Lectures

He Xiangning Art Museum talk

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Dear colleagues,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 11th talk on Friday 20 September 2024. Our speaker is Prof. Cai Xianliang, Director of the He Xiangning Art Museum. He will give a talk on Art as a Bridge: The Role of the He Xiangning Art Museum in Enhancing China’s Relationship with the Overseas Chinese以艺为桥：何香凝美术馆在增进中国与海外华人联系中的作用

Date: Friday 20 September 2024
Time: 12:00 pm to 13:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Online via Zoom

The event is free to attend and open to all.

Zoom ID: 849 7996 8532
Password: 12345
Zoom meeting link:
https://ntu-sg.zoom.us/j/84979968532?pwd=LogccVmU7Yrra0mgiZvr3NfuVqa0Kq.1

The talk will be given in Mandarin Chinese. Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.

Chair: Yow Cheun Hoe, Director of the Chinese Heritage Centre, Singapore
Speaker: Cai Xianliang, Director of the He Xiangning Art Museum, China

Abstract

He Xiangning Art Museum is the first national art museum in China named after an individual and has the richest collection of He Xiangning’s works and historical documents in the world. It is the main collection organisation and research institution for He Xiangning’s art works and documents, and its daily work mainly focuses on research, exhibitions, publications, and public education activities. In her early years, He Xiangning had a long history of revolutionary activities overseas, and had extensive and deep connections with overseas countries, thus becoming an important bridge between overseas Chinese and China. In her later years, He Xiangning mainly focused on hosting national overseas Chinese affairs. He Xiangning Art Museum located in Shenzhen adheres to the spirit of He Xiangning and her deep affection for overseas Chinese, attaches great importance to the development of overseas Chinese art, planning a series of thematic exhibitions of overseas Chinese art, fine art exhibitions, and becomes an important platform for the exchange, introduction and promotion of contemporary Chinese art. It has become an important platform for the exchange, introduction and promotion of contemporary Chinese art.

The event is jointly hosted by HOMELandS (Hub On Migration, Exile, Languages and Spaces) at the University of Westminster and the Chinese Heritage Centre of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It is organised as part of the ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative’ project funded by AHRC.

It would be appreciated if you could share this event with your colleagues and your networks. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Cangbai Wang (he/him)
Professor of Migration, Heritage and Language
University of Westminster

An Afternoon with Howard Goldblatt

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The Chinese Program at San Francisco State University invites you to

Farewells and Homecomings: An Afternoon with Celebrated Translator Howard Goldblatt 迎朋送友：與著名翻譯家葛浩文相聚

Howard Goldblatt is the preeminent translator of Chinese Literature of our time. Among the more than 50 Chinese-language authors he has translated are Mo Yan 莫言, the 2012 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, Huang Chunming 黃春明, one of Taiwan’s most acclaimed nativist writers, and Pai Hsien-yung 白先勇, author of one of the first gay novels in Chinese. He is also a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow and Professor Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.

Goldblatt’s journey into the realm of Chinese literature began at SF State where he obtained an MA in Chinese in 1971 and where he taught from 1974 until 1988. During this homecoming, Goldblatt will talk about his career as a translator, his friendships with Chinese writers, his time at SF State, and a farewell poem that has seen him through life’s most poignant moments.

DATE/TIME: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2 – 4 p.m.

LOCATION: SF State Campus, Humanities 133 (a campus map and driving instructions will be sent upon registration)

Admission is free but registration is required by Sept. 14. Seating is limited.

Click here to register:

https://renxt.sfsu.edu/site/Calendar?id=101321&view=Detail

If you have any questions please contact the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at MLL@sfsu.edu.

SF State welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. If you would like reasonable accommodations for this event, please contact the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at MLL@sfsu.edu so your request may be reviewed.

San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, ADM 153
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 338-2217

‘Queer Lit in the Sinosphere’ book talk

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Dear MCLC members,

You are warmly invited to attend the online launch of the book Queer Literature in the Sinosphere, edited by Hongwei Bao and Yahia Ma and to be published by Bloomsbury Academic in mid-November. The event, to be held on December 12, 2024, is organised by the University of Melbourne’s Asia Research Hub and chaired by Professor Fran Martin. It is a free event but registration via Eventbrite is required.

