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Abstract Virginia Woolf studies in English-speaking countries have flourished in the 21st century, achieving significant progress in five key areas. First, form and ideology studies have deepened, evolving from technical analysis to ideological exploration, moving from limited perspectives to diverse approaches, and expanding from the particular to the universal. Modernist studies have transcended mere formal technique analysis, forging interdisciplinary paths through explorations of lyrical style, mathematical form, and the cognitive aspects of technique. Philosophical studies, leveraging Woolf’s connections with philosophers, interpret her thought through diverse lenses including ethics, epistemology, philosophy of language, theories of the Other, hermeneutics, and historical materialism. Psychological studies have shifted from psychoanalysis towards the analysis of creative psychology, expanding into multi-angled examinations of trauma aesthetics, life writing, and artistic creativity. Second, social context studies reveal Woolf’s political thought, cultural leanings, and social critique through perspectives of gender, space, science/technology, economics, and war. Feminist studies employ a “feminist-plus” critical model, probing political thought and gender implications within multiple frameworks: women and political movements, women and everyday objects, women and cutting-edge theories, and female relationships. Spatial studies employ micro-spatial analysis and literary geography criticism to deeply elucidate Woolf’s political-cultural thought and critique of modernity. Scientific and technological studies demonstrate Woolf’s absorption of and response to the technological revolution, and the organic fusion of science and literature. Economic studies examine the connections, dialogues, and critiques between Woolf’s works and the public sphere, market economy, and cultural industries. War studies explore the elements of war and anti-war thought within her oeuvre. Third, historical and archival studies scrutinize Woolf’s inheritance and transcendence of the Euro-American literary legacy and historical consciousness, alongside the intellectual value of her manuscript archives. Historical researches focus on her innovative inheritance of the 19th-century literature and context, her transformative engagement with the Greek tradition, and her eclectic borrowing from historiography and historical views, revealing the deep roots of her literary innovation. Studies of diaries, manuscripts, and archives not only continue to evaluate their evidentiary roles but also elevate them as objects of study, opening up new research fields by exploring issues of style, theme, version, originality, and editing. Fourth, ecological, the non-human, and the Anthropocene studies?investigate ecological forms and poetics, non-human animals, plants and materials, and climate writing and themes in Woolf’s works, revealing the prescient and futuristic nature of her thought. Aligning with cutting-edge environmental issues and Western literary theories, these studies reflect Woolf’s advanced foresight and speculative capacity regarding the human-nature relationship, signifying the contemporary value and future significance of Woolf scholarship. Fifth, transmedial and cross-cultural studies?highlight Woolf’s openness, influence, and vitality from aesthetic, reception, adaptation, and comparative perspectives. Woolf’s interaction with transmedial arts and artists, the diverse global construction and contemporary reimagining of her image and works, and the trans-epochal and interdisciplinary nature of comparative literature studies of Woolf all demonstrate significant prospects for civilizational exchanges. Overall, Woolf studies in the Anglosphere in the 21st century are characterized by a systemic approach balancing text and context, integrating the dimensions of present, past, and future, and combining transmediality with cross-culturalism. They exhibit a strong interdisciplinarity, merging literary research with science/technology, economics, war, history, archives, ecology, animals, materiality, ethics, media, and communication. Furthermore, they demonstrate a significant intensification in depth and complexity. Collectively, these features mark the maturity and advancement of Woolf studies and point towards the potential directions for future researches. Thoroughly examining and analyzing the new findings, historical materials, and methodologies of the 21st-century Woolf studies will benefit the flourishing development of Woolf scholarship worldwide.
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