Book Excerpt: “Decadence in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture” by Hongjian Wang

European Decadence, a controversial artistic movement that flourished mainly in late-nineteenth-century France and Britain, has inspired several generations of Chinese writers and literary scholars since it was introduced to China in the early 1920s. Translated into Chinese as tuifei, which has strong hedonistic and pessimistic connotations, the concept of Decadence has proven instrumental in multiple waves of cultural rebellion, but has also...

Book Excerpt: “American Ideas of Equality” by Carl L. Bankston III

A fundamental American value, equality is a complex idea that has had different meanings in different eras. Most studies, however, have taken equality as having a single, clear meaning—little considered is how the definition fo equality has been shaped by history. Below, Carl L. Bankston III discusses debates about the definition of equality: The American nation began with debates over...

Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 8)

In chapter 8, “Strategic Choices in Defense Force Structure,” Michael Linick discusses the complexities of resourcing national strategy to meet various security demands. Linick writes that “planners deal with tremendous uncertainty” and that the “bridging of ends, ways, and means is often missing or poorly articulated in DoD strategies.” Arguing that planners need to keep four pillars of defense planning...

Forthcoming: “Calling for a New Renaissance” by Gao Xingjian

With “Calling for a New Renaissance,” the Nobel Laureate explores his primary aesthetic concerns of the past decade. He criticizes the influence of ideology on art and literature and calls for a new Renaissance that would generate truly innovative creations. Unprecedented in this book is Gao’s insight into how, despite being educated in the People’s Republic of China, he succeeded...

Book Excerpt: “Queer Taiwanese Literature” by Howard Chiang

As the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in Asia and host the first annual gay pride in the Sinophone Pacific, Taiwan is a historic center of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture. Taiwan also enjoys a wide interest in its stories about queer Taiwanese people, and “Queer Taiwanese Literature “provides a deeper understanding of queer literary history in...

Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 7)

In chapter 7, “The Defense Budget Process,” of Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ends and Means of US National Security, Tom McNaugher writes about how the budget process of the Department of Defense. McNaugher says that while the Department of Defense has “funded, over many decades, a remarkably effective military,” it has also funded “a great deal of...

Book Excerpt: “Awkward Stages” by John Clum and Sean Metzger, eds.

While gay teenagers have been central characters in dozens of independent American films, they have seldom appeared on stage until recently. The plays in this volume, written by men (some of whom are the most celebrated playwrights) who were in their late twenties and early thirties, affirm adolescents as subjects active in same-sex relationships. Sexual identity is important to the...

Forthcoming: “Memory in Folk Epics of China” by Anne E. McLaren

In pre-contemporary China, folk epics performed at village level helped create a sense of regional as opposed to national identity. This is the first book-length study in the West on the folk epics of the Han Chinese people, who are the majority population of China. These folk epics provide an unparalleled resource for understanding the importance of “the local” in...

Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 6)

In chapter 6, “Resourcing Partners and Allies,” of Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ends and Means of US National Security, Rebecca Patterson gives an overview of how the United Nations plans, budgets, and implements peace operations around the world. Patterson specifically focuses on the role the US government plays in the formulation of peace operations’ mandates and the...

Book Excerpt: “Staging for the Emperors” by Liana Chen

Much scholarly attention has been devoted to understanding the dynamics between the Qing court theatre and the burgeoning popular theatrical traditions outside the court. However, the insights drawn from recent studies have only begun to be applied to the analysis of dramas commissioned by the Qing court for various ceremonial occasions. Treating Qing dynasty court theatre as a unique site...

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