses/narratives of how China’s ascendance is viewed in five different countries (the United States, Japan, Vietnam, India and Russia) • Establish the basis for perceptions of “China Threat” within these countries and construct a taxonomy for these perceptions • Gauge and delineate the reactions within the selected countries of China’s characterisation of her “peaceful rise” in the political and scholarly discourse within the countries concerned • Identify the domestic actors / groups / factions within these countries responsible for the articulation of the China Threat if any, and their motivations and influence on the policy process within their countries • Re-evaluate plausible linkages of the anti-China views of these national sub-groups and the countries’ policies towards China |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Teo V.E.L., Between Enmity and Partnership: Great Power Status, International Reputation and National Interests in Sino-Soviet/Russian Relations, 18th International Conference on China, Chinese Civilisation and the World: History, Modernity and Furture Prospects, Institute of the Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. 2009. |
| Teo V.E.L., China Peaceful Rise vis-a-vis Japan and Southeast Asia: A Test Case for China's World Status?, Sciences Po Southeast Asian Observatory Annual Seminar, Ecole des Sciences Politiques, Paris France. 2010. |
| Teo V.E.L., Contemporary Japanese Scholars' Thinking and Perception on International Security (Commentator), Japanese Studies and Taiwan-Japan Relations Conference, Institute for Japan Studies, Naitonal Chengchi University, Taiwan. 2009. |
| Teo V.E.L., Gong G. and Zatsepine V.V., Three Nations in Search of Manchuria's Past, In: Gerrit Gong and Victor Teo, Reconceptualising the Divide: Identity, Memory, and Nationalism in Sino-Japanese Relations. UK, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010, 119-134. |
| Researcher : Vazquez Vazquez MM |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Lecture on "Introduction to European Cinema", Course EUST2011 Modern European Lifestyle, SMLC, HKU. 2010. |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Panel “Social(ist) Cinema. From Cinema Novo to Chávez” and paper “Contemporary Populist Cinema?”, SCMS (Society for Cinema and Media Studies) Los Angeles, USA. . 2010. |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Reflecting “Geographies of Injustice”: Heterotopias and Class Differences in Latin American Cinema. , 2010 Crossroads Conference. Lignam University, Hong Kong. . 2010. |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Research seminar on “Aesthetics and Ideology in Latin American Cinema”, Department of Comparative Literature. The University of Hong Kong. . 2010. |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Research seminar on “Politics of realism in contemporary Venezuelan filmmaking”, Research Seminar Series, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, HKU. 2010. |
| Vazquez Vazquez M.M., Teaching Film or Using Film to Learn Language and Culture? Diverse Approaches to Teaching Film in Foreign Language Centres., In: University of Chile , Lenguas Modernas. Santiago, Chile, University of Chile, 2009, 34: 9-23. |
| Researcher : Vogt CR |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Vogt C.R., “From the Star of Redemption to the Cross of Reality (1959)” (Translation of Georg Mueller's article) , In: Wayne Cristaudo and Frances Huessy, The Cross and the Star. The Post-Nietzschean Christian and Jewish Thought of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and Franz Rosenzweig . Newcastle, CSP, 2009, 49-72. |
| Vogt C.R., “The Discovery of the New Thinking (1987)” (Translation of Wolfgang Ullmann's article), In: Wayne Cristaudo and Frances Huessy, The Cross and the Star. The Post-Nietzschean Christian and Jewish Thought of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and Franz Rosenzweig. Newcastle, CSP, 2009, 73-104. |
| Vogt C.R., “The Processes leading to the Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe” , Symposium on the End of Communism in Europe, Hong Kong Baptist University, September 24, 2009. 2009. |
| Vogt C.R., “Values in Conflict. The Effects of Islam, Migration, and Social Fragmentation on European Politics and Foreign Policy”, 2010 Oceanic Conference on International Studies, Auckland. 2010. |
| Researcher : Wong HW |
| Project Title: | The 22nd Annual Meeting of Japan-China Sociological Society Kinship and Its Relevance to the Discourses on Sex and Sexual Behaviours in Taiwan: A Call for the Return of Kinship Studies |
| Investigator(s): | Wong HW |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 06/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Wong H.W. and Yau H.Y., An Analysis of Iwabuchi Co. Ltd in Japan and Hong Kong by Two Third Class Corporate Analysts (invited lecture to an international forum Studies of Japanese Popular Culture: Examining the State of the Art and the Nature of the Gap with Miyadai Shinji and Azuma Hiroki), Institute of Comparative Culture, Sophia University. 2009. |
| Wong H.W. and Yau H.Y., An Analysis of “Iwabuchi Co. Ltd” in Japan and Hong Kong by Two Third Class Corporate Analysts, Institute of Comparative Culture (ICC) at Sophia University . 2009. |
| Wong H.W., Born in the 1980s, Grow up in the 1990s, and Suffer in the 2000s: The 80s Generation in Hong Kong Under the Recent Financial Tsunami, Tackling the Financial Crisis in East and Southeast Asia: Assessing Policies and Impacts jointly organized by Department of Japanese Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, The University of Hong Kong and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. 2010. |
