Congratulations to Prof Qian Zhu on her new paper titled, “Exile to the Equator: Chinese Anti-Colonialism and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, 1939–1946”

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of History at Duke Kunshan University, Qian Zhu, who recently published a paper in the journal of China & Asia – A Journal in Historical Studies.

Read below to learn more about Prof Zhu’s paper and the “behind the scenes” interview.

Abstract

This paper discusses and compares the ideas of Chinese leftists in exile, as expressed in their publications and journals and in their anti-colonial activism in collaboration with the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia from 1939 to 1946. Describing Chinese anti-colonialism and nationalism through a transnational conceptualization and an ethnographic approach, stories that occur “behind the scenes” enhance our ability to decode key words and reveal the complexities of concrete economic and political conflicts from multiple sources that involve migration, ethnicities, and capitalism. The class nature of Chinese anti-colonial internationalism that was forged during and after the Second World War was deeply embedded in the “liberal” discourses of freedom, democracy, equality, liberty, and women’s emancipation. It was also rooted in the mass politics of anti-capitalism, which was global in scope and fine-grained, local, and rooted in everyday life. The Chinese leftist geopolitical configuration of the “nations below the wind” and “the equator” enabled the perception of a proto-global South— South alliance as a world-historical force, with the dual goals of overturning unequal development and achieving an integrated path of anti-colonialism and national independence.

Read the full paper: Qian Zhu – Exile to the Equator: Chinese Anti-Colonialism and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, 1939–1946

Behind the Scenes with Qian Zhu

Could you tell us about your article and what inspired you to write it? Continue reading “Congratulations to Prof Qian Zhu on her new paper titled, “Exile to the Equator: Chinese Anti-Colonialism and Nationalism in Southeast Asia, 1939–1946””

Anthropocene XR Lab AR Campus Co-Design Workshop Participant Recruitment

Hi, everyone! We are designing an Augmented Reality (AR) mobile app – DKU AR Campus to augment information and fun activities into our physical campus. And we’re currently conducting research to investigate how augmented reality technology can support spatial digital interaction between people and the environment. In this research, we would like to invite you to answer the survey questions, talk about your thoughts and ideas, and also look at our user interface at a workshop to improve the design and features of this application. We would like to hear “what does your dream AR campus look like?”

If you are interested in taking part in our study, please fill out this survey and we will invite a total of 20 people to the workshop later based on your willingness, interests, and availability. The workshops will be held from July 30 to Aug 2. Continue reading “Anthropocene XR Lab AR Campus Co-Design Workshop Participant Recruitment”

Student Report: XR Workshop #3: UI Design with Figma

Reported by Jiahe Yang, DKU Undergraduate Class of 2025

The HRC Anthropocene XR Lab‘s Student Lab Manager, Leiyuan Tian, hosted a workshop on using Figma to do basic UI (User Interface) design on July 14, 2022. The lab invited Qingyang He from the class of 2024 who majored in Media Art, Creative practice track to mainly present the talk. Figma is an online collaboration tool for designers and developers to create user interfaces for applications, webpages, or other kinds of media. Qingyang walked us through the basic knowledge of Figma’s tools, functions, Figma resources, and some examples of her work. Then she gave two short tutorials on vector symbols and texture shading, then end the workshop by providing a case study about light weighted digital drawing interface.

Basics of the Figma interface Continue reading “Student Report: XR Workshop #3: UI Design with Figma”

Congratulations to Erin Greig and Reika Shimomura on their student-led Public Health Ethics Research Project

Congratulations to student researchers, Erin Greig and Reika Shimomura, on leading the Public Health Ethics Research Project funded by the HRC’s Health Humanities Lab.

Please join us in celebrating their accomplishments and read an interview with Reika and Erin about this project below.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Continue reading “Congratulations to Erin Greig and Reika Shimomura on their student-led Public Health Ethics Research Project”

Doc Lab Research Project: Documenting the Sustainability of Localized Organic Farming


HRC Doc Lab‘s research “Documenting the Sustainability of Localized Organic Farming” is an episodic documentary video and photo essay that will focus on the Yue Feng Island Organic Farm which is located in Kunshan. The documentary will investigate the sustainability of smart agriculture at the intersectionality of culture, linguistics, economics, ecology, and environmental studies. The documentary will consist of three parts: 1) the regional oral culture: the connection between traditional farming culture and the local Kunshan dialect, 2) the relationship between crop diversity and genetically modified food, and 3) sustainability in smart agriculture: how the farmers and administrators incorporate the idea of sustainability into production and operation.

Project members: Continue reading “Doc Lab Research Project: Documenting the Sustainability of Localized Organic Farming”

The Citizenship Lab Manuscript Workshop: Social Mechanism of Sectarian Violence in Egypt, 1970-2020: Types and Patterns of Armed Aggression and Communal Clash

Speaker: Hyun Jeong Ha, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Duke Kushan University
Date & Time: Monday, August 1, 2022 8:30 PM (BJT)
Meeting ID: 954 4465 6440

Scan the QR code and receive the manuscript in advance!

