Lecture by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ziying You in the 35th talk of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series”
The 35th session of the "Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series," organized by the Institute of International Education, New Era University College and the Tan Lark Sye Institute, was held on October 30th. The guest speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ziying You from the University of Georgia, presented a lecture titled “Defining Global Asian Folklore Studies.” She discussed the establishment of global Asian folklore studies within the context of integrating global Asian studies and critical folklore studies.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ziying You is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies at the University of Georgia and an affiliated Professor at the Center for Asian Studies. She currently serves on the executive board of the American Folklore Society and is the Senior Convener of Transnational Asia/Pacific section. Her research interests encompass Chinese literature, