Gregory Lee
Encyclopedia
Gregory B. Lee is an academic, author, and broadcaster. Lee is Chair Professor of Chinese and Transcultural Studies at City University of Hong Kong
where he is Director of the Hong Kong Advanced Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Studies. He previously served as Dean of City University's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (2010-2011) and was First Vice-President (deputy vice-chancellor) of Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, Lee was made a Chevalier (Knight
) in the French Order of Academic Palms Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 2011, he was elected Foundation Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities.
's School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS) in 1979, and his PhD from the same institution in 1985. He also studied political economy and Chinese literature at Peking University
(1979–1981, 1982–83) as a British Council
Scholar, and was a British Academy
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
's Institute of Literature in 1985-86.
Lee formerly taught in the United Kingdom
at the University of Cambridge
and later the University of London
, before occupying posts as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago
(1990–1994) and assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong (1994–1998), where he taught comparative literature
. A specialist in Chinese and comparative literary and cultural studies, his more recent work is in the realm of comparative cultural history, specifically in the fields of Chinese diaspora and transcultural studies. He joined the University of Lyon
in 1998.
: The Life and Poetry of a Chinese Modernist, published by the Chinese University Press (Hong Kong, 1985), was singled out for its "fastidious scholarship". His second book Troubadours, Trumpeters, Troubled Makers: Lyricism, Nationalism and Hybridity in China and Its Others was published by C. Hurst & Co (London) and Duke University Press (1996). In addition to exploring the imbrication of poetry and politics, the book revealed Lee's interest in breaking down the notion of Chineseness. His continued interest in, and interrogation of, "Chinese identity" is evident in the title and substance of his third book Chinas Unlimited: Making the Imaginaries of China and Chineseness (Routledge and Hawai'i UP, 2003)http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/06/20/2003175881. His most recent book is China's Lost Decade: The Politics and Poetics of the 1980s (Tigre de Papier, 2009; 2011) http://www.tigredepapier.org.
In 2005 he wrote and presented BBC Radio 3's Sunday Feature "Liver Birds and Laundrymen" http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/sundayfeature/pip/vi4vx/(2005) in which he revisited the story of Europe's oldest Chinatown, in Liverpool (UK), and interrogated dominant British perceptions of the Chinese.
He has also translated works of a variety of Chinese works, including those of contemporary poet Duo Duo
(Looking Out From Death Bloomsbury, 1989; The Boy Who Catches Wasps Zephyr, 2002)http://www.zephyrpress.org/books_asian.html, Dai Wangshu
, and Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian
("Fugitives", a controversial 1989 play). Duo Duo was awarded the 2010 World Literature Today's Neustadt International Prize for Literature
("widely considered to be the most prestigious international literary prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature") and Lee's role recognized with an invitation to introduce the poet's work at the award ceremony in Oklahoma in October 2010.
Additionally, until 2010 Lee served as director of the Institute for Transtextual and Transcultural Studies
http://www.iett.eu and is editor of the Institute's journal Transtext(s)s-Transcultureshttp://www.transtexts.net. He is Director of the board of the Lyon Confucius Institute http://www.lyonconfucius.eu(Lyon 2 University, Lyon 3 University, Sun Yat-sen University).
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...
where he is Director of the Hong Kong Advanced Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Studies. He previously served as Dean of City University's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (2010-2011) and was First Vice-President (deputy vice-chancellor) of Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 is a French public university, based in Lyon. It is under the supervision of the Academy of Lyon...
from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, Lee was made a Chevalier (Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
) in the French Order of Academic Palms Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 2011, he was elected Foundation Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities.
Academic career
Lee received his undergraduate degree in modern and classical Chinese at the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
's School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS) in 1979, and his PhD from the same institution in 1985. He also studied political economy and Chinese literature at Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
(1979–1981, 1982–83) as a British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
Scholar, and was a British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , established in 1977, is the premier and highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences as well as a national center for comprehensive studies in the People's Republic of China. It was described by Foreign Policy...
's Institute of Literature in 1985-86.
