Student Report for “Gender + “Community Building” Event
By Nathan Franco, Class of 2028
On October 22, 2024, the HRC’s Gender Studies Lab held a stimulating panel discussion on gender and community building. The panelists included Professors Yeshim Iqbal, a social and community psychologist who primarily studies people’s responses to violence, and Andrew Wortham, a cultural anthropologist who primarily studies sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ groups. About 32 students and six faculty members were in attendance.
To start our discussion on gender and community building, we decided to address the differences between activism and community building. Professor Andrew Wortham stated that activism has a history and connotation primarily in the West concerning the policy of the state and religion, making it controversial to question longstanding beliefs under the term activism. Professor Yeshim Iqbal furthered this by identifying the primary connotation of the word “activism:” is actively trying to change something. Therefore, activism can be controversial and politically sensitive.
Community building can be generalized as a group with the same goal and qualities: “standing up” and supporting one another in the face of adversity. Such communities can exist by being in the same space with others, creating what our panelists note as mobilization: the bringing of people with the same goal/ideal together. 
After our insightful talk on the difference between community building and the controversial term activism, the panelists discussed what a community is exactly and how it works.
While community building can be considered a form of activism, it doesn’t always need to be goal-oriented but rather value-oriented. Value, in this sense, can mean speaking about common experience among other activities where a bond is formed. However, when building a community, a boundary is present and we are working within the parameters of that boundary, hence affirming the boundary. People within this community aren’t actively trying to change any norms.
The panelists noted that community building can take different forms, especially considering the context of the people in the community and the country in which the community is formed. However, sometimes, creating a community will happen on its own in a passive sense. But other communities take lots of work. Whether that is clearing your home to make a space or even finding time in your day to get together, for example, workers may want to get together but have other responsibilities, making it difficult to find a place and time that align with other workers. While in the sensitive area where Professor Iqbal studied, 14 women struggled to find close, safe areas big enough to host all the women. Whereas men could go anywhere and would always be relatively safe due to their status of being a man. Hence, societal norms and the standing of the genders also impact the formation and sustainability of a community.
Among the many insightful questions posed by the audience, one audience member asked:
“When there is a community do you outline what the community is and what is expected of those in said community?”
In any community that wants to sustain itself, there is a lot of work needed to keep the community together through its norms, which include knowing the correct words and expectations of being in that community. So, if the goal is to keep the community going, then yes, the establishment of norms and expectations is necessary.
The Professors ended by stating that if funding by NGOs and other organizations were to cease that some of these communities would also cease, however, many may just take a new form.
Book Proposal Workshop: Incendiary Cities: Fire, Technology, and the Origins of Modern Emergency Response in Germany and the U.s.,1800-1900
Date: November 7 (Thursday)
Time: 12-1pm
Location: IB 2025
On November 7, Professor Jan Hua-Henning invites faculty and students to join his book proposal workshop. We’ll discuss his book proposal for Incendiary Cities: Fire, Technology, and the Origins of Modern Emergency Response in Germany and the U.S., 1800-1900. Incendiary Cities explores how and why emergency fire services evolved during the nineteenth century and who they deemed worthy of protection.
The book proposal as a genre of writing is not only interesting for those planning to publish a book. It also shares many similarities with research and grant proposals. Book proposals highlight the novelty of an argument and research agenda while also providing an overview of the targeted audience. The workshop is a great way to learn about academic writing and research and to get to know faculty at DKU.
We will be joined by Scott G. Knowles, a historian of disaster worldwide and Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Knowles is the author of The Disaster Experts and is currently completing two new books: The United States of Disaster; and Slow Disaster. Students are welcome to join the workshop. Food will be provided.
If you would like to read the book proposal in advance, please reach out to our student coordinator, Sydney Brown, at sydney.brown@dukekunshan.edu.cn.
Forum and Exhibition on Multimodality in Multilingual and Intercultural Education
Join us for the Forum and Exhibition on Multimodality in Multilingual and Intercultural Education, co-organized by Duke Kunshan University (DKU) and Wuhan University (WHU) on November 1st, 2024. This exciting one-day hybrid event will feature guest talks, workshops, lightning talks, and a student work exhibition both online and in-person. Participants from DKU, WHU, The Ohio State University (OSU), University of Sydney (USYD), and more will explore how multimodality enhances multilingual and intercultural education. Don’t miss this chance to engage with scholars, share teaching practices, and discover student visual narratives on identity transformation.
