Centre for East Asian Studies

Profile

My focus of interest is the study of contemporary China’s social, political, and intellectual history. My research is a broad investigation of how China’s relations with the rest of the world have influenced historical narratives and shaped textual/visual representations within their respective intellectual discourses. I approach these questions through a combination of archival research and interdisciplinary theoretical approaches mainly derived from history and cultural studies.

My teaching and research cover topics such as: Urban China; Globalisation; East and West encounter; Chinese intellectual thought and political communication. These themes incorporate the study of China in broad thematic, transnational, and interdisciplinary contexts, examining the global/local perspectives, and exploring the politics of representation and cultural identities.

I have been researching and publishing on contemporary China for many years, both in Italian (my native language) and English. My latest effort is a co-authored manuscript on the representation of corruption and anti-corruption in Chinese political culture. I am presently working on a new book project on the socio-spatial transformation of Tianjin, with particular attention to the former concessions’ area.

Maurizio is principal investigator of the ESRC funded research project called "Colonialism in comparative perspective: Tianjin under nine flags, 1860-1949".