Book information:

Queer Literature in the Sinosphere is the most up-to-date English-language study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) themed literature and culture in the Chinese-speaking world. From classical homoerotic texts to contemporary boys’ love fan fiction, this book showcases the richness and diversity of queer Chinese literature across the full spectrum of genres, styles, topics and cultural politics. The book features authors and literary works from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the global Chinese diaspora. Featuring chapters by leading scholars from around the world, this book This book charts a new queer literary history in non-Western, non-Anglophone and Global South contexts.

Dr Hongwei Bao <renebao@gmail.com>
The University of Nottingham, UK

Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum talk

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Dear all,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 10th talk on Friday 30 August 2024. Our speaker is Dr. Jiang Haibo, Chief Researcher, Kobe Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall; Operating Committee Member, Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum, Japan. He will give a talk on The 150-Year History of Kobe’s Chinese Communities and the Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum 神户华侨150多年来的历史与华侨历史博物馆

Date: Friday 30 August 2024
Time: 12:00 pm to 13:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Online via Zoom

The event is free to attend and open to all.

Zoom ID: 849 7219 3901
Password: 12345
Zoom meeting link: https://ntu-sg.zoom.us/j/84972193901?pwd=Qkf1owW61P79CLzW9etEoKaTDhv1Re.1#success

The talk will be given in Mandarin Chinese. Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.

Chair: Cangbai Wang, University of Westminster.
Speaker: Jiang Haibo, Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum, Japan.

Abstract

This talk will introduce the Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum’s main exhibition that narrates the formation, expansion, development and transformation of the Kobe Chinese communities over the past 150 years. The exhibition includes topics such as the immigration of Chinese to Kobe, the role of Kobe’s Chinese communities in the cultural exchanges between China and Japan, their support of the 1911 Revolution, the establishment and development of various Chinese organisations, overseas Chinese and the War of Resistance against Japan, post-war reconstruction, and the changes in the new era. The exhibition also introduces the history and current state of Chinese schools, cemeteries, community halls, Chinatown, the Guan Di Temple and other facilities in Kobe. Continue reading Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum talk →

Dong Xi in the UK

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For all UK-based colleagues, if you’re free on the following dates we’d love to have you!

Dong Xi 东西 (Pen name of Tian Dailin 田代琳) award-winning author (Mao Dun Prize, Lu Xun Prize) will be touring the UK for the upcoming launch of his newest book in translation Fate Rewritten (篡改的命) (Trans: John Balcom).

London – 26th July – Living A Stolen Life – Dong Xi in Conversation with Susan Trapp
Fri 26 Jul 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM at Charing Cross Library
https://buytickets.at/sinoistbooks/1287210

Edinburgh- 31st July – The Price of Tomorrow – Dong Xi in Conversation with Jenny Niven
Wed 31 Jul 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM at Abden House, University of Edinburgh
https://buytickets.at/sinoistbooks/1294053

ABOUT THE BOOK

Translated from Chinese and due to be published in English on 25th October 2024. It’s a Dickensian novel giving voice to China’s 300 million-strong migrant workforce, Telling a harrowing story about the conditions they live in, what drives them, and how it can go horribly wrong. Continue reading Dong Xi in the UK →

The Conformed Body book launch

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Book Launch: The Conformed Body: Contemporary Art in China

The book launch for Professor Jiang Jiehong’s The Conformed Body: Contemporary Art in China, published by Brill, will include a presentation by Professor Jiang Jiehong (Birmingham City University), remarks by Professor Chris Berry (King’s College London) and Dr Wenny Teo (The Courtauld Institute of Art), and a panel conversation moderated by Dr Panpan Yang (SOAS University of London).

Sample books will also be available.

The event is part of SOAS East Asian Research Seminar (EARS). It is free and open to all. But booking is essential. The event is in-person only.

