Local Remembering and National Forgetting: Memory Politics in Modern China

As Australias relationship with China experiences significant challenges within global geopolitical tensions, it is critical for Australia to develop a better understanding of Chinese cultural politics. This project will investigate how China uses narratives about its past to build national cohesion internally and to legitimate national identity and interests internationally. Through a detailed analysis of Chinese cultural institutions, the project will expand knowledge of the social and political dimensions of how history is constructed and used in China. Workshops and policy-targeted papers will help increase the visibility of the projects findings within the Australian foreign affairs community. Wider benefits include a deeper knowledge of Chinas contemporary cultural politics and the internal dynamics of their soft power building. This research will also offer Australia a more nuanced and multidimensional understanding of China that co