Dr. Lena Henningsen
Contact Information:
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Institut für Sinologie
Werthmannstraße 12
79098 Freiburg, Germany
Phone: +49 761 203-67753
Fax: +49 761 203-67766
E-Mail: lena.henningsen@sinologie.uni-freiburg.de
Current Research Project
Worlds of Reading in China’s long 1970s: Reading and Writing during the Cultural Revolution
The Politics of Reading in the People's Republic of China (READCHINA, project start June 2018)
University Education
2019
Habilitation in Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg
2004-2008
PhD programme in Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg
2000-2004
MA programme in Chinese Studies, Musicology and Political Sciences, University of Heidelberg
2000-2001
Exchange programme at Nanjing Normal University, PRC
1997-2000
MA programme in Chinese Studies, Musicology and Political Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Professional Experience
2012-
Junior Professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Freiburg
2008-2009
Project Coordinator of the Research Group “Rethinking Trends"
2008/2009
Winter term: Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Project "Creative Dissonances: Music in a Global Context"
2004-2012
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg
2003-2004
Teaching Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg
2001-2004
Library Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg (Serials and Microform Department)
Fellowships & Awards
2017 – 2018 Amalie-Baur Fellowship, TU Munich
2017
ERC Starting Grant "The Politics of Reading in the People's Republic of China"
2016
Leopoldina Early Career Award
2014
Admission into the Fast Track Program of the Robert Bosch Stiftung
2013
Admission into the Young Academy (Junge Akademie)
2011-2012
Brigitte Schlieben-Lange Scholarship
2009
Grant of the Cluster of Excellency “Asia and Europe” for the project “Rethinking Trends" (in cooperation with colleagues from the Popular Culture Research Group).
2008
Funding by the Cluster of Excellency "Asia and Europe" for organisation of the conference "Rethinking Trends" (Nov. 2008)
2008
Young Scholar Award of the European Association of Chinese Studies
2008
Funding by the Robert Bosch Stiftung for the project cooperation with schools
2007
Winner of "Geist Begeistert" (National university competition for the humanities, funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research) with the project cooperation with schools
2003
Scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation) for fieldwork in Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanjing and Beijing, PRC
2000-2001
DAAD-Scholarship (German Exchange Foundation) for language training at Nanjing Normal University, PRC
2000-2004
Scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation)
Research Interests
Modern Chinese literature and culture
Contemporary Chinese popular literature
Contemporary Chinese society
Creativity, Imitation and Plagiarism in China
Intellectual Property
Harry Potter fakes in China
Chinese Popular Culture, member of The Popular Culture Group
Chinese music
Republican China
Other Activities
2013
Member of the Young Academy (Junge Akademie an der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Leopoldina - Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften)
2012
Member of the organization committee of the German-Israeli Frontiers of the Humanities Symposium, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Since 2008
Member of the Research Group Rethinking Trends
Since 2008
Member of the board of DVCS (Deutsche Vereinigung für Chinastudien e.V.)
2006-2008
Member of the board of SHAN e.V., head of the team cooperation with schools
Since 2005
Member of The Popular Culture Group
Academic Publications
Books:
Cultural Revolution Manuscripts: Unofficial Entertainment Fiction from 1970s China, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
Gegessen? Essen und Erinnerung in den Literaturen der Welt, Berlin: Neofelis, 2019 (edited volume, edited with Caspar Battegay and Kai Wiegandt, 2019)
The Fascination with Unknown Time, Palgrave Macmillan (edited volume, edited with Sibylle Baumbach and Klaus Oschema, 2017).
Leben andernorts - Geschichten aus dem chinesischen Alltag, Bochum: Projektverlag, 2009 (edited volume).
Chinesische Menschenbilder. (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 5), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009 (edited volume, edited with Heiner Roetz).
Copyright Matters, Imitation, Creativity and Authenticity in Contemporary Chinese Literature, Berlin: Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2010.
Reviewed in: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 26.4.2010: Tilman Spengler "Der schlitzäugige Genius unterwegs zum Patentamt. Lena Henningsen zeigt, wie einfallsreich in China mit dem Urheberrecht umgegangen wird"
Reviewed in: MCLC, September 2010: Krista Van Vleit Hang
Reviewed in: Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, July 2011 (Issue 14): Ruth Y.Y. Hung. Zum Artikel
Reviewed in: Zeitschrift für Chinesisches Recht, 2011, no. 2, p.165-167: Adolf Dietz.
