Yunwen GAO
Assistant Professor/BA Programme Director
PhD, East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Southern California
Born and brought up in Shanghai, I am especially drawn to the culture and language of the local and the regional manifest in literature, film, and oral performance in the Wu fangyan (topolect) speaking region. My academic training at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Southern California where Cantonese is widely used among the Sinophone communities further stimulated my research interest in the relationship between fangyan and cultural plurality. Currently, I am working on my book manuscript titled “Language, Soundscape and Identity Formation in Shanghai Fangyan Literature and Culture.” It examines the changing discourse and cultural significance of Wu fangyan writing in the history of Shanghai literature and culture from the late Qing period to the present. My teaching interests cover a wide range of topics such as Modern Chinese literature and culture; Sinophone studies; Chinese cinema and performative arts; post-colonial literature and cultural studies.
Research Interests
- modern Chinese literature and culture
- sinophone studies
- Chinese cinema and performative arts
- post-colonial literature
- cultural studies
Representative Publications
Journal Articles & Book Chapters
| 2022 | Qu, You. “The Tale of the Lady in Green.” In Ming Dynasty Tales: A Guided Reader. Edited by Victor H. Mair and Zhenjun Zhang. New York: Bloomsbury. 2022: 51-62. |
| 2017 | Gao, Yunwen. “Sounding Shanghai: Sinophone Intermediality in Jin Yucheng’s Blossoms” Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 43(2), 87-105 |
| 2015 | Gao, Yunwen. “Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Colonial Modernity in Liang Qichao’s Ban Dingyuan Conquering the Western Region” Ming Qing Studies. Vol. 2015, pp. 159-174. |
| 2013 | Gao, Yunwen. “M. Butterfly: A Deconstructive Performance on Oriental Fantasy” Intercultural Communication, Representations and Practices: A Global Approach. |
Current Research Projects
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2022, Acoustic Encountering: Online Audio Industry in China in the 21st Century, Direct Grant for Research |
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2021, Chinese Music in Western Languages Music Theory and Historical Writing in the second half of 19th Century, Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, with Dr. Xu Lufan |
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2020, Underground Sound, UK-China Knowledge Frontiers Symposium Seed Funding for Research Collaboration, The British Academy, with Dr. Katie Beswick |
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2019, Dialect Writing and Identity Formation from Late Qing to Contemporary Shanghai, RGC Early Career Scheme |
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2018, Tracing the history of Chinese Immigrants in Cuba through Cantonese Opera in Havana during the 1920s-1940s, Direct Grant For Research |
Courses Offered
| CHES1000 | Introduction to Chinese Studies |
| CHES1003 | Understanding Chinese through Texts I |
| CHES1004 | Understanding Chinese through Texts II |
| CHES2004 | Chinese Literature in Translation |
| CHES2105 | Modern Chinese Literature |
| CHES3200 | Advanced Chinese Literature Seminar |
| CHES3300 | China Summer Fieldtrip |
| CHES4001 | Research on Chinese Texts I |
| CHES4002 | Research on Chinese Texts II |
| CHES4500 | Thesis Research Paper |
| CHES5147 | Modern Chinese Literature |
| CHES5201A | Independent Study Project |
| CHES5201B | Research Lab Project |
| CHES6010 | China Seminar 1 |
| CHES6020 | China Seminar 2 |
| CHES8001A | Thesis Guidance |
| CHES8001B | Thesis Guidance |