Previous research
My first book was based on my research on “the discursive construction of women literature and women writer by Chinese literary criticism in the 1980s and 1990s”. My Ph.D., based on discourse analysis, dealt with “The Cultural Production of the City in Chinese Literary Criticism and Literature of the 80s and 90s”. I continued working on research questions focusing on inter- and transculturality in the context of Chinese – German literature and culture (one project was based on my “artist in residence” project that allowed a Chinese writer/ artist to work and stay in Göttingen and a German writer/ artist to work and stay in Nanjing for 4 weeks)
Current research
Currently I am working on the general topic of history and memory in a contemporary Chinese context. Based on Jan Assmann’s concept of “cultural memory” I look into Chinese contemporary literature (e.g. Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Yan Lianke et al) to find out whether and in what way literature does have the capacity to narrate a traumatic history and in how far trauma as concept is inscribed in literary texts. The general research question aims at finding out whether or not literature can help creating a cultural / collective memory evoking a trauma-ridden past.
Categories
World literature