Tradition? Variation? Plagiat? Motive and ihre Adaption in China, (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 6), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, (edited volume, edited with Martin Hofmann, 2012).
Journal Articles and Book Chapters (Selection)
“Poaching World Literature in China’s Long 1970s”, in: Asian Journal of African Studies, no. 48, 2020, 119-149.
“Kosmopolitisches Lesen: Weltliteratur während der chinesischen Kulturrevolution”, in: Lamping, Dieter [ed.]: Vergleichende Weltliteraturen – Comparative World Literatures, Stuttgart: Metzler, 2019, 235-251.
“Erinnerungen an den Kannibalismus und die Genese der modernen chinesischen Literatur”, in: Battegay, Caspar, Lena Henningsen, Kai Wiegandt [ed.]: Gegessen? Essen und Erinnerung in den Literaturen der Welt, Berlin: Neofelis, 2019, 149-167.
(with Kai Wiegandt) “Koreanische (Familien)Geschichte, Trauma und Entsagung: Han Kangs Die Vegetarierin und der Geschmack der Weltliteratur ”, in: Battegay, Caspar, Lena Henningsen, Kai Wiegandt [ed.]: Gegessen? Essen und Erinnerung in den Literaturen der Welt, Berlin: Neofelis, 2019, 325-344.
(with Caspar Battegay and Kai Wiegandt) “Einleitung ”, in: Battegay, Caspar, Lena Henningsen, Kai Wiegandt [ed.]: Gegessen? Essen und Erinnerung in den Literaturen der Welt, Berlin: Neofelis, 2019, 7-12.
“Literature of the Cultural Revolution”, in: Gu, Ming Dong [ed.]: Routledge Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature, Oxon: Routledge, 2019, 423-434.
“Von Spionen, Revolutionären und Kämpfern für die Gerechtigkeit in illegaler Unterhaltungsliteratur aus der Zeit der Kulturrevolution“, in: Polfuß, Jonas, Kerstin Storm [ed.]: Recht und Gerechtigkeit in China, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2017, 177-194.
“Jenseits der Propaganda: Illegales Lesen und Schreiben in China aus intertextueller und interkultureller Perspektive”, in: Nova Acta Leopoldina NF, no. 414, 2017, 123-141.
“What Is a Reader? Participation and Intertextuality in Hand-Copied Entertainment Fiction from the Chinese Cultural Revolution”, in: Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, Vol.29 no.2, fall 2017, 109-158.
“Crime, Love, and Science: Continuity and Change in Hand-copied Entertainment Fiction (shouchaoben) from the Cultural Revolution“, in: Berg, Daria, Giorgio Strafella [eds.]: Transforming Book Culture in China, 1600-2016 (Kodex: Yearbook of the International Society for Book Science), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2016, 101-119.
(with Sara Landa) “Verliebte Helden, rebellische Dichter und das ‚Erwachen des Selbst-Bewusstseins‘: Helden-Stilisierungen in der chinesischen Literatur der langen 1970er”, in: helden.heroes.héros, Vol. 3, no.2 (2015), 15-29.
“Tastes of Revolution, Change and Love: Codes of Consumption in Fiction from New China”, in: Frontiers of Literary Studies in China, Vol.8, no.4 (2014), 575-597.
“Individualism for the masses? Coffee consumption and the Chinese middle class’ search for authenticity,” in: Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Vol.13, no.3 (2012), 408-427.
“Zwischen Imitation und Imagination: Chinesische Spielarten der ‚Starbucks Experience‘“, in: Henningsen, Lena, Martin Hofmann, [ed.]: Tradition? Variation? Plagiat? Motive und ihre Adaption in China, (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 6), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2012, 197-211.
(with Martin Hofmann): “Vorwort“, in: Henningsen, Lena, Martin Hofmann, [ed.]: Tradition? Variation? Plagiat? Motive und ihre Adaption in China, (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 6), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2012, 9-12.
