Overview

Re-Visualizing “the West” is a transdisciplinary research project that examines the representation of Europe in contemporary Sinophone literature. Rather than considering Europe as a fixed geographical or cultural entity, the project approaches it as a dynamic construct shaped by literary practices, cultural translation, and spatial imagination.

The project combines literary analysis with geo-critical approaches and cartographic methodologies, aiming to produce new theoretical insights as well as innovative digital tools for research and dissemination.

The project pursues 3 main objectives:

To investigate the diversity of contemporary Sinophone literary production across global contexts

To analyze how Europe is represented as both an imagined and lived space

To develop geo-literary and cartographic approaches to literary analysis

The research is structured around 3 analytical trajectories:

CONCEIVED SPACE

Europe as imagined, projected, and symbolically constructed

PERCEIVED SPACE

Europe as experienced through travel and temporary encounters

LIVED SPACE

Europe as a space of residence, migration, and everyday experience

These perspectives allow for a nuanced understanding of how literary texts produce and transform space.

Impact

The project contributes to the advancement of:

  • Sinophone Studies

  • Comparative Literature

  • Human Geography and Spatial Humanities

It also aims to foster new forms of interdisciplinary collaboration and to create accessible digital resources for both academic and non-academic audiences

Keywords

Sinophone Literature

Europe

Landscape Semiotics

Geo-literary Cartographies

Cultural Representations

Sinophone Literature Europe Landscape Semiotics Geo-literary Cartographies Cultural Representations

Research Focus

The project investigates how Europe appears in contemporary Sinophone literature as:

  • a symbolic horizon

  • a site of cultural projection

  • a space of encounter and negotiation

  • a field of transcultural transformation

Through close reading and spatial analysis, the project explores how literary texts construct complex spatial imaginaries.

Methodology

The project integrates:

  • Close textual analysis

  • Geo-critical approaches

  • Landscape semiotics

  • Literary cartography

  • Digital mapping tools

This combination allows for both theoretical innovation and the development of new research infrastructures.