Critical Confucianism
Radicalizing the Dao, Decolonizing Political Philosophy
Will be published approx. on 19. March 2026
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-350-52539-9 (ISBN)
Description
How, and to what extent, can Confucian political theory and 21st-century critical theory be integrated?
In the first sustained exploration of the intersection of critical social theory and Confucianism, a team of respected Chinese philosophers demonstrate how Confucianism can incorporate elements from a range of positions in critical theory including Latin American liberation philosophy, Black radical thought, feminist philosophy, queer theory, and postcolonial thought.
Experimenting with the boundaries and possibilities of critical social theory and Confucianism, they take up topics such as hegemony, civil disobedience in East Asia, feminist commitment in South Korea, trans and queer trauma in the U.S., revolutionary rituals, and protest art in China.
Providing a history of Confucianism, they show how it must be liberated from externally-imposed colonial and self-imposed patriarchal constraints. We see how variants of modern Confucianism meet liberatory challenges in ways that can be appreciated by more radical political theory.
At a moment when calls for diversification and decolonization in philosophy have become more urgent this collection expands our thinking and offers a novel and progressive perspective on the modern viability of Confucianism.
In the first sustained exploration of the intersection of critical social theory and Confucianism, a team of respected Chinese philosophers demonstrate how Confucianism can incorporate elements from a range of positions in critical theory including Latin American liberation philosophy, Black radical thought, feminist philosophy, queer theory, and postcolonial thought.
Experimenting with the boundaries and possibilities of critical social theory and Confucianism, they take up topics such as hegemony, civil disobedience in East Asia, feminist commitment in South Korea, trans and queer trauma in the U.S., revolutionary rituals, and protest art in China.
Providing a history of Confucianism, they show how it must be liberated from externally-imposed colonial and self-imposed patriarchal constraints. We see how variants of modern Confucianism meet liberatory challenges in ways that can be appreciated by more radical political theory.
At a moment when calls for diversification and decolonization in philosophy have become more urgent this collection expands our thinking and offers a novel and progressive perspective on the modern viability of Confucianism.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-52539-9 (9781350525399)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David H. Kim is Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Francisco, USA.
Content
Introduction
Part I: Liberating the Confucian Dao: Reflexivity and Reconstruction
1. "A 19th Century Colonial Production of Knowledge: Confucianism as a Religion" Lisa Li-Hsiang Rosenlee (University of Hawai'i, USA)
2. "Critical Ruism: From Xue Tao to He Yin Zhen, Between and Beyond" Sarah Mattice (University of North Florida)
3. "Wang Hui, Mizoguchi Yuzo and the Possibility of a Critical History of Confucianism" Viren Murthy (University of Wisconsin, USA)
4. "A Critical Chinese View of Human Autonomy: Li Zehou and his Concept of Subjectality" Jana S. Rosker (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
5. "Replacing Liberal Confucianism with Progressive Confucianism" Stephen Angle (Wesleyan University, USA)
Part II: Radicalizing the Dao: Intersections and Experiments
6. "Hegemony for Confucians" David H. Kim (University of San Francisco, USA)
7. "Civil Disobedience as a Transcultural Democratic Practice" Jeffrey Flynn (Fordham University, USA)
8. "Politics of Moral Perfection: A Way of Confucian Feminism" Heisook Kim (Ewha Womans University, South Korea)
9. "When Roots Are Poisoned: Transgenerational Trauma and Human Becoming in Early Confucianism"
I.M. Sullivan (Arcadia University, USA)
10. "Emancipatory Li ?: Recovering the Progressive Dimensions of Confucian Rituals" Mario Wenning (Loyola University, Andalusia)
11. "A Gu That's Not a Gu: The End of Art and its Political Dimensions in Modern China" James Garrison (Baldwin Wallace University, USA)
Index
Part I: Liberating the Confucian Dao: Reflexivity and Reconstruction
1. "A 19th Century Colonial Production of Knowledge: Confucianism as a Religion" Lisa Li-Hsiang Rosenlee (University of Hawai'i, USA)
2. "Critical Ruism: From Xue Tao to He Yin Zhen, Between and Beyond" Sarah Mattice (University of North Florida)
3. "Wang Hui, Mizoguchi Yuzo and the Possibility of a Critical History of Confucianism" Viren Murthy (University of Wisconsin, USA)
4. "A Critical Chinese View of Human Autonomy: Li Zehou and his Concept of Subjectality" Jana S. Rosker (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
5. "Replacing Liberal Confucianism with Progressive Confucianism" Stephen Angle (Wesleyan University, USA)
Part II: Radicalizing the Dao: Intersections and Experiments
6. "Hegemony for Confucians" David H. Kim (University of San Francisco, USA)
7. "Civil Disobedience as a Transcultural Democratic Practice" Jeffrey Flynn (Fordham University, USA)
8. "Politics of Moral Perfection: A Way of Confucian Feminism" Heisook Kim (Ewha Womans University, South Korea)
9. "When Roots Are Poisoned: Transgenerational Trauma and Human Becoming in Early Confucianism"
I.M. Sullivan (Arcadia University, USA)
10. "Emancipatory Li ?: Recovering the Progressive Dimensions of Confucian Rituals" Mario Wenning (Loyola University, Andalusia)
11. "A Gu That's Not a Gu: The End of Art and its Political Dimensions in Modern China" James Garrison (Baldwin Wallace University, USA)
Index