| Wong H.W. and Yau H.Y., Cong riben babaiban zai xianggang de chenggong lai kuitan zhongguo shehui (To understand Chinese society through the success of Yaohan in Hong Kong, 从日本八百伴在香港的成功来窥探中国社会, South China Institute of Japanese Studies. 华南日本研究, China, 2009, 2: 397-413. |
| Wong H.W. and Yip C.K.Y., Conventional Value and Instrumental Interest of Cosplay in Hong Kong. Joint Paper , New Possibilities of TransAsian Anime Studies. 2010. |
| Wong H.W., From the Politics of Ethnicity to the Politics of Cultures: With Reflections on the Changes of the Culture of Politics after a Japanese Overseas Subsidiary was Taken by a Company of Other Culture, 1998 to 1999, the 16th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences . 2009. |
| Wong H.W., How I Become a 'Deformed" Augustinian Man: A Personal Note., In: Wayne Cristaudo and HW Wong, St. Augustine: His Legacy and Relevance. Adelaide, ATP, 2010, 287-328. |
| Wong H.W., Is the West-the Rest Paradigm Different from the Japan-the Rest of Asia Paradigm?: A Critical Review of the Work of Iwabuchi Koichi, the Fifth Annual Meeting of Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Wong H.W. and Yau H.Y., Kinship and Its Relevance to the Discourses on Sex and Sexual Behaviours in Taiwan: A Call for the Return of Kinship Studies, 22nd Annual Meeting of Japan China Sociological Society organized by Japan China Sociological Society. 2010. |
| Wong H.W. and Cristaudo W.A., St. Augustine: His Legacy and Relevance. Adelaide, ATP, 2010. |
| Wong H.W., Studying Cross-Cultural Migrations of Media Goods as an Event: Critical Review of the Globalization and Creolization Paradigms, Center of Japanese Studies, The Beijing University of Foreign Studies, Beijing, China. 2009. |
| Wong H.W., Studying the Cross-Cultural Migration of Media Cultural Goods as an Event: Critical Review of the Globalization and the Creolization Paradigm, the Fifth Annual Meeting of Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Wong H.W., Traditional Family System and the Concepts of ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ in Japanese and Chinese Societies, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. 2009. |
| Wong H.W., Traditional Family System and the Concepts of “Public” and “Private” in Japanese, Chinese and Western Societies, Center for Japanese Studies and Department of Japanese, Fudan University. 2009. |
| Wong H.W., Traditional Family System and the Concepts of “Public” and “Private” in Japanese, Chinese and Western Societies, Department of Chinese Language and Literature and Institute of Comparative Literature, Beijing University . 2009. |
| Wong H.W. and Yau H.Y., Translating Japanese Adult Movies in Taiwan: Transcending the Production-consumption Opposition, Asian Studies Review. 2010, 34 (1): 19-39. |
| Wong H.W., Two or Three Things that I Know about Japanese Companies: A Deeper Understanding of Japanese Management System Through the Native Concept of ‘Kaisha’, Department of Organization and Human Resources, School of Business, Renmin University of China. 2009. |
| Wong H.W., Why a Globalizing Corporate Culture Still Inhibits Localization of Management: The Yaohan Case, Institute of Business Research. Sangyō Keiei Kenkyū, Japan, 2010, 32: 31-48. |
| Researcher : Yip CKY |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Wong H.W. and Yip C.K.Y., Conventional Value and Instrumental Interest of Cosplay in Hong Kong. Joint Paper , New Possibilities of TransAsian Anime Studies. 2010. |
| Researcher : Yorozu M |
| Project Title: | A study on motivation and learning strategies |
| Investigator(s): | Yorozu M |
| Department: | Japanese Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Other Funding Scheme |
| Start Date: | 04/2001 |
| Abstract: |
| To investigate how language learners' motivation (to learn) and their learning strategies influence each other; to explore implications in language learning acquisition process. |
| Project Title: | Designing and implementing a course "Active Learning through Computer Simulation" |
| Investigator(s): | Yorozu M |
| Department: | School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
| Source(s) of Funding: | University Development Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 06/2007 |
| Abstract: |
| For students to develop competence and confidence in communicating in Japanese with people from other cultures; to developing greater knowledge and understanding of international events and issues; and to improve skills in problem solving, decision making, teamwork, leadership, and negotiation. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Murakami F. and Yorozu M., Co-editor, In: Yorozu Miho and Murakami Fuminobu, Japanese Language Education and Japanese Culture in Globalized Society. グローバル化社会の日本語教育と日本文化, Tokyo, Hituji, 2009, 309 pages. |
| Yorozu M., The Reform of the Japanese Language Curriculum at HKU, International Symposium on Academic Japanese, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. 2010. |
| Researcher : Yoshikawa T |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Yoshikawa T., The influence of experience of studying in Japan on Japanese Refusals by Cantonese Learners, 日本への留学経験が与える影響－広東語を母語とする学習者の断り行動を例に, In: YOROZU Miho and MURAKAMI Fuminobu, Japanese Language Education and Japanese Culture in the Global Societies. グローバル化社会の日本語教育と日本文化, 2009. |