To kickstart the second year of our research project, the ChinaComx team cordially invites scholars working in Europe on Chinese comics, cartoons, picture stories, and other visual narratives to participate in the three-day workshop under the theme of “Lianhuanhua as Method”!

Workshop abstract:

What does it mean to position a distinct medium as the defining element of inquiry? How does this change when the medium is also recognized as a specific (literary) genre? And how do approaches to studying history, art, culture, politics, and society shift when said medium / genre takes center stage in research? The medium in question is lianhuanhua, a distinct Chinese form of comics, and with this workshop, hosted by the ERC-ChinaComx project at Heidelberg University, we welcome interdisciplinary contributions examining lianhuanhua from diverse perspectives: whether as a distinct historical phenomenon, a part of global visual narratives, or a case study illuminating broader cultural or political contexts. How do we define lianhuanhua and how do our definitions change across different times and contexts? And what are the implications—direct and indirect—of approaching lianhuanhua as a research method? A central premise is that lianhuanhua serves as lens for (critical) inquiry: placing lianhuanhua at the forefront of analysis thus aims to expand all our various research approaches and fields. By starting with the image-text and then extending the analysis to other texts, events, and media in the larger context of production, dissemination, and consumption of lianhuanhua, the workshop seeks to offer a site for discussing how we understand the intersections of political communication, visual narratives, and meaning production.

We are looking forward to hearing two keynote lectures, by Barbara Mittler and by Stephan Packard, as well as to offering a hands-on comics browsing and rummaging session—in addition to featuring over a dozen fascinating paper presentations and the ensuing discussions.

Join the workshop on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 24-26 April 2025 at CATS Heidelberg.

Click here for the full workshop program in PDF, and send us an email to register for participation. We look forward to welcoming you to Heidelberg soon!