Lee formerly taught in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and later the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, before occupying posts as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1990–1994) and assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong (1994–1998), where he taught comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
. A specialist in Chinese and comparative literary and cultural studies, his more recent work is in the realm of comparative cultural history, specifically in the fields of Chinese diaspora and transcultural studies. He joined the University of Lyon
University of Lyon
The University of Lyon , located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher education...
in 1998.
Writings
In tune with the 1980s academic tendency towards the single-author monography, Lee's first book analysed the work and career of an important but, until then, neglected poet. Dai WangshuDai Wangshu
Dai Wangshu was a Chinese poet, essayist and translator active from the late 1920s to the end of the 1940s...
: The Life and Poetry of a Chinese Modernist, published by the Chinese University Press (Hong Kong, 1985), was singled out for its "fastidious scholarship". His second book Troubadours, Trumpeters, Troubled Makers: Lyricism, Nationalism and Hybridity in China and Its Others was published by C. Hurst & Co (London) and Duke University Press (1996). In addition to exploring the imbrication of poetry and politics, the book revealed Lee's interest in breaking down the notion of Chineseness. His continued interest in, and interrogation of, "Chinese identity" is evident in the title and substance of his third book Chinas Unlimited: Making the Imaginaries of China and Chineseness (Routledge and Hawai'i UP, 2003)http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/06/20/2003175881. His most recent book is China's Lost Decade: The Politics and Poetics of the 1980s (Tigre de Papier, 2009; 2011) http://www.tigredepapier.org.
Other activities
Lee has also been a frequent radio broadcaster on China and the Chinese diaspora. His most recent radio appearance was an hour-long interview on Take Five (Interviewer/Producer: Will Batchelor) City Talk Radio (UK) on 9 October 2009. He was previously interviewed on the subject Should we be afraid of China ? on The Roy Basnett Show (Producer: Will Batchelor) City Talk http://www.citytalk.fm(UK) on 11 August 2009 and in 2008 (1 April) on the question of "China-Bashing and Tibet" on the Duncan Barkes Show http://www.citytalk.fm/sectional.asp?id=24973.In 2005 he wrote and presented BBC Radio 3's Sunday Feature "Liver Birds and Laundrymen" http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/sundayfeature/pip/vi4vx/(2005) in which he revisited the story of Europe's oldest Chinatown, in Liverpool (UK), and interrogated dominant British perceptions of the Chinese.
He has also translated works of a variety of Chinese works, including those of contemporary poet Duo Duo
Duo duo
Duo Duo or Duoduo is the pen name of contemporary Chinese poet, Li Shizheng , a prominent exponent of the "Misty" or "Obscure" school of modern Chinese poetry .-Biography:...
(Looking Out From Death Bloomsbury, 1989; The Boy Who Catches Wasps Zephyr, 2002)http://www.zephyrpress.org/books_asian.html, Dai Wangshu
Dai Wangshu
Dai Wangshu was a Chinese poet, essayist and translator active from the late 1920s to the end of the 1940s...
, and Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian is a Chinese-born novelist, playwright, critic, and painter. An émigré to France since 1987, Gao was granted French citizenship in 1997...
("Fugitives", a controversial 1989 play). Duo Duo was awarded the 2010 World Literature Today's Neustadt International Prize for Literature
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, World Literature Today. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious international literary prize after the Nobel Prize in...
("widely considered to be the most prestigious international literary prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature") and Lee's role recognized with an invitation to introduce the poet's work at the award ceremony in Oklahoma in October 2010.
Additionally, until 2010 Lee served as director of the Institute for Transtextual and Transcultural Studies
Institute for Transtextual and Transcultural Studies
The Institute for Transtextual and Transcultural Studies...
http://www.iett.eu and is editor of the Institute's journal Transtext(s)s-Transcultureshttp://www.transtexts.net. He is Director of the board of the Lyon Confucius Institute http://www.lyonconfucius.eu(Lyon 2 University, Lyon 3 University, Sun Yat-sen University).