Time
Monday, July 8, 5 – 6:40pm London Time

Location
The event will take place at Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre (BGLT) within the SOAS Brunei Gallery.
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ

About the new book
Through the perspective of the ‘conformed body’, this groundbreaking book examines the role in art of everyday conformist practices in the People’s Republic of China, such as mass assemblies and bodily trainings and exercises, as well as their impact on people’s perceptions and collective memories. It identifies related artworks, reassesses artistic interpretations with critical reflections, and explores a key origin of artistic productions in post-Mao China. Featuring 200 colour illustrations, the book discusses works by more than 30 internationally acclaimed Chinese contemporary artists, including Ai Weiwei, Geng Jianyi, Song Dong, Xu Bing, Zhang Peili and Zhang Xiaogang.

Register/More info
https://bit.ly/3QZVxgW

We look forward to seeing you.

Panpan Yang <py6@soas.ac.uk>

Malaysian Chinese Museum lecture

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Dear all,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 9th talk on Thursday 27 June 2024. Our speaker is Lim Kah Koe, chief curator of the Malaysian Chinese Museum. He will give a talk on From Overseas Chinese to Malaysian Chinese: The Curatorial Concept & A Brief History of the Malaysian Chinese Museum 从落叶归根到落地生根——马来西亚华人博物馆策展思路与创馆历程

The talk will be given in Mandarin Chinese. Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.

Date: Thursday 27 June 2024
Time: 12:00 pm to 13:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Online via Zoom

The event is free to attend and open to all. Please register via Ticket Tailor here.

Chair: Huimei Zhang, Assistant Director, Chinese Heritage Centre, Nanyang Technological University

Speaker: Lim Kah Koe, chief curator of the Malaysian Chinese Museum.

Abstract

The Chinese diaspora in Malaysia has a long and rich history, with immigrants from different periods and backgrounds contributing to the diverse and complex Chinese society. As Malaysia’s first museum to comprehensively showcase the history and development of the Chinese diaspora, the Malaysian Chinese Museum extensively documents the history of immigrant pioneers and the contributions of the Chinese diaspora to the nation’s development. This talk will focus on the permanent exhibition content of the Museum, sharing its curatorial approach and the history of the birth of a privately-owned museum.

The event is jointly hosted by HOMELandS (Hub On Migration, Exile, Languages and Spaces) at the University of Westminster and the Chinese Heritage Centre of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It is organised as part of the ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative’ project funded by AHRC. Continue reading Malaysian Chinese Museum lecture →

The ongoing struggle for human rights and democracy in China

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TIANANMEN AT 35—THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN CHINA
US Congressional-Executive Commission on China
2118 Rayburn House Office Building | Tuesday, June 4, 2024 – 10:30am

In 1989, citizens in China from all walks of life participated in demonstrations that swept throughout the country including in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The peaceful demonstrators of that year called upon the Chinese government to eliminate corruption, accelerate political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedom of expression—demands echoed during the “White Paper” protests that spread throughout China in 2022. The Chinese Communist’s Party’s violent suppression of the 1989 demonstrations, along with ongoing censorship of any public discussion of what happened in June of 1989, have had far-reaching consequences for Chinese society and U.S.-China relations.

On the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, this hearing will review the legacy of the 1989 protests and look at how a new generation of advocates are seeking to both preserve the memory of Tiananmen and advocate for human rights and political reforms in the People’s Republic of China, despite increasing intimidation and censorship.  Witnesses will provide testimony about Hong Kong’s efforts to repress Tiananmen commemorations, discuss the impact of the “White Paper Movement” on a next generation of advocates, and provide details about the PRC’s transnational repression efforts targeting those advocating for greater freedoms in China.

The hearing will be livestreamed on the CECC’s YouTube channel.

