Good or Bad? : Learning Globalization, Postmodernity and a Changing China Education System

Under the setting of globalization, in the late 1970s, China began to carry out 'the reform and opening-up policy'. During 30 years reform process, Chinese economy has a great growth. The 'market mechanism' and its effectiveness were adopted by Chinese people. With the deep reform of health system, Chinese government delegates more decision-making power to the hospitals, thus 'in employment terms, as two of largest industries (health and education) in every country' (Meadmore P. 1999 p.91), the reform of education has become a hot topic in social debate. In other words, in the field of education in China today, marketization of education is highly focused, causing concerns of various social classes: What are the reforms? What are the results reforms bring about? On exploring the effects of globalization on Chinese education in modernity and presenting advantages and disadvantages in the process of the 'market mechanism' working in and through education to reconsider a market education system creates an external competition for public schools.

Research on the Renovation of Traditional Villages Based on Postmodernism

Traditional village as a part of cultural heritage shows unique historical,cultural and architectural characteristics.With the accelerating urbanization,ecological environment of traditional villages has been threatened,local cultures have degraded,even all traditional villages have shown similar images,thus effective protection and update is urgently needed.Based on the background and characteristics of postmodernist design,this study explored problems in the renovation of traditional villages,analyzed the renovation cases of some traditional villages and then concluded the scientific renovation strategies,so as to provide references for the future renovation design of traditional villages.

Why Do the Imaginary and Imaginary Communities Emerge in Social Theory? National Imaginary in the Context of Globalization

The end of modernism questions reality and its theoretical description,and various attempts of postmodern rethinking of the social emerge-from denial,assertion of the disappearance of the social to its salvation through radical rethinking.Theorizing around the imaginary emerges and continues as a result of this rethinking.Cornelius Castoriadis,for example,absolutizes the concept of the imaginary,which,in his opinion,even contains the rational.Charles Taylor gives imaginary,though important,but limited role as a background knowledge.Speaking of the imaginary,one cannot,of course,ignore Benedict Andersen’s imaginary communities.According to Andersen,the“imagination”of a nation,like any other community,reflects not the fact that they are“invented”or“constructed”but that they are the result of human practice,that social reality is a socio-historical and cultural product.Nation differs from other communities in the style of representation,namely,the representation-understanding,first of all,of space and time.A specific moment in time is connected not only with the past and future,but also with the same moment in another time and space measurement.People in this case,communicate and socialize through books,newspapers,and national languages.Most importantly,the nation as an imaginary community opposes itself to other communities,distinguishes itself from them,and strives for autonomy.And the guarantee of autonomy is the sovereign state,the nation-state,therefore the nation is always connected with the state and the territory of the exercise of its monopoly right.That is,the nation is an imaginary community that is real only to the extent that it is correlated with the modern territorial state.According to the author,the transformation of the national imaginary under the conditions of globalization is characterized by the loss of attachment to the territory,by the fact that territoriality ceases to be the main,organizing principle of social life.Social practices are increasingly formed beyond borders,belonging to ethnicity,national identity is not determined by territory and citizenship.Despite this,we must not forget that globalization is not a finished project.The transformation of the national imaginary should be viewed not only as the emergence of new imaginary communities,whether national or transnational,but also against the backdrop of interaction and even struggle between traditional forms of social practices and new ones,as evidenced by the growth of ethnic conflicts and separatist movements.According to Appudurai,this is also a consequence of globalization processes.And how this confrontation will end,the question remains open.

The Pathologies of Modernity:Liberalism,Nihilism,Conservatism,Postmodernism,Intersectionality/Identity Politics,and Secular Humanism

In this article,Mocombe highlights what he calls the pathological-pathogenic purposive-rationalities(liberalism,nihilism,conservatism,postmodernism,intersectionality/identity politics,and secular humanism)that emerge out of modernity as constituted by the West under American hegemony.In the place of these pathological-pathogenic responses to the vagaries of modernity,Mocombe calls for an antihumanism,associated with what he calls libertarian communism,as a panacea to the aforementioned malaises.

Reflections on the Cultural Ecology of University Classrooms in the Perspective of Postmodernism

The cultural ecology of university classroom has been influenced by postmodernism and has shown complex and variable characteristics.Specifically speaking,it tends to be both conflicting and interactive in terms of subject relations in the classroom,fragmented and diversified in terms of classroom teaching,and redundant and dynamic in terms of classroom assessment.In order to further harmonize and develop the cultural ecology of university classrooms,it is necessary to expand the space for communication and interaction between teachers and students,improve the overall professional quality of faculty members,and perfect the management and assessment system for university teachers and students.

