Giorgio Strafella

Giorgio Strafella graduated from Università degli Studi di Milano. In his MA dissertation, titled "External Corporate Communication in China: Websites, Genres, and Identities," he performed genre analysis on a corpus of Chinese press releases. In 2008, he was awarded a scholarship to conduct a year-long fieldwork research in China. Strafella is currently a PhD Candidate at The University of Nottingham, working on a project on the language of Chinese intellectual inquiry at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies. He has published in the journal Mondo Cinese and in edited volumes on corporate communication and cultural debates in China seen from a discourse-analytical perspective. Since September 2011, he is also working as research and teaching assistant at the Chair of Chinese Culture and Society, University of St. Gallen.

Education

Laurea triennale (BA), Università degli Studi di Milano, 2002-2005. 110/110 cum laude

Laurea specialistica (MPhil), Università degli Studi di Milano, 2005-2007. 110/110 cum laude.

PhD programme in Contemporary Chinese Studies, The University of Nottingham, 2009-. Expected completion date: Spring 2013.

Publications

- Book Chapters:

2011, “Virtue and Its Eloquence: CSR Reporting in China”. In Giuliana Garzone and Maurizio Gotti (eds) Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise. Genres and Trends, Bern: Peter Lang, 213-234.

2010, “La metafora shanzhai come fenomeno linguistico, mediatico e culturale” [The Shanzhai Metaphor in Language, Media and Culture]. In Emma Lupano (ed) Media in Cina oggi. Testimonianze e orientamenti, Milano: Franco Angeli, 108-129.

2008, “La Causa e gli scopi. I linguaggi della politica e della promozione secondo le aziende cinesi” [The Cause and the Objectives: Political and Promotional Languages in Chinese Corporate Communication]. In Clara Bulfoni (ed) Studiare la Cina oggi, Milano: Franco Angeli, 47-68.

- Refereed Articles:

2009b, “I suicidi giovanili e il lato oscuro dell’istruzione cinese” [Juvenile Suicides and the Dark Side of Chinese Education]. Mondo Cinese 140-141, 73-84.

2009a, “Traduzione e apertura: la letteratura occidentale nelle librerie di Shanghai” [Translation and Opening Up: Western Literature in Shanghai Bookstores]. Mondo Cinese 138/139, 81-94.

2007, “Comunicazione, identità, potere: le aziende cinesi tra nuove sfide ed eredità feconde” [Communication, Identity, Power: Chinese Companies between New Challenges and Fertile Legacies]. Mondo Cinese 133, 35-48.

- Other Articles:

Giorgio Strafella / Brad Ochocki 2010, “La Cina e il pianeta: intervista con Isabel Hilton” [China and the Planet: Interview with Isabel Hilton]. Mondo Cinese 142, 146-152.

2009, “Translations of Western Literature and the Book Market in Shanghai”. China Media Observatory Newsletter 02/09, Università della Svizzera Italiana CMO, 7-9.

Conference Papers

Daria Berg / Giorgio Strafella 2012, "A Twitter Bodhisattva: Ai Weiwei’s Media Politics", Conference: Modes of Activism and Engagement in the Chinese Public Sphere. National University of Singapore, April.

2012a, "Postmodernism as Nationalist Conservatism? The Case of Zhang Yiwu", Workshop: Asian Postmodernities and their Legacies. University of Zurich, March.

2011b, “The Debate on the Spirit of the Humanities as Intellectual Meta-Discourse”, Fourth Annual CPN Conference. London School of Economics and Social Sciences, July.

2011a, “The Renwen Jingshen Debate: Readings, Re-writings, and Methodological Matters”, Workshop: Culture and the State in Contemporary China. University of Oxford, June.

2009b, “Virtue and Its Eloquence. CSR Reporting in China”, Fifth International Conference on Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise. Università degli Studi di Milano, September.

2009a, “La metafora shanzhai”, Seminar: Media in Cina Oggi. Università degli Studi di Milano and Università della Svizzera Italiana, April.

2008, “La Causa e gli scopi: I linguaggi della politica e della promozione secondo le aziende cinesi”, Conference on Contemporary Chinese Studies. Università degli Studi di Milano and Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, May.

Other Academic Activities

Research Assistant for the Chair of Chinese Culture and Society, University of St. Gallen, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, September 2011-February 2012.

Teaching assistance in the MA/MSc module: “Contemporary Chinese Culture and Society” (convenor: Dr Andreas Fulda; AY 2010-2011).

Research assistance to Dr Andreas Fulda and Prof Daria Berg on the following projects: “The role of Chinese public intellectuals and the public sphere in China” (AY 2009-10); “Han Han and online literature” (AY 2010-11); “Body Art in China” (AY 2010-11).

Language Courses

July 2004 - September 2004: Intensive course of Chinese language, Renmin University of China.

January - February 2005: ESF training course in oral mediation in Chinese, Università degli Studi di Milano.

September 2006 - January 2007: Upper-interm. course of Chinese language, Beijing Language and Culture University.

September 2008 - July 2009: Advanced course of Chinese language, East China Normal University.

September 2008 - July 2009: Private lessons of classical Chinese (200 hours), East China Normal University.

Scholarships

2003-2004: 50% remission of tuition fees for merit, Università degli studi di Milano.

2004-2005: Full remission of tuition fees for merit, Università degli Studi di Milano.

September 2006 - January 2007: HSK scholarship, PRC Ministry of Education (first ranked).

2008-2009: UniAMO Postgraduate Research Scholarship, Università degli Studi di Milano (first ranked).

2009-2012: EU Research Scholarship, The University of Nottingham.

2009-2012: School of Contemporary Chinese Studies Studentship, The University of Nottingham.

2011: UCCL Travel Grant, Great Britain China Centre.

Languages

Italian: native speaker
English: fluent
Mandarin: fluent
French: reading for research purposes