Rey Chow Books
Rey Chow is a Chinese-American cultural critic whose work delves into 20th-century Chinese fiction and film, postcolonial theory, and the critique of visual culture. Her writing challenges fundamental assumptions within both academic and public discourse concerning ethnic and cultural identity, highlighting problematic representations of non-Western cultures and minorities. Chow primarily explores narrative and visual forms through an interdisciplinary lens, examining their intersections with modernity, sexuality, and postcoloniality. Her current research focuses on the legacies of poststructuralist theory, the politics of language as a postcolonial phenomenon, and evolving paradigms of knowledge and lived experience in the digital age.
Chow explores the intersection of leadership, innovation, and the humanities within contemporary Western universities, questioning the benefits and implications of current administrative discourses. Utilizing Foucault's concept of "outside," she critiques the biopolitics of literary studies and addresses issues such as race, sound, and self-entrepreneurship. Advocating for a nonutilitarian approach, she emphasizes the importance of processing diverse texts and forming viable arguments, ultimately urging a re-examination of knowledge production that values inquiry over predetermined answers.
This follow-up volume to our book The Age of the World Target collects interconnected entangled essays of literary and cultural theorist Rey Chow. The essays take up ideas of violence, capture, identification, temporality, sacrifice, and victimhood, engaging with theorists from Derrida and Deleuze to Agamben and Ranciere.
What is the sentimental? How can we understand it by way of the visual and narrative modes of signification specific to cinema and through the manners of social interaction and collective imagining specific to a particular culture in transition? This book explores these questions through contemporary Chinese directors.
Modern Chinese Literary and Cultural Studies in the Age of Theory: Reimagining a Field
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
This collection features contributions from a diverse group of scholars, each offering unique perspectives on cultural studies and critical theory. The contributors explore various themes, including identity, globalization, and the intersection of culture and politics, providing a rich tapestry of insights into contemporary issues. Their interdisciplinary approaches encourage readers to engage with complex ideas and foster a deeper understanding of the cultural landscape.
Chow situates contemporary Chinese film within the broad context of Chinese history and culture, giving readers a glimpse of the unique shared identity that characterizes the current crop of outstanding filmmakers, such as Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou.
Not Like a Native Speaker
- 192 pages
- 7 hours of reading
A riveting series of stories that portray the biopolitics of speaking and writing in a postcolonial world.