Postmodernism and Mass Media

Postmodernism is defined firstly on the analysis of both the divergence and correlation among the concepts of modernism,modernity and postmodernity.Mass media is chosen as a study case because postmodernism can find a complete reflection in it while the development of mass media will consolidate the postmodern thought.They're interweaving in many ways.

“Anti-hero”Feature of Black Humor in Postmodernism Literary Fiction:with“Yossarian”in Catch-22 as an Example

Yossarian is the hero in Catch-22 written by Joseph Heller in 1961,bearing the typical"anti-hero"feature of Black Humor in postmodernism literary fiction.This paper aims at giving some of the examples to make readers clearer of the Black Humor and more familiar with the"anti-hero"feature of Black Humor in postmodernism literary fiction.

On the historic narrative features of Libra

As one of the masterpieces for Don Delillo, Libra was regarded as a classic postmodern novel once after its publication. Based on Kennedy assassination, this novel mainly deals with the isolation and dissimilation feelings for the American citizens. As a representative postmodern novel, Libra＇s stylistic features and narrative strategies are both quite typical. This thesis will discuss its narrative angles, its narrative structure and its dialogue expressions in order to understand Libra＇s postmodern narrative technique.

Interpretation of absurdity by intertextuality： Comments on Donald Barthelme＇s The glass mountain

The paper focuses on the analysis of the intertexts to show the reality hidden inside Barthelme＇s The glass mountain. Barthelme is a representative of postmodernism. He employs typical writing skills, such as collage, fragments and discontinuous narratives, in The glass mountain to illustrate absurdity in the text. As a centerpiece of postmodernism, this fiction can be correctly interpreted by the way of intertextuality, which is a key to reveal the text＇s absurdity. Through such comparison, readers can understand that the purpose of absurd writing is to demonstrate reality in the modern world.

A Brave New World:Feminism under the Influence of Deconstruction

"Deconstruction",coined by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1960s,attempts to subvert the tradition of Western philosophy with "logo centrism" as its primary target.Deconstruction's concern on binary oppositions inspires the feminists and provides them with the philosophical ground to understand gender inequality and rebel against the classic dualities of Western "phallocentrism".However,the noticeable political orientation of feminism and its firm humanitarian position compose a fundamental disagreement with the negativism and nihilism of deconstructive philosophy.This essay aims to trace the development of Western feminism at the same time identify some of the agreements and conflicts between the two theoretical trends in postmodernism;moreover,it intends to propose an idealistic attitude in the reconstruction of a harmonious society with gender equality and understanding.

Meaning's Death and Rebirth-Analysis on the Content and Form of Robert Morgan's"Mountain Graveyard"

This thesis mainly analyzes the content and form of Robert Morgan's postmodern poem"Mountain Graveyard". With New Criticism's method of close reading, it firstly explores the possible interpretations of the poem's content. Then it analyzes the post-modernity due to the poem's form, pointing out that with the unique form breaking traditional poetry's conventions, and the upspring of multiple meanings from the content, this poem presents brilliantly the postmodern spirit, which rejects definite centers and embraces various diversity of meaning.

Theme Analysis of Dan Brown's Angles and Demons

Dan Brown's Angels and Demons published in 2000 directly centered on the theme of the debate upon religion and science.It is a vivid depiction of the collision of humanity and divinity,which evokes people's deep probing to the crisis-ridden modern society.This article aims at analyzing the postmodernism writing features adopted in the theme of Angels and Demons.

Twilight:An Extraordinary Treasure of Gothic-postmodernism

In the current climate of literary experimentalism,'Gothic' may seem to some,an anachronistic term. Having spent most of the nineties as a buzz-word in literature and culture,its haunting presence appears to have faded somewhat. With the end of TV serials such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and the current lack of interest in the so-called Gothic images that used to inundate media and popular culture,the question arises yet again as to what significance the Gothic bears for contemporary literature?Importantly,what remains to be taken into account by such critics is the presence of fundamental Gothic elements in literary postmodernist texts. By this,I refer to works definable under the paradigm of postmodernism; experimental,radical and often metalfictional literature which problematises the relationship between reality and fiction,reader and text. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap in literary criticism by proposing a theoretical approach to postmodernist texts that are definitively Gothic.

PANSYSTEMS ANALYSIS: MATHEMATICS, METHODOLOGY, RELATIVITY AND DIALECTICAL THINKING

Based on new analysis modes and new definitions with relative mathematization and simplification or strengthening forms for concepts of. generalized systems, panderivatives, pansymmetry, panbox principle, pansystems relativity, etc., the framework and related principles of pansystems methodology and pansystems relativity are developed. Related contents include: pansystems with relatively universal mathematizing forms, 200 types of dualities, duality transformation, pansymmetry transformation, pansystems dialectics, the 8-domain method, pansystems mathematical methods, generalized quantification, the principles of approximation-transforming, pan-equivalence theorems, supply-demand analysis, thinking experiment, generalized gray systems, etc.

Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist as a Postmodern Text

Literature has witnessed the appearance of many movements and approaches throughout the history.After World War II,particularly in the 1960s,postmodernism has come to surface and as an up-to-date movement,many eminent critics and cultural historians have turned their concerns and attention to it.This study examines the concept of postmodernism and it explores its main characteristics that appear in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist(1986).

The Mythical Foundation of Logic and Its Impact on Metaphysics of Exclusion

Exclusion is the very foundation of western metaphysics.Metaphysics as science of being qua being is founded upon concept of exclusion.Thus,to be is to be an excluding and excluded.Thus,being is a mutual exclusionary relationship between two opposites.Accordingly,exclusion is the most fundamental principle upon which the western metaphysical and logical system is based.Such exclusion can be traced to the very beginning of a Greek civilization,namely,the Greek creation myth.The author argues in this paper that the dominated western exclusionary culture has led to major conflicts.Currently it comes to an end as representing a major universal crisis at many levels.Additionally,Islamic and Christian cultures do not represent a profound alternative to western culture as they have been reshaped by western intellect.The Buddhist logic,which is founded upon totally different metaphysics,can represent a profound alternative to western exclusionary culture.

The Rebel Madame: Madonna’s Postmodern Revolution

The aim is to examine Madonna’s revolution regarding gender,sexuality,politics,and religion with the focus on her songs,videos,and live performances.The main argument indicates that Madonna has used postmodern strategies of representation to challenge the foundational truths of sex and gender,promote gender deconstruction and sexual multiplicity,create political sites of resistance,question the Catholic dissociation between the physical and the divine,and bring visual and musical influences from multiple cultures and marginalized identities.

Culture Through Prism of Engaged Poetry

The paper is actually a literary research on （re）constructing cultural image of post-yugoslavian society, formed through literary sources, i.e., poetry. Using examples of award-winning young authors--Bojan Krivokapic, Mirko Bozic, and Sima Majic, different types of so-called engaged poetry are indicated. This kind of poetry is used to subtly, critically, or in a very subversive way relate to the existing world, but also a new postmodern identity is formed through specific and carefully chosen poetic lexis, deprived of any kind of structure or limitation. The poetry of mentioned authors is used as a provisory example in order to indicate that post-war period （as well as postmodern time） changes the perception of identity, from nationally and politically oriented structure to individual and subversive, conventions-free comprehension of Oneself. Although the three authors are very different in style and expression, what brings them together is tendency to escape conventional and traditional cultural images in order to emphasize the importance of Being Different, but Equally Rightful.

Back to the Ecological Poetics： The Dialectics of Eros and Thanatos

In Civilization and its Discontent, Freud＇s ominous prophesy seemed to be relevant for that time, the 1930s and 1940s, when the calamity was almost nearing fulfillment in the guise of the world wars. His contention that the human beings would drive themselves to extinction could perhaps be read in that context too as at the end of the treatise he referred to it as ＂human drive for aggression and self destruction.＂ He cited and discussed the workings of the libido, the life force, the sustenance and the dominant spirit and the death drive, the agency of destruction. Located on the plane of contemporary social scene, the increasing nature of human occupation in the wilderness and the potent threat to wild life have already become a valid apprehension for the future of humanity and also the natural world. Much of theory and very little of praxis have in a very thinly balanced state, contributed towards a wearisome thought and a tentative strategy of survival for those who in a sustained and persistent manner have been advocating for renewed energy, regenerated spirit for living and irreversible strength with which life and society assert themselves. In this profound challenge of modernism and postmodernism posed, hugely to man, and the natural world, the question how or whether we contain the limit of human desire chiseled and rebuilt with, market and money becomes very crucial. Desire, like capital becomes autonomous beyond conscious human intervention and moves along the tidal wave of profit, utility and self centric pragmatism and loses itself in the dark hole of self extinction bringing cataclysmic threat for an overall tragedy. To revert this maybe the same norms need to be revoked, same ethics applied to the individual and the collective, and the same warning needs to be disseminated all around that man＇s undisputed authority over nature needs to be reread and relocated. Maybe this could be achieved along the thought and priority given to woman over man, reading the stringency of convention that ousted Eve from the garden of Nature and seeing nature as the mother who defines identity first and who is a care giver. On another level, it perhaps prioritizes less and less the sickening authority of money and media functioning as the superego propelling towards a delusional plane of meaning, achievement, and Nirvana. So, it＇s back to the ecological poetics and restoration of the mind, fantasy and imagination, and Nature.