[11th Talk] Dr Zhang Beiyu: “Beyond stages: Chinese Theatre Troupes Touring the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Aisa”
Upcoming Event
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Introduction |
The eleventh talk of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series” will take place next week. The speaker Dr. Beiyu Zhang will introduce the troupes that travelled along the China-Southeast Asia corridor and how they influenced Chinese society and later became a cultural tool for building independent nation states during the Cold War and post-colonial era. According to Dr. Zhang, these entertainment activities reveal the dynamic, contingency and situational nature of the interaction between ancestral homes and overseas, which supports the assertion that Chinese identity is not necessarily divided between localization and Chineseness, but rather coexists and continuously shapes the Chinese identity in diaspora places. |
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Speaker |
Dr. Beiyu Zhang (Postdoctoral Researcher, School of International Relations / Institute of Chinese Overseas Studies, Jinan University) Dr. Beiyu Zhang holds a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore and a Ph.D. in History. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the School of International Relations and the Institute of Chinese Overseas Studies at Jinan University. Her primary research interests include the cultural history of overseas Chinese, cultural heritage, and the role of music, Chinese opera, and dance in Cold War cultural diplomacy. Dr. Beiyu Zhang was a visiting scholar at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a Class A postdoctoral researcher under the Haogang Talent Program at the University of Macau. Her published English monograph, Chinese Theatre Troupes in Southeast Asia: Touring Diaspora, 1900s-1970s, has garnered significant attention. She has also authored several papers, published or forthcoming, in journals such as Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Asian Ethnology, and Asian Theatre Journal. |
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Moderator |
Dr. Lew Siew Boon (Assistant Professor at the International Education College of New Era University College) Dr. Lew Siew Boon completed her Ph.D. at the National University of Singapore in 2021. She is currently an (Assistant Professor at the International Education College of New Era University College). Her primary research focuses on folklore and folk culture, as well as the history of the Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. She has published monographs such as Guest of Jinshan: The Shuiyue Palace of Kelantan and its Guan Yin Belief and China and Southeast Asia's Hakka: A Cross-regional Exploration and Discussion (second author). Her doctoral thesis was nominated for the Wang Gongwu Best Thesis Award (Social Sciences) by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore. She has also published more than ten academic papers. |
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Information |
Date: 21 September 2022 (Wednesday) |
Trailer (Video)
Lecture Postscript
The 11th session of the "Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series," organized by the Institute of International Education, New Era University College (IIE, NEUC) and the Tan Lark Sye Institute, was held on 21th September 2022. The guest speakers for this event was Dr. Zhang Beiyu from the School of International Relations and the Research Institute of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Studies at Jinan University. It was attended by more than 170 people.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Zhang, holds a Master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore and a Ph.D. in History. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the School of International Relations and the Research Institute of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Studies at Jinan University. Her primary research interests include the cultural history of overseas Chinese, cultural heritage, and the role of music, opera, and dance in Cold War cultural diplomacy. Dr. Zhang was previously a visiting scholar at Leiden University in the Netherlands and a Category A postdoctoral researcher under the Macau University Hengqin Talent Program.
This lecture was titled “Beyond stages: Chinese Theatre Troupes Touring the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Aisa.” Dr. Zhang emphasized that through these touring theatre troupes, the dynamic, contingent, and contextual interactions between the homeland and the diaspora are revealed. She also highlighted that in terms of Chinese identity, localization and Chineseness are not necessarily oppositional but rather coexist and continuously shape the identity of the Chinese diaspora. The event was moderated by Assistant Professor Dr. Lew Siew Boon from NEUC. Participants actively engaged with Dr. Zhang, discussing the dissemination of theatre genres in diaspora communities and issues surrounding Chinese identity.
