A recent reproductive crisis has brought renewed interest in the century-old “family problem” (家庭问题) and “women’s problem” (妇女问题). Related issues have not only been debated in the discursive field, but also informed cross-border fields such as social policymaking and the law. Intrigued by questions such as why the state calls for increasing reproductivity have met […]
Gender-based violence and harassment at work (workplace GBVH) is a global, complex and intractable issue that impacts millions of workers’ lives. In Cambodia, unions – both local and international – have also attempted to influence policy, promote law reform and strengthen law enforcement, and raise awareness about the need to combat GBVH. Michele Ford from the University […]
Yoonkyung Lee, Department of Sociology & Center for the Study of Korea, University of Toronto, will discuss the question of changing protest methods of labor contention in neoliberal Korea, and asks what explains the emergence of extreme repertoires in labor movements in times of institutionalized democracy and capitalist affluence. Her study suggests a move beyond […]
To obtain a trio of legendary monsters in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002), players can embark on an elaborate side quest where they must decode two-dimensional representations of Braille. Removed from its original context as a tactile language, this visual “Pokémon Braille” is at once an inclusive and exclusionary gesture. Frank Mondelli, Japanese Studies, Department of […]
Through comparisons of anti-discrimination and accessibility reforms in South Korea and Japan, this talk analyzes the rise of legalistic governance. More formal rules and participation in policymaking and enforcement, including through the courts, mark a change. Celeste Arrington, Department of Political Science & GW Institute for Korean Studies at George Washington University, traces how activitists and […]
Burak Gürel is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Co-director of the Center for Asian Studies at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. China, once a hub for foreign manufacturing investment, has become a major investor in overseas factories and mines. Disputes at Chinese-owned businesses are now notably influencing labor unrest globally. This study shows that between […]
Jacob Eyferth Associate Professor Departments of History and East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago During the collective era (1956–80), China’s farmers earned an average annual cash income from collective sources of ¥15, equivalent to US $9 in terms of purchasing power. Total income was higher, since members of collectives received much of their pay in […]
Kyoungjin Bae Assistant Professor of Chinese History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill This talk examines the mobility of Cantonese woodwork, a vibrant regional craft in the Pearl River Delta, and its impact on artisanal practices through a case study of woodworkers’ movement to the Indian Ocean during the nineteenth century. Co-sponsored by EAS, the […]
Garrett Washington, Associate Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Amherst Amidst changes redefining and subjugating womanhood in the Meiji period (1868-1912), industrialist Hirooka Asako (1849-1919) rescued her marital family’s failing coal mine in Uruno. This story highlights her determination, knowledge but also her collaboration with male relatives and associates, and direct management, illuminating the underexamined […]
Suyoung Son, Associate Professor in Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University How can the written recipes convey the embodied practice of cooking? While cooking traditionally relies on direct transformation and oral explication, what circumstances lead to the translation of this mute skill into written form? This talk examines two 17-century cooking recipes from Chosŏn Korea (1392–1897), […]
Crystal Baik, Associate Professor, Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of California, Riverside In this talk, Professor Crystal Mun-hye Baik offers a glimpse into her second book project, Before the Fire Dogs Steal the Sun: An Elegy. An intimate cultural history of war, illness, and estrangement framed through her family history, Before the Fire Dogs Steal […]
Thomas Pepinsky, Walter F. LaFeber Professor, Department of Government and Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University Ethnicity is central to politics throughout the Malay world, but the meaning and significance of ethnicity—and of social categories like “Malay”—is contested, dynamic, and multifaceted. This talk is an overview of an ongoing book project, tentatively entitled Ethnic Orders, which […]