Do We Need to Rethink Sinology? Views from the Eastern Bloc

In this sense, this issue's focus on "sinology" is an ill-defined constraint because much of what the authors are examining can be better categorized under different forms of knowledge production, ranging from history to translation to literary analysis. The idea that "China" presents such exclusive problems, such unique forms of development, such distin- guished and exceptional cultural traits that only an approach "from within" (which possibly should include physical movement to China or even physical/emotional connection with a native, often in the form of a spouse) has been shown to be inherently orientalist and racist. [...]these disciplinary approaches have largely stopped claiming any "scientific" value, at least since the criticism of Modernization Theory in the 1970s. [...]the generalized accusa- tion of deploying "simplified frames of references" voiced against area studies in some of the articles in this collection is at least forty years too late.