“Coffee, Fast Food and the Desire for Romantic Love in Contemporary China: Branding and Marketing Trends in Popular Contemporary Chinese-Language Literature” Transcultural Studies, 2/2011, 232-270.
“Nationale chinesische Musik und die Erfindung des „Komponisten“: Der Fall Liu Tianhua 刘天华”, in: Soffel, Christian, Daniel Leese, Marc Nürnberger [ed.]: Sprache und Wirklichkeit in China (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 7), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2011, 149-161.
“Verhandlungen mit dem Original durch Verfälschung? Harry Potter Fakes”, in: Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich [ed.]: Die Kunst des Verfälschens: Ethnologische Überlegungen zum Thema Authentizität, Zürich: Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich, 2010, 29-36.
“Yo-yo Ma”, in: Pong, David, Julia F. Andrews, Jean-Philippe Béjà, Flemming Christiansen, David Faure, Antonia Finnane [ed.]: Encyclopedia of Modern China, Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, Vol.2, 2009, 539-540.
“Reich der Fälscher – oder Land der Kreativen? Der chinesische Buchmarkt und (globale) Phänomene der Kreativität“, in: Orientierungen 1/2009, 34-58.
"Musikalisches Leben in China", in: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung [ed.] 2009: Dossier China http://www.bpb.de/themen/5MWS7U,0,Musikalisches_Leben_in_China.html
“Totgesagte leben länger. Der Autor in der gegenwärtigen populären chinesischen Literatur”, in: Henningsen, Lena, Heiner Roetz [ed.]: Chinesische Menschenbilder, (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 5), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009, 147-162.
“Plagiatkultur zwischen Orientalismus und Okzidentalismus: Harry Potter mit Chinesischen Charakteristika”, in: Richter, Antje; Helmolt Vittinghoff [eds.]: China und die Wahrnehmung der Welt, (Jahrbuch der Deutschen Vereinigung für Chinastudien 3), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007, 331-349.
“Harry Potter with Chinese Characteristics, Plagiarism between Orientalism and Occidentalism”, in: China Information, Vol.20, no.2 (2006), 275-311.
Digital
“’Maple’ as Comic Book Adaptation: Introduction to Text and Translation”, in: MCLC Resource Center, July 26, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/maple-intro/.
Zeng Yi 2021: “Maple” (transl. Lena Henningsen and Joschua Seiler), in: MCLC Resource Center, July 26, 2021, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/maple/.
(with Damian Mandzunowski) “Why Poach when you can Wander?”, in: ReadChina Interventions, No. 2, May 4, 2021, https://readchina.github.io/interventions/poaching.html.
“What is a Reading Act?”, in: ReadChina Interventions, Apr. 21, 2021, No. 1, https://readchina.github.io/interventions/What_is.html.
“Zwischen Freiheit und Kontrolle: Praktiken des Lesens und Schreibens während der Kulturrevolution”, Studium Generale der Universität Freiburg, 21.01.2021, https://www.videoportal.uni-freiburg.de/category/video/Freiburger-Wintervortraege-WS-2021-13-Henningsen/ffbcb5a9db12427403bd090ce561066a/220.
“Unofficial Literature from the Cultural Revolution”, in: MCLC Resource Center, Sept. 30, 2020, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/log-in/.
“Little Smarty Travels to the Future: Introduction to the Text and Notes on the Translation”, in: MCLC Resource Center, Sept. 21, 2020, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/little-smarty-intro/.
Ye Yonglie 2020: “Little Smarty Travels to the Future” (transl. Adrian Ewald, Lena Henningsen, Lars Konheiser, Elena Mannich, Federica Monchiero, Franziska Roth, Joschua Seiler und Sen Wei), in: MCLC Resource Center, Sept. 16, 2020, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/little-smarty-travels-to-the-future/.
(with Duncan Paterson): “ReadAct: Reading Act Database”, in: Zenodo, April 16, 2020, doi:10.5281/zenodo.3755105.
“Handwritten Entertainment Fiction (手抄本)”, in: The Mao Era in Objects, https://maoeraobjects.ac.uk/object-biographies/handwritten-entertainment-fiction-手抄本/, 2019.