PhD Title

The Portrayal of the Alien in Contemporary Chinese and Japanese Fiction and Film

Supervisors

Dr Frances Weightman and Dr Irena Hayter

Research Study

My research focuses on the portrayal of the alien in contemporary Chinese and Japanese science fiction and fantasy published in two popular magazines. I will examine archetypes of the alien other in classical fiction and folklore to see how contemporary science fiction and fantasy writers have used or changed them for their own ends. How the presence of the classical ghost or fox figure is still felt in the monstrous or mechanical other of today provides valuable insight into the themes of the self and other that dominate these works. From the threatening to the hopeful, the uncanny figure of the alien and its transgression of boundaries represents both the fears and possibilities of the modern world.

The idea of the uncanny, or 'unheimlich' is central to my thesis, due to its inextricable connection with the idea of 'home' or a search for home. I look at how the magazines and the structures around them such as readers' internet forums create an arena for dialogue between writers and readers, a 'virtual community' which could itself be part of the search for 'heimat'. I examine finally if this search is part of a wider desire to create a sense of national identity, a link to a specifically Chinese or Japanese past through the figure of the alien.

Background

I studied for a BA in Chinese at Leeds from 1999-2003, and an MPhil in Modern Chinese Literature at Cambridge. Since then I've been teaching English abroad, including two years on the JET Programme in Hokkaido, Japan and a year teaching English at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Email: jhm9sld@leeds.ac.uk