Cultural Representation and Cultural Studies

""Cultural Representation and Cultural Studies is an innovative and insightful account of the all-important 'cultural turn' in contemporary scholarship. In lucid prose, Zhou Xian’s study perspicuously reconstructs the way that the methodologies of Cultural Studies and Visual Culture have revolutionized our understanding of the modalities of legitimation in post-industrial society. Zhou Xian’s book is especially original and compelling in the way that it applies the techniques 'cultural analysis' to the convulsive socio-historical transformations that have impacted post-revolutionary China. In sum, Cultural Representation and Cultural Studies is a pathbreaking contribution to the field of Cultural Studies scholarship."" Richard Wolin, Distinguished Professor of History and Comparative Literature, CUNY Graduate Center ""Zhou Xian has for decades now been one of China‘s and East Asia’s leading thinkers in cultural theory and aesthetics. In this book he brings his considerable learning to the investigation of visual culture in contemporary China. Zhou is one of the few who have successfully crossed over from comparative literature to thinking about art. This book is also a major contribution to our understanding of the visual landscape of the contemporary city."" Scott Lash, Professor of Sociology, School of Anthropology, Oxford University ""The immense culture of Zhou Xian, his continual dialogue with Western theoreticians, his great power of analysis and synthesis make the translation of his texts a reference work. Focusing particularly on the effects of differentiation in an artistic field that reflects the evolution of Chinese culture and society as a whole, this book is also an important contribution to contemporary aesthetics."" Carole Talon-Hugon, Professor, Philosophy Department, Sorbonne University, France