The Ala Guide To Researching Modern China

As China has evolved into an economic superpower, interest in its culture and current place in the world has skyrocketed; China Studies are now taught in almost every college or university in the U.S., as well as in many junior high and high schools. Covering modern China, not just Chinese culture from an historical perspective, this important new book fills a sizeable gap in the literature. Originating as a Carnegie Whitney Award-winning book project, Ye’s research guide goes beyond a mere list of print resources to reflect the predominant role of digital resources in the changing landscape of scholarly research, teaching critical information literacy concepts and skills in the field of China Studies by Sketching in basic facts and figures of Chinese history and culture from antiquity to the present Detailing key English- and Chinese-language resources in literature, government, statistics, art, film, history, philosophy, religion, economics, law, politics, and more Offering strategies for finding research sources like articles and dissertations, as well as primary sources such as government documents and archives Including guidance on how to acquire print and electronic resources in Chinese This richly detailed, up-to-date work will guide researchers at all levels to the most important resources in the field of Modern China Studies.

Covering modern China, not just Chinese culture from an historical perspective, this important new book fills a sizeable gap in the literature.

Asian populations are among some of the fastest growing cultural groups in the US. While books on serving other target groups in libraries have been published (e.g., disabled, Latino, seniors, etc.), few books on serving library users of Asian heritage have been written. Thus the timely need for this book. Rather than a generalized overview of Asians as a whole, this book has 24 separate chapters—each on 24 specific Asian countries/cultures of East, Southeast, and South Asia—with a wealth of resources for understanding, interacting with, outreaching to, and serving library users of each culture. Resources include cultural guides (both print and online), language helps (with sample library vocabulary), Asian booksellers, nationwide cultural groups, professional literature, and more. Resources and suggestions are given for all three types of libraries—public, school, and academic—making this book valuable for all librarians. The demographics of each Asian culture (numbers and distribution)—plus history of immigration and international student enrollment—is also featured. As a bonus, each chapter spotlights a US public, school, and academic library providing model outreach to Asian library users. Additionally, this book provides a detailed description and analysis of libraries in each of the 24 Asian countries. The history, development, facilities, conditions, technology, classification systems, and more—of public, school, and academic libraries—are all discussed, with detailed documentation. Country conditions influencing libraries and library use are also described: literacy levels, reading cultures, languages and writing systems, educational systems, and more. Based on the author’s 15 years of research and travels to Asia, this work is a must-have for all librarians.

Divided into dedicated categories about the subjects most meaningful to librarians, this valuable resource reviews 500 texts across all major fields. Drawing on their collective experience in reference services and sifting through nearly 30,000 reviews in ARBAonline, editors Steven Sowards, associate director for collection at Michigan State University Libraries, and Juneal Chenoweth, editor of American Reference Books Annual, curated this collection of titles, most of which have been published since 2000, to serve collections and reference librarians in academic and public libraries. From the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences and Encyclopedia of the Civil War to the Encyclopedia of Physics, Encyclopedia of Insects, and Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants to the formidable Oxford English Dictionary, The Reference Librarian's Bible encompasses every subject imaginable and will be your first stop for choosing and evaluating your library's collections as well as for answering patrons' questions.

Covering everything from getting to know a library’s materials to marketing and promoting RA, this practical handbook will help you expand services immediately without adding costs or training time.

"This book examines as interrelated processes the reception of foreign systems of thought, the construction of modern academic and professional disciplines, and the emergence of new social identities in twentieth-century China after the fall of the imperial state and with the rise of political parties and mass nationalism"--

Chinese leaders once tried to suppress memories of their nation’s brutal experience during World War II. Now they celebrate the “victory”—a key foundation of China’s rising nationalism. For most of its history, the People’s Republic of China discouraged public discussion of the war against Japan. It was an experience of victimization—and one that saw Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek fighting for the same goals. But now, as China grows more powerful, the meaning of the war is changing. Rana Mitter argues that China’s reassessment of the war years is central to its newfound confidence abroad and to mounting nationalism at home. China’s Good War begins with the academics who shepherded the once-taboo subject into wider discourse. Encouraged by reforms under Deng Xiaoping, they researched the Guomindang war effort, collaboration with the Japanese, and China’s role in forming the post-1945 global order. But interest in the war would not stay confined to scholarly journals. Today public sites of memory—including museums, movies and television shows, street art, popular writing, and social media—define the war as a founding myth for an ascendant China. Wartime China emerges as victor rather than victim. The shifting story has nurtured a number of new views. One rehabilitates Chiang Kai-shek’s war efforts, minimizing the bloody conflicts between him and Mao and aiming to heal the wounds of the Cultural Revolution. Another narrative positions Beijing as creator and protector of the international order that emerged from the war—an order, China argues, under threat today largely from the United States. China’s radical reassessment of its collective memory of the war has created a new foundation for a people destined to shape the world.

Along with the political and economic reforms that have characterized the post-Mao era in China there has been a potentially revolutionary change in Chinese science and technology. Here sixteen scholars examine various facets of the current science and technology scene, comparing it with the past and speculating about future trends. Two chapters dealing with science under the Nationalists and under Mao are followed by a section of extensive analysis of reforms under Deng Xiaoping, focusing on the organizational system, the use of human resources, and the emerging response to market forces. Chapters dealing with changes in medical care, agriculture, and military research and development demonstrate how these reforms have affected specific areas during the Chinese shift away from Party orthodoxy and Maoist populism toward professional expertise as the guiding principle in science and technology. Three further chapters deal with China's interface with the world at large in the process of technology transfer. Both the introductory and concluding chapters describe the tension between the Chinese Communist Party structure, with its inclinations toward strict vertical control, and the scientific and technological community's need for a free flow of information across organizational, disciplinary, and national boundaries.