Job Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Job Application - Essay Example I am working on this dissertation under the supervision of Professor Michel Hockx. I, respectfully submit this application letter, as I have strong enthusiasm, commitment and experience in teaching and research which fully qualifies me to meet the needs of your program. My dissertation deals with the discursive formation of the utopian discourse in late imperial China. I aim at revealing the interrelationship between literature, translation, politics and print culture that help the utopian imagination in new fiction fit into the utopian discourse. Then, I argue that the utopian discourse is formed by a number of elements, namely the position of authors, the function of new fiction, and the politics of translation and the modes of production in newspapers and journals. At the end I conclude the utopian discourse is a significant example for revealing the diffusion of universalism in the course of searching Chinese modernity. The interdisciplinary method of research is related to my ac ademic background. My research interests cover twentieth century Chinese literature, Chinese print and media culture, sinophone literature, modernity, cultural production and theories of ideology with focus on fiction, print and media culture. I am interested in examining fiction as a product of literary production and pay special attention to how form, content and meaning are constituted in historical context. I have examined madness writing in post-Mao’s fiction, in order to demonstrate suppressed memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution rendered as symptoms of madness and disguised in pathological structures. My interest in print and media culture starts from my undergraduate study. I have discussed Taiwanese picture books textual characteristics towards poems, which integrates illustrated pictures to the aesthetic features of the texts. At present I am working on the links between the Chinese public sphere and the narrative of the concept of nation. I discuss the imagi nation of future China written in late-Qing utopian novels is a dynamic object hinging on the performativity of language in the concept of nation mentioned by different journals and newspapers. In the near future, I plan to discuss productive bodies in Chinese vernacular journals and to explore the position of Hong Kong literature in the sphere of sinophone writings. I have been fortunate to get the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant in the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Open University of Hong Kong. This two year teaching experience qualifies me to teach a wide range of courses, including Chinese History and Literature, Classical Chinese Poetry and Contemporary Chinese Literature. My philosophy is student-centered teaching. I received positive teaching evaluations highlighting my teaching methods and passion for helping students to learn. Moreover, I am qualified to develop courses on "Globalizing Chinese Literature: Sinophone Literature" and "Western and Chinese Dr eams: Utopian literature in comparative perspective". I have also presented papers at academic conferences and at the University of Heidelberg, the National Taiwan University and the University of Tokyo. These research experiences broadened my academic horizons and scholarly