Curating Revolution

Denise Y. Ho is assistant professor of twentieth-century Chinese history at Yale University, Connecticut. Her research interests focus on the social and cultural history of China during the Mao period (1949-1976), and her work has been supported by a Fulbright scholarship and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, among other organizations. In addition to her scholarly research, Denise Y. Ho has been a commentator on contemporary China for media outlets including The Atlantic, China File, and The Nation. She is currently a Public Intellectuals fellow at the National Committee on US-China Relations.

• Illustrations; Abbreviations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Making a revolutionary monument: the first party congress site; 2. Exhibiting new China: 'Fangua lane past and present'; 3. Curating belief: superstition versus science for young pioneers; 4. Cultivating consciousness: the class education exhibition; 5. The cultural revolution's object lessons: the exhibition of red guard achievements; 6. Antiquity in revolution: the Shanghai museum; Conclusion; Bibliography; Chinese character list; Index.

'A lucid and compelling history, Curating Revolution brings Mao-era exhibits to life in vivid, tangible, and deeply human detail. Ho's thoughtful analysis of these 'object lessons' and the purposes they served illuminates as never before the profound relationship between ideology and materiality in Mao-era political culture. In the process, the familiar categories of revolution, history, culture, propaganda, and participation all take on new and rich significance.' Sigrid Schmalzer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst