Short Biography 

Liu Kang is Professor of Chinese Studies, and Director of Duke Program of Research on China at Duke University. Professor Liu is Elected Member of Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe) since 2015. He is the author of twelve books, and published widely in scholarly journals in both English and Chinese. In addition, he frequently contributes in the forms of op-eds, interviews, reviews to American and Chinese print media and the internet media, on issues ranging from contemporary Chinese media and culture, globalization, to Marxism and aesthetics.

Project

Liu Kang works on a book project tentatively entitled “Chinese Exceptionalism: From Mao to Xi.” It explores the emergent Chinese exceptionalism from interdisciplinary approaches of historical, comparative, and cultural studies. It focuses on Chinese exceptionalism as the political ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The book examines the cultural and historical roots of Chinese exceptionalism; Chinese exceptionalism as ideological formations of Chinese communism from “Sinicization of Marxism” (Chinese Marxism or Mao Zedong Thought), to “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” (Deng to Xi); and its implications for China and the world. The book’s objective is to propose a possible conceptual rubric for understanding China’s ideological scene today.