Witnesses: 

Fengsuo Zhou—Tiananmen student leader and Executive Director, Human Rights in China

Rowena He—Senior Research Fellow, University of Texas, Austin and author of Tiananmen Exiles: Voices for the Struggle for Democracy in China

Ruohui Yang—founder of the human rights and democracy organization Assembly of Citizens and student at Humber College, Canada

“Karin” (an alias) —White Paper Protest activist and student at Columbia University (will appear in disguise)

More witnesses may be added

Chinese Anime lecture

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LECTURE: Chinese Anime: The Junctive Geopolitics of Regional Media, by Professor Thomas Lamarre

Title: Chinese Anime: The Junctive Geopolitics of Regional Media
Speaker: Professor Thomas Lamarre, University of Chicago, USA
Moderator: Professor Baryon Posadas, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HK
Format: 40-50 minutes’ lecture, followed by around 30 minutes’ Q & A
Time: 9:30-11am, May 22, 2024 (Wed, Hong Kong Time)
Location: This lecture was changed to Zoom only. Please ignore the physical building and room number in the poster.  
Zoom ID: 953 3208 9304
Password: ACASSHSS

Abstract: 

The very idea of “Chinese anime” raises a geopolitical eyebrow.  What does it mean for a putatively Chinese phenomenon to mesh with the materiality of media forms associated with contents industries that are typically characterized as “Japanese” or “global”?  What exactly is meant by “Chinese” and “anime” anyway?  The phenomenon of Chinese anime encourages a thorough reconsideration not only of forms of animation but also of the geopolitical forms that are summoned when trying to account for the national, regional, and global circulation of contemporary media forms.  Through an inquiry into the modes of production, circulation, and reception of some fairly popular Chinese anime series such as Tong Ling Fei (Psychic Princess, 2018-2019) and Quanzhi Gaoshou (King’s Avatar, 2017; 2020) as well as some decidedly less popular series such as Lixiang jingqu (Evil or Live, 2017), I wish to explore how the phenomenon of Chinese anime forces us to rethink both the materiality of anime and the materiality of its putative Chineseness in a regional and global context.  The inquiry begins with a demonstration of the “junctive” materiality of Chinese anime.  The guiding question is: to what extent does thinking Chinese anime in terms of junctive materiality offer an alternative understanding of the geopolitics of media in East Asia? Continue reading Chinese Anime lecture →

Asian Migration to France exhibit talk

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Dear all,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 8th talk on Thursday 23 May 2024. Our speaker is Dr. Simeng Wang, Permanent Research Fellow, The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). She will give a talk on The Making of the Exhibition “East and Southeast Asian Migration to France Since 1860” at the French National Museum of Immigration History 从策划到开幕：浅谈法国国家移民历史博物馆“1860年以来法国的东亚和东南亚移民”展览

The talk will be given in Mandarin Chinese. Simultaneous translation into English will be provided.

Date: Thursday 23 May 2024
Time: 12:00 pm to 13:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Online via Zoom

The event is free to attend and open to all. Please register via Ticket Tailor here.

Chair: Huimei Zhang, Assistant Director, Chinese Heritage Centre, Nanyang Technological University

Speaker: Simeng Wang, Permanent Research Fellow, The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS); scientific curator of the Exhibition “East and Southeast Asian Migration to France Since 1860” held at the French National Museum of Immigration History. Continue reading Asian Migration to France exhibit talk →

Anime’s Knowledge Cultures talk

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BOOK TALK: Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: From Astro Boy to China’s Zhai Generation, by Professor Jinying Li

Title: Anime’s Knowledge Cultures: From Astro Boy to China’s Zhai Generation
Speaker: Professor Jinying Li, Brown University, USA
Moderator: Professor Baryon Posadas, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HK
Format: 40-50 minutes’ lecture, followed by around 30 minutes’ Q & A
Time: 9:00-10:30am, May 16, 2024 (Thur, Hong Kong Time)
Zoom ID: 939 9388 3522
Password: ACASSHSS

ABSTRACT:

This talk introduces the theses of my book Anime’s Knowledge Cultures that studies the historical and cultural formation of anime geekdom to illustrate the growing expansion of a transnational knowledge culture that had emerged since the 1980s with the rise of network society and information capitalism. It examines zhai culture in China as a case study to demonstrate the emergence and development of anime geekdom, along with the changing meanings and functions of knowledge, in a socially and historically specific context. It traces the emergence and development of zhai culture from the popular reception of Astro Boy as the first TV animation imported to China in the 1980s to the recent anime fandom that reshaped Chinese internet culture in the twenty-first century. The coming of age of the zhai generation amid China’s profound social and economic transformation in the past four decades provides a vivid picture of how a knowledge culture formed and evolved, along with the development of a new generation of Chinese workers and consumers, during the uneven transition from the industrial to the postindustrial economies. At the center of this cultural history is the shifting relationship between the zhai generation and the nation’s renewed interest in cultivating and soliciting skilled knowledge workers through institutional and market means. This historical study illuminates the changing meanings and significance of anime geekdom in relation to knowledge work in the context of China’s overwhelming social, cultural, and economic transformations. Continue reading Anime’s Knowledge Cultures talk →