For more information, visit: https://sites.duke.edu/mmie/
Superdeep Nighthawks: La lengua de las mariposas (Cuerda 1999) | Oct 31, 9:08pm
Time:Thursday Oct11, 9:08pm
Location: IB 1008
Event: Superdeep Nighthawks
What’s whispering Superdeep in your ear this week? Find out with the Nighthawks and José Luis Cuerda‘s 1999 Lengua de las mariposas (“Butterfly Tongue”…& food & drink).
Superdeep #29: “One Face of Intention” (Nathan Hauthaler) | Nov 7, 5:28pm
Date and time: Nov 7, 5:28pm
Location: IB 2026
Joanna Newsom reminds us of good intentions paving company. What company, we’ll find out in our next Superdeep Workshop with Nathan Hauthaler‘s current work on “One Face of Intention” .
Snacks & drinks will be served at the Workshop.
The Workshop is Superdeep‘s venue for philosophical work-in-progress research & practice. For more info or to submit proposals for the Workshop, follow this link; for more info on Superdeep more generally, follow this one.
Student Report on Prof. Dorothy Wang’s Lecture: “Rethinking English Poetics”
Report by Yaxuan Wang, Class of 2027
On Wednesday afternoon, about 40 DKU faculty, staff, and students attended a lecture by Dorothy J. Wang, Professor of American Studies at Williams College and a prominent scholar in contemporary poetics. Prof. Wang’s acclaimed book, Thinking Its Presence: Form, Race, and Subjectivity in Contemporary Asian American Poetry, examines the intersections of literary form, race, and identity, challenging traditional notions of form as a neutral aspect of poetry.
Prof. Wang began by sharing her personal and family background in literature and poetry, leading into her exploration of English poetics. She introduced two perspectives: the traditional approach, which often overlooks a poet’s cultural or racial identity and focuses on analyzing poetic techniques, and a more inclusive view that considers biography and history as central to understanding poetry. Through a close reading of Louise Glück’s “The Past,” she examined the poem’s “presumed speaker” and “audience,” demonstrating how identity shapes both poetic content and its interpretation.
Prof. Wang then discussed the concept of “form,” arguing that it’s not a neutral construct but one influenced by cultural and racial contexts. Traditional criticism’s emphasis on “formal complexity” as a standard of artistic value can marginalize minority poets, whose forms may differ due to unique backgrounds. She called for a broader understanding of form that respects diverse expressions.
In the Q&A, participants asked about approaching poetry in other languages, understanding modern Chinese poetry, and the possibility of integrating other languages into English poetry. Prof. Wang acknowledged the difficulties, citing political factors and resistance, yet emphasized the importance of including varied voices in our understanding of poetry in English.
Prof. Wang concluded by highlighting DKU’s unique role as an international platform for exploring a more inclusive approach to poetics, envisioning it as a space where diverse cultural and linguistic perspectives can enrich our understanding of poetry.
The event was organized by Stephanie Anderson, Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing, was sponsored by the Humanities Research Center.
Student Report on Exploring the Digital Archives of the English East India Company
Reported by Sydney Brown, Class of 2026 & Yuruo Zhang, Class of 2027
On Thursday, October 24th, “Exploring the Digital Archives of the English East India Company” event was held by Archives and History Initiative. Nineteen students and faculties, including Prof. Titas Chakraborty, Prof. Jan Hua-Henning, Prof. Kolleen Guy, Prof. Joseph Giacomelli, Prof. Jay Winters, and Prof. Ryder Kouba, attended this event. In cooperation with Professor Guy and the HIST201 class, this is the second gathering organized by the Archives and History Initiative since its establishment. Professor Chakraborty, the main speaker, first talked about the way to get access to the British Library website, where archives of the English East India Company are newly digitalised and stored, by using the DKU library website. Then, after generally introducing the website, she thoroughly showed how to use it to search for the primary historical archives as needed. Detailed advice, instructions, and warnings are also provided for using.
To get to the British Library website with English East India Company archives, DKU students should first of all click “Duke Research Databases” in the middle of the DKU library website page. A title named “East India Company” can be searched among all the 1163 databases. Eventually, the digital English East India Company archive website, which is a neat but delicate page, can be reached after clicking the title and login with NetID.
By clicking “Introduction” on the top of the page, students can see more information about this website such as official overview and guide. If planning to review documents by timeline, clicking “chronology” can be a good choice since all the primary materials from 1600-1950 are all listed under chronology.
