In his science fiction works exploring biological experimentation, Soviet pioneer Alexander Belyaev reveals the profound dilemmas of posthuman subjectivity in the technological age. When gills replace human respiratory systems, cephalic grafting prolongs life, and mental interference creates new souls, techno-embodiment not only fails to fulfill its promise of "perpetual presence," but triggers dual crises in posthuman identity: internally, the ontological anxiety akin to the "Ship of Theseus" paradox; externally, the existential deprivation stemming from social exclusion. The essence of this predicament lies in the self-negating paradox inherent to subjective thinking itself: the extreme pursuit of life enhancement through "self-made humans" (Zhao Tingyang) evolves into an "anti-existential ontology" due to resource exclusivity. The resulting posthuman identity crisis subsequently deconstructs the myth of Enlightenment subjectivity from multiple dimensions. Confronting contemporary technological practices, posthumanism engages in profound dialogue with Belyaev's sci-fi narratives, dissolving essentialist views of identity through nomadic subjectivity and reconstructing existential dimensions via symbiotic ethics, thereby offering possibilities for reimagining posthuman subjective thinking.

Vasectomy, a form of male contraception, shows distinct usage patterns in the U.S. and China. In the U.S., over 500,000 procedures occur annually, with a notable increase following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. In China, once widespread under the One-Child Policy, vasectomy rates sharply declined to fewer than 4,000 annually by 2019 after the policy ended.

This study investigated how mainstream online news media in the United States and China frame vasectomy, particularly examining whether it is primarily portrayed as a medical, gender-related, or political issue. Across a comparative content analysis of English-language media from 2000 to 2025, key findings indicate that vasectomy is not merely a medical procedure, but a contested cultural symbol shaped by divergent national media environments.

This study addresses three core research questions: (1) What issues (medical procedure, contraceptive decision-making, or political and policy contexts) are emphasized by the media in each country when covering vasectomies? (2) How do media outlets connect vasectomy reporting with significant political or legislative events, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. or national population policy shifts in China? (3) What gendered narratives and emotional tones emerge in these media reports, and how might they reflect broader cultural differences concerning reproductive equality?

The research employs a quantitative-dominant mixed-method content analysis —including sentiment analysis, keyword search, topic modeling and network analysis—to systematically examine English-language coverage from major news outlets such as The New York Times(nytimes.com), CNN(cnn.com), Fox News(foxnews.com), NBC(NBCNEWS.com), China Daily, People’s Daily, Global Times and South China morning post.

By offering cross-cultural insights, this study contributes to ongoing scholarly discussions regarding reproductive responsibility, media influence on public discourse, and gendered power dynamics. The findings offer practical implications for media practitioners and policymakers aiming to improve media literacy around reproductive issues and inform public communication strategies to promote gender equity in reproductive health contexts.

This paper explores how artificial intelligence technologies, particularly large language models, systematically misinterpret Bengali literary texts due to their training on predominantly Western linguistic and aesthetic corpora. Situating the discussion within the field of comparative literature, the paper argues that this misrecognition is not a neutral technical flaw but symptomatic of a broader technological hegemony that echoes colonial structures of knowledge production. Through close reading comparisons between AI-generated interpretations and traditional literary readings, this paper analyzes three comparative case studies: Charyapada and Geoffrey Chaucer (ancient period), Chandidas and William Shakespeare (medieval period), and Rabindranath Tagore and T. S. Eliot (modern period). The analysis demonstrates that AI often flattens the cultural nuance and poetic ambiguity in Bengali texts while rendering English texts with greater fidelity and aesthetic coherence. The paper draws upon decolonial theory, digital humanities, and world literature frameworks to argue for epistemic justice in AI design and literary interpretation.

Cette proposition explore le statut de la littérature viatique comme dispositif technologique prémoderne de simulation de la conscience et de production de l’altérité. À travers une approche comparatiste allant du IXᵉ au XIXᵉ siècle, nous interrogeons la manière dont les textes de voyage de la littérature mondiale relatant le Japon ont constitué une forme primitive de réalité virtuelle, anticipant les technologies immersives contemporaines par le seul biais du langage.

Les textes des voyageurs chinois, arabes, perses et européens au fil de l’histoire serviront d’étude centrale. En croisant imagologie et linguistique de l’énonciation, nous montrerons que le texte viatique agit comme une interface sensorielle et cognitive : non seulement il capte des impressions, mais il simule une présence, fabrique une spatialité mentale et affecte le lecteur en tant que sujet percevant. Le récit de voyage, dans toutes ses formes (fiction, relation, mémoire, etc.), à la frontière du privé et du public, restructure le moi au contact de l’Autre et produit un discours à illusion dialogique, dans lequel la conscience s’élargit au sein d’une interaction textuelle feinte, certes, mais puissante.

Nous poserons l’hypothèse que la langue — avant l’image, avant l’écran — est la première technologie de la conscience simulée : une technologie de ce que nous appelons l’imago-genèse. Elle encode l’expérience, module la temporalité et fabrique des objets perceptifs (le « Japon » en est un paradigme), qui restent encore, dans l’imaginaire technologique contemporain, marqués par ces premières médiations textuelles.

Par cette approche, nous relisons l’histoire de la littérature comme histoire des technologies cognitives et nous proposons une lecture du texte littéraire comme machine à voir, à sentir, à penser, en amont des médias numériques. Il s’agit ici d’une archéologie poétique du virtuel, où le voyage devient expérience augmentée et le texte, un espace de navigation mentale.

In this essay, I interpret Eileen Chang’s autobiographical novel The Book of Change through the lenses of narrativity and Yijing cosmology. I aim to explore the deeper meaning behind the book’s title, which Chang borrows from the Chinese esoteric classic Yijing, and to consider how literature can serve as an accessible and powerful medium for expressing profound metaphysical ideas. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s Time and Narrative, I argue that we make sense of human time by shaping it into plots. In this sense, embodiment becomes emplotment: Chang’s memories are not simply recalled but structured into a coherent and meaningful story. Thus, The Book of Change signifies a narrative of the radical changes in Chang’s life. The notion of “changes” resonates with the Yijing’s vision of yin-yang duality and perpetual transformation. Faced with familial trauma and wartime upheaval, Chang writes as a drifting individual navigating uncertainty. Her narrative becomes not only a literary memoir but also a philosophical engagement with the ideas of transition and impermanence. By bringing Chinese cosmology, narrative theory, and the practice of literary emplotment, I argue that The Book of Change presents a compelling model of personal meaning-making, a way of understanding life through literary narrative.

Following a literature review on Eileen Chang scholarship, this paper will clarify the rationale for interpreting The Book of Change through the lens of Yijing philosophy, and how Paul Ricoeur’s narrative theory helps bridge philosophical and literary horizons. The study will then explore: (1) the philosophy of yin-yang and constant changes in Yijing; and (2) a close reading of The Book of Change and its embodiment of Yijing thought. By examining this interdisciplinary and transhistorical intertextuality, I wish to reframe the boundaries between literary and philosophical genres. This paper contributes to the broader discussion of human existence and the search for meaning by placing it within an expanded interpretive framework, where literature functions as a vehicle for philosophical insight, and philosophy offers the worldview that underpins literary creation.