20th Century American History - Relations - General & Miscellaneous, Asia, Australasia & Oceania - Diplomatic Relations with the U.S., 20th Century American History - Cold War, General & Miscellaneous Chinese History
This unique book takes the reader 'beyond the headlines' to explore a China few Westerners have seen. The authors argue that the great gap between what specialists understand and the general public believes has led to distorted and potentially dangerous misunderstandings of China. Seeking to bridge that gap, a group of prominent scholars and activists challenge readers to move past the usual images of China presented by the media and to think about the common problems shared by China and the United States. In a morally engaged spirit, they explore such issues as environmental degradation, unemployment, growing inequality, ethnicity, human rights, corruption, and changing images of women to bring to life the fabric of contemporary Chinese life and how it twines around the political consciousness of Americans.
Synopsis
This unique book takes the reader _beyond the headlines_ to explore a China few Westerners have seen. The authors argue that the great gap between what specialists understand and the general public believes has led to distorted and potentially dangerous misunderstandings of China. Seeking to bridge that gap, a group of prominent scholars and activists challenge readers to move past the usual images of China presented by the media and to think about the common problems shared by China and the United States.
About the Author, Timothy B. Weston
Timothy B. Weston is associate professor of history, University of Colorado at Boulder. Lionel M. Jensen is associate professor and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Notre Dame.
This is a significant book that does more than bring together a number of apposite and informative papers to provide a comprehensive picture of China at the turn of the century. The volume as a whole engages with and interrogates the environments of information, political representation and policy choice behind the headlines or soundbites, popular perceptions of the 'other' and the role that scholars play in their production and interpretation. In this respect it is a self-reflexive volume of professional interest within and beyond the China field.
The China Journal
Scholars and interested lay people who have never lived in China should read this book. So should politicians, journalists and government officials working on China.
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
An intriguing discourse that abandons outmoded paradigms and rethinks China from a variety of new perspectives within and without the Chinese polity. . . . The essays make engaging reading for those who wish to probe deeper into the social fabric of everyday life in China.