After introducing the website, Professor Chakraborty went through the different methods through which the archival materials can be accessed. She pointed out the user guide provided on the site, but also recommended to search by class if someone has little knowledge or idea of what research they would like to conduct. Keywords are able to be typed into the search engine and relevant time periods and collections will appear. When searching within collections, students were also directed towards the volume of contents for each collection and the headings of each document. It was pointed out that even if a document is listed on the digital archive, the actual document might not be digitized yet.
Due to there not being a standard writing practice before 1750, a warning was given about not using the handwriting software on the website when searching for keywords in documents before this time. Regardless, even if the handwriting software does identify a key term, the results one gets can be wrong. The software can misinterpret a word within a document for the word that was searched, and modern day terminology might not exist and appear during the time period being researched. Professor Chakraborty suggested that students look for related topics and documents that address the term or topic being studied. Professor Kolleen Guy encouraged students to not be scared of these struggles, stating that it is through handwriting and reading that historians interact with archival materials.
To finish her demonstration, Professor Chakraborty explained how students can develop research questions based off of the documents they encounter in the archive. First, students have to figure out what kind of document they’re looking at and try to read it from the very top. The questions that develop during this process can lead to the next search and further interactions with more documents. What research is pursued depends on what archival materials are actually available to answer these questions.
The support for this event from Professor Guy’s HIST201 course and from other students and faculty within the Arts and Humanities reflect interest and intrigue in archival research. Throughout the event, Professor Chakraborty explained how students not only use the digital archive, but also read and interpret historical documents. Student questions highlighted the importance of handwritten documents, and ways to work around gaps in terminology or documentation.
Professor Joseph Giacomelli asked Professor Chakraborty what was the most exciting or interesting document she encountered within the English East India Company’s archive. For her, the answer was documents that revealed the depth of how local slave trade were being taxed. The documents suggested that the English East India company made direct profits from the slave trade even in the midst of British parliament’s bid for abolition of slavery. Her final point of interest and recommendation was for students to look into the factory records for China and the Middle East.
Translating the Mysterious
Translating the Mysterious
HUM Space (AB1075A)
Monday 11 November, 6:30-8:00pm
Translating from one language to another is made more difficult when the terms in question relate to the unseen world of gods, ghosts, and ancestors. Is a Chinese gui 鬼 really the same as the English “ghost” or “devil”? Is a xian 仙 a “fairy” or an “immortal”? How can translate these terms when we don’t know exactly what they refer to?
Join Professor James Miller to read some spooky stories together and delve into the mysterious world of Chinese spirits. Refreshments will be provided.
The Many Lives of Shirley Yamaguchi: A Journey Through Identity
Join Us for an Engaging Talk on the Fascinating Life of Shirley Yamaguchi (Li Hsiang-Lan 李香兰) led by Richard M. Davis, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Duke Kunshan University.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (GMT+8)
Location: Sketchyard Cafe, Dong’an Road 888, Haoshang Bay Building 13, F1, Shanghai, China
Event Description:
Explore the extraordinary life of Yoshiko Yamaguchi (1920-2014), also known as Shirley Yamaguchi and Li Hsiang-Lan 李香兰. Born in China to Japanese parents, Yamaguchi was a singer, actress, journalist, and politician whose career spanned China, Japan, and Hollywood. Her life was marked by complex identities and international controversy, including an arrest in 1945 on charges of treason—later dismissed when her true nationality was revealed.
Join Senior Lecturer Richard M. Davis from Duke Kunshan University as he delves into Yamaguchi’s captivating life story, from her dual identity to her cinematic contributions and her marriage to Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. This talk will include insightful film clips showcasing her diverse roles.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn about a woman who navigated multiple identities and left an indelible mark on cinema and history.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
RICHARD M
. DAVIS
Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at DKU
Richard M. Davis is a film and media scholar who works on cinematic crossings between Japan, East Asia, and the United States. He is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies and Director of Signature Work at Duke Kunshan University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago’s Joint Degree in East Asian Cinema program, and previously held positions at Singapore Management University and Tsinghua University. His in-progress monograph, One Hundred Million Voices Singing, describes the collisions between aesthetics, ideology, and pleasure in musical films produced in Imperial Japan during the so-called Fifteen Years’ War (1931-1945). Material from this project has been published in Ex-Position, The Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema, and the Handbook of Japanese Cinema: The 1930s and the Advent of Sound (forthcoming). Additional research and teaching interests include international film history, East Asian modernities, animation, game studies, sound studies, and film theory.
* Members of the DKU community receive a discounted admission.
