University of Freiburg Sinologist Lena Henningsen receives Consolidator Grant from European Research Council (ERC)
en-GBde-DEes-ESfr-FR

University of Freiburg Sinologist Lena Henningsen receives Consolidator Grant from European Research Council (ERC)


Sinologist PD Dr. Lena Henningsen from the University of Freiburg has been awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to fund her research project on comic culture in the People’s Republic of China. The European Union grant is one of the most prestigious awards for researchers in the EU. It is worth two million euros over a period of five years.

Independent Genre and Research Field
Henningsen’s project “Comics Culture in the People’s Republic of China (ChinaComx)” is devoted to Chinese comics as an independent cultural form: “‘Lianhuanhua’ – translated literally, linked images – are still largely unexplored,” says Henningsen. “Our project explores the intellectual, political, social, historical, and transcultural dimensions of this exciting medium.” Henningsen and her team will analyze comics from the People’s Republic of China with regard to Chinese and global comic culture – as well as the specific conditions of their production, circulation, and consumption. In the process, they will also address the question of whether and to what extent comics further the goals of state propaganda, such as the legitimization of the Communist Party of China, the creation of the “new socialist man,” and nation building – or whether they counteract these goals.

In clearly circumscribed case studies, the project analyzes adaptations into comics from literature and film, the conventions of text-image relations (and the breaking of these conventions), narrative qualities, as well as the visual language of lianhuanhua which is very much indebted to other visual forms of art, including traditional Chinese visual art, cartoons, propaganda posters, photography and movies. With its focus on practices and meaning making, ChinaComx moreover delves into the changing global cultural, political and economic connections within the socialist cultural sphere and beyond, tracing distinct and changing relationships of domestic and foreign elements. The project will cover developments since the late 1940s to the present and situate concrete phenomena within larger developments and traditions. “Our project has the goal of defining the term ‘Lianhuanhua’ as a distinct genre arising from a specific context as well as an independent research field,” says Henningsen, “similar to ‘mangas’ or ‘bandes dessinées.’”

Literature, Pop, Society
Lena Henningsen served from 2012 to 2022 as a junior professor at the University of Freiburg’s Institute of Sinology and is currently Principal Investigator of the research project “The Politics of Reading in the People’s Republic of China (READCHINA)”. In it, she and her team are studying intellectual, literary, and social change in China since the 1940s from the perspective of reading practices. She has already received an ERC Starting Grant for this project. Her research foci also include modern Chinese literature and culture, contemporary Chinese society, intellectual property and plagiarism, and pop culture and music in China. Henningsen was an elected member of the “Young Academy” from 2013 to 2018 and received the Leopoldina Early Career Award in 2016.
Attached files
  • Sinologist Lena Henningsen receives ERC Consolidator Grant. Photo: provided
Regions: Europe, Germany, Asia, China
Keywords: Arts, Grants & new facilities, Literature & creative writing

Testimonials

For well over a decade, in my capacity as a researcher, broadcaster, and producer, I have relied heavily on Alphagalileo.
All of my work trips have been planned around stories that I've found on this site.
The under embargo section allows us to plan ahead and the news releases enable us to find key experts.
Going through the tailored daily updates is the best way to start the day. It's such a critical service for me and many of my colleagues.
Koula Bouloukos, Senior manager, Editorial & Production Underknown
We have used AlphaGalileo since its foundation but frankly we need it more than ever now to ensure our research news is heard across Europe, Asia and North America. As one of the UK’s leading research universities we want to continue to work with other outstanding researchers in Europe. AlphaGalileo helps us to continue to bring our research story to them and the rest of the world.
Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Media Relations at the University of Warwick
AlphaGalileo has helped us more than double our reach at SciDev.Net. The service has enabled our journalists around the world to reach the mainstream media with articles about the impact of science on people in low- and middle-income countries, leading to big increases in the number of SciDev.Net articles that have been republished.
Ben Deighton, SciDevNet

We Work Closely With...


  • BBC
  • The Times
  • National Geographic
  • The University of Edinburgh
  • University of Cambridge
Copyright 2023 by AlphaGalileo Terms Of Use Privacy Statement