New Technologies of Gender webinar

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SOAS webinar on ‘New Technologies of Gender in Chinese Digital Entertainment: How Algorithms Rewrite History‘ with Professor Geng Song (Hong Kong University)
Date: Monday, 13 May 2024
Time: 8am to 9.30am, EDT / 1pm to 2.30pm, BST
All welcome, but registration required.

Abstract

In this talk, inspired by Teresa de Lauretis’ Technologies of Gender, Professor Geng Song explores the role of new gender technologies, in both the literal and Foucauldian sense, in Chinese digital entertainment.

Enabled by the democratization of narration, ordinary individuals create online fiction that transforms into various digital formats, such as short videos, TV/web dramas, animations, and games. These creative works not only express the desires, fantasies, and frustrations of ordinary people, but their popularity has also been capitalized upon by platforms and entertainment production companies.

A common thread in these productions is the incorporation of affective technological innovations, including affective computing, mood tracking, sentiment analysis, and social robotics. In the era of the “algorithmic turn,” platforms utilize automated systems to analyze users’ emotional expressions and encourage specific behaviors, leading to the regulation of emotions.

In light of this, this talk delves into the flattening of history and re-adaptation of long-standing Chinese literary and cultural tropes in digital narratives and how new meanings and emotional transformations are created. For example, the matrilocal husband, once seen as a threat to masculinity, now represents neoliberal manhood.

Online stories address the crisis of masculinity by emphasizing the “pleasure point” and offering emotional outlets for male readers, serving as an escape from societal anxiety about success. The narrative pattern is intensified by algorithms on online literature and entertainment platforms. This talk thus explores, from a gendered perspective, the interplay between subjectivity, neoliberalism, and AI technology in the context of contemporary China. Continue reading New Technologies of Gender webinar →

Untamed Shrews talk

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Book Talk–Untamed Shrews: Negotiating New Womanhood in Modern China
Shu Yang (Western Michigan University)
LRCCS Noon Lecture Series at Kenneth G. Lieberthal and Richard H. Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
Tuesday, April 16, 12 pm
First floor of Weiser Hall, Room 110-120
500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI

Talk page

Zoom registration

Posted by: Shu Yang <shu.yang@wmich.edu>

Chinese Canadian Museum talk

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Dear all,

The ‘Global Diasporic Chinese Museums Network Initiative Public Talk Series’ will host the 7th talk on Thursday 11 April 2024. Our speaker is Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO, the Chinese Canadian Museum. She will give a talk on Chinese Canadian Museum – Diasporic Voices across the Pacific Ocean 加拿大华裔博物馆之设立: 追寻跨越太平洋的移民心路历程. The talk will be given in English. Simultaneous translation into Mandarin Chinese will be provided.

Date: Thursday 11 April 2024
Time: 12:00 pm to 13:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Online via Zoom

The event is free to attend and open to all. Please register via Ticket Tailor here.

Chair: Yow Cheun Hoe, Director, Chinese Heritage Centre, Nanyang Technological University
Speaker: Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO, Chinese Canadian Museum

Abstract

This talk features the Chinese Canadian Museum, a new cultural institution partnered with the Province of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. This inaugural public museum honours the history, contributions, and cultural heritage of Chinese Canadians. Since its founding seven months ago, the museum has launched three exhibitions, secured a permanent museum site in the oldest building in Vancouver Chinatown, and received several Canadian heritage and museum awards. Lee will discuss the new Canadian museum as well as its featured exhibition ‘The Paper Trail’ on the Chinese Exclusion Act in Canada from 1923-1947. Continue reading Chinese Canadian Museum talk →