·The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the research project “SINOFANTASY – Studying Imaginative Otherworlds: Chinese Fantasy Fiction, Literary Politics, and Media Creativity” by junior professor Dr. Jessica Imbach (Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Freiburg) with around 1.4 million euros over five years.
·The project examines Chinese fantasy and science fiction literature as a mirror and medium of social transformation since the 1990s.
·The ERC Starting Grant enables Imbach to systematically build a research team to investigate the media, social and political dimensions of Chinese fantasy in the long term.
Sinologist and junior professor Dr. Jessica Imbach from the University of Freiburg has been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). With her funded project SINOFANTASY – Studying Imaginative Otherworlds: Chinese Fantasy Fiction, Literary Politics, and Media Creativity, Imbach is investigating the development and significance of Chinese fantasy and science fiction literature since the 1990s. The grant covers five years and amounts to approximately 1.4 million euros.
Fantasy literature as a mirror of social transformation
The project aims to develop a well-founded theory of Chinese fantasy as a mirror and medium of social transformation. “I am investigating, for example, how cultural identity, historical images and visions of the future are negotiated in Chinese fantasy literature. This genre has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in China,” says Imbach. “Some texts are formally innovative and experimental, creating alternative views of history or speculative forms of society, while others follow conservative narrative patterns. My project therefore asks: What themes, conflicts and worldviews are negotiated in these texts? And what social negotiation processes are reflected in this literary form?”
Digital encyclopaedia on fantasy literature planned
In addition to literary texts, the project explores how speculative storytelling affects concepts such as authorship and digital participation in an authoritarian media system. “The ERC Starting Grant now gives me the opportunity to systematically explore the diverse media, social and political dimensions of Chinese fantasy with a larger team and a long-term perspective,” Imbach emphasises. In addition, a digital encyclopaedia of contemporary Chinese fantasy is to be developed. The project thus not only contributes to literary and Chinese studies, but also makes complex cultural processes accessible to a broad public.
The ERC Starting Grant
The European Research Council (ERC) supports outstanding scientists in carrying out groundbreaking research projects by providing highly competitive funding. ERC Starting Grants are aimed at innovative scientists in the early stages of their scientific careers who have already gained two to seven years of experience after completing their doctorates and would like to establish their own research group. Applications can be submitted from all research areas. Scientists can receive funding of up to 1.5 million euros over a period of five years for their projects.