A nice article on Ted Slingerland’s recent book!
Two New Books
Two valuable new works:
- Xinyan Jiang has published Knowledge, Culture, and Chinese Philosophy A Study and Translation of Zhang Dongsun’s Works with Global Scholarly Publications.
- Katrin Froese has published Ethics Unbound: Chinese and Western Perspectives on Morality with Chinese University Press.
Congratulations to both authors!
New book: Worlding Multiculturalisms
Worlding Multiculturalisms: The Politics of Inter-Asian Dwelling (edited by Daniel Goh) in the Routledge Series of Political Theories in East Asian Context has just published. Please find the website below in case you are interested.
Worlding multiculturalisms are practices that infuse our arbitrary cultural lives with new things from other cultures in poetic ways to enable us to dwell and be at home with the complexity of the world. In the context of the crisis of multiculturalism in the West and the growing obsolescence of state-based multiculturalism in the postcolonial world, this book offers examples of new practices of worlding multiculturalisms that go beyond issues of immigration, integration and identity. Contrasting Western and Asian notions of
multiculturalism, this book does not focus on state issues, but rather, highlights manifestations of cultural exchange.
New book on Confucian revival
A promising-looking new collection of essays on the multi-faceted revival of Confucianism in contemporary China, to be released in February by SUNY Press:
The Sage Returns: Confucian Revival in Contemporary China
Summary
Until its rejection by reformers and revolutionaries in the twentieth century, Confucianism had been central to Chinese culture, identity, and thought for centuries. Confucianism was rejected by both Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s Communist Party, which characterized it as an ideology of reaction and repression. Yet the sage has returned: today, Chinese people from all walks of life and every level of authority are embracing Confucianism. As China turned away from the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and experienced the adoption and challenges of market practices, alternatives were sought to the prevailing socialist morality. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing through the years, ideas, images, behaviors, and attitudes associated with Confucianism have come back into public and private life. In this volume, scholars from a wide range of disciplines explore the contemporary Confucian revival in China, looking at Confucianism and the state, intellectual life, and popular culture. Contributors note how the revival of Confucianism plays out in a variety of ways, from China’s relationship with the rest of the world, to views of capitalism and science, to blockbuster movies and teenage fashion.
Conference on De 德 (Virtue) and Mei 美 (Beauty)
International Conference on De德 (Virtue) and Mei 美 (Beauty) in Chinese Philosophy
国际学术研讨会（2015, 3月25-27）
In order to promote a deeper understanding of philosophy and culture among civilizations and encourage further professional and cultural exchanges between China and Europe we will hold the conference on virtues and beauty in Venice, Italy, March 25-27, 2015.
为了加深对世界文明的理解和推动中国与欧洲的学术交流，我们将2015年3月25－27在意大利威尼斯大学共同举办首届国际中国德性与美学术研讨会。
Korean Philosophy Conference
You may have noticed this information in my recent post about the NAKPA, but in case you didn’t, here is the official poster for the Korean and Comparative Philosophy and History of Philosophy conference that will be held at City University of Hong Kong, Dec. 12-13, 2014.
AAS Small Grants Program
For current AAS members, the China and Inner Asia Small Grant Program may be of interest:
Review of Crane, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao
Here is another in our occasional series of book reviews. Thanks to Mat for doing this, and comments are, of course, welcome!
Mathew A. Foust Central Connecticut State University
Review of Sam Crane, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life (UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2013), xi + 201 pp.
Sam Crane intends this volume for “people who have an interest in seeing how ancient Chinese thought might cast new light on the present day but who are not yet familiar with the time-honored works” (3), with the belief that Chinese thought can “show us something about our world and ourselves that we might otherwise not see” (10). More specifically, Crane applies concepts and theories from Confucianism and Daoism to several contemporary issues dotting the American landscape. After a chapter explaining key concepts of Confucianism and Daoism, Crane explores how these teachings might be brought to bear on debates arising in virtually every sphere of human life, from birth (e.g., the issue of abortion) to death (e.g., the issue of euthanasia). Although his arguments are occasionally strained by inadequate textual support, his volume is largely able to achieve its stated objectives.
NAKPA Newsletter
Many readers will be interested in the doings of the North American Korean Philosophy Association (NAKPA), the newsletter of which follows.
The NAKPA COURIER A Quarterly E-Newsletter of the North American Korean Philosophy Association No. 4, December, 2014 |
Season’s Greetings from the Desktop Editor
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Greetings once again from Omaha, Nebraska, US! I hope this letter finds you and all your loved ones well. First of all, we have just launched our Facebook page “North American Korean Philosophical Association” so please visit and “like” us. (I am indebted to Joe Bolling for this project).
In this issue of the NAKPA Courier, you are able to find the full program of the conference Korean and Comparative Philosophy and History of Philosophy that will be held at City University of Hong Kong, Dec. 12-13, 2014. In addition, the full program of the two sessions on Korean philosophy at the upcoming Eastern APA (American Philosophical Associations) in Philadelphia in December 2014, the session at the Central APA (St. Louis) in February 2015 and also one at the Pacific APA (Seattle) in April 2015 can be found. The first will be focused on the Korean traditional philosophy in general, the second one on the Korean Studies on the Book of Changes, and the last one on the Korean political philosophy. (For details, see the section below.) I am also pleased to let you know that “The Spirit of Korean Philosophy: Six Debates and Their Significance,” an international conference recently held in Omaha under the auspice of University of Nebraska at Omaha as well as the Academy of Korean Studies and NAKPA, went very well.
Explaining Daoism with help from RZA
Here.