Political violence in Egypt has significantly increased since the 2011 Arab Spring, as have attacks against Christian minorities. Why are they attacked, who harms them, and what are the types and patterns of sectarian violence? In this workshop, Professor Ha will share her recent research paper that will be part of her book manuscript. Please feel free to join us to discuss her work.

Continue reading “The Citizenship Lab Manuscript Workshop: Social Mechanism of Sectarian Violence in Egypt, 1970-2020: Types and Patterns of Armed Aggression and Communal Clash”

Humanities Research Center Current Research Projects

The Humanities Research Center proudly announces the current research projects being conducted by the HRC labs. We invite you stay in touch with updates on each of these projects by checking the news sections of our website and following our weekly newsletter.

ANTHROPOCENE XR LAB

PROJECT 1
Title: The Neganthropocene and Arts (Case studies in China)
Who: Prof. Jung Choi, Meixuan Wang, Yujia Zhai
Project summary: Inspired by the notion of Neganthropocene by a French Philosopher, Bernard Stiegler, the study explores innovative tactics by Chinese emerging artists that challenge the human-centered logic of understanding the world.

PROJECT 2
Title: DKU Augmented Reality (AR) Campus
Who: Prof. Xin Tong, Prof. Jung Choi, student researchers Qingyang He, Tony Ren, Weiran Li, and Ruiqi Chen
Project summary: In the research, we are creating an AR mobile app, DKU AR Campus, and investigating how augmented reality technology can support spatial digital co-creation and social interaction. We aim to understand multi-users’ social dynamics and examine their co-creation behaviors in an embodied AR context and derive design implications to shed light on future research. Continue reading “Humanities Research Center Current Research Projects”

APSI Summer Book Club: Hard Like Water with Yan Lianke and Carlos Rojas

John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University’s  Asia/Pacific Studies Institute presents: “Hard Like Water with Yan Lianke & Carlos Rojas“.

Date: Aug 12, 2022, 7-9am China time
Location: Zoom and in person at the Ahmadieh Family Conference Hall at Duke University

*Registration required*

This final session of the 2022 APSI Summer Book Club will feature a discussion with visionary writer Yan Lianke and long-time collaborator and translator Carlos Rojas (Co-Director of DKU’s Humanities Research Center)  to explore Yan’s recently translated novel Hard Like Water (link is external) (堅硬如水 jiān yìng rú shuǐ).  This is a hybrid event open to the public in both in-person and online formats.  Registration via this form is required ; those participating in the Zoom session will be directed to a separate Zoom only registration page.  The in-person event will be held at the John Hope Franklin Center Ahmadieh Family Conference Hall (2204 Erwin Rd); light snacks and refreshments will be served.  All guests at Duke facilities must be fully vaccinated or remained masked while indoors.

The Asian/Pacific Studies Institute (APSI) is offering to provide the first 20 local registrants a complimentary copy of the book to be picked up at the Regulator Bookshop on Ninth St.  Further instructions TBA.  Participants interested in reading in the original Chinese can access a copy of the text at this link.

Itinerary

  • 7-8PM – Discussion in English moderated by Professor Carlos Rojas
  • 8-9PM – Discussion with author Yan Lianke in Chinese with interpretation by Professor Eileen Chow
Yan Lianke.jpg

Biography: Yan Lianke is the author of numerous story collections and novels, including The Years, Months, DaysThe Explosion Chronicles, which was longlisted for the Man Booker International and PEN Translation Prize; The Four BooksLenin’s KissesServe the People!, and Dream of Ding Village. Among many accolades, he was awarded the Franz Kafka Prize, he was twice a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, and he has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Man Asian Literary Prize, and the Prix Femina Étranger. He has received two of China’s most prestigious literary honors, the Lu Xun Prize and the Lao She Award.  Source: Grove Atlantic

CONTACT NAME

acn13@duke.edu

UNIT

  • Duke University – Asian/Pacific Studies Institute

Congratulations to Jesse Olsavsky on his new book “The Most Absolute Abolition Runaways: Vigilance Committees, and the Rise of Revolutionary Abolitionism, 1835–1861”

Jesse Olsavsky

Congratulations to Jesse Olsavsky, Assistant Professor of History and Co-Director of the Freedom Lab at the Humanities Research Center at Duke Kunshan University!

His new book, The Most Absolute Abolition, “tells the dramatic story of how vigilance committees organized the Underground Railroad and revolutionized the abolitionist movement. These groups, based primarily in northeastern cities, defended Black neighborhoods from police and slave catchers. As the urban wing of the Underground Railroad, they helped as many as ten thousand refugees, building an elaborate network of like-minded sympathizers across boundaries of nation, gender, race, and class.

Continue reading “Congratulations to Jesse Olsavsky on his new book “The Most Absolute Abolition Runaways: Vigilance Committees, and the Rise of Revolutionary Abolitionism, 1835–1861””