Short Biography

Dai Jinhua, graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University and taught in the Department of Film Literature at the Beijing Film Academy for 11 years. Since 1993, she has been teaching at the Institute of Comparative Literature and Comparative Culture at Peking University. She is currently a Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Peking University and the Director of the Peking University Film and Cultural Studies Center. Her research focuses on film, mass media, and gender studies, and she has offered numerous courses such as "Close Reading of Films," "The Cultural History of Chinese Cinema," "Theory and Practice of Cultural Studies," and "Gender and Writing." She has authored works including *Surfacing from the Depths of History*, *Gendering China*, *Invisible Writing*, *The Boat Across*, *Breaking Out of the Mirror City*, and so on. Her books and papers have been translated into more than a dozen languages, including Korean, Japanese, German, and French.

Project

This study investigates the cultural and psychological transformations in Chinese urban culture, youth subcultures, and online communities over the past decade, with a particular focus on the period during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how these shifts reflect evolving worldviews, varying responses—or indifference—to global crises, and ambivalent attitudes (both enthusiasm and hesitation) toward technological revolutions. Additionally, the research examines expressions of self-imagination, self-naming, narcissism, and self-abandonment in contemporary Chinese society.

The study further delves into structural changes in Chinese society, politics, and the economy in the 21st century, addressing broader trends such as political apathy, the social implications of rising individualism, and the increasing prevalence of depression. A central focus is the prominence of gender issues in urban internet culture, analyzing their popularity and symptoms, and their intersection with underlying class issues. Drawing on diverse cultural phenomena—including films, TV shows (with an emphasis on online dramas), literature, online literature, online games, and popular activities such as “immersive scripted games” (剧本杀), “escape room games” (密室逃脱), and board games—this research also examines online social events as critical sites of cultural expression. The aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of Chinese society and culture in the second and third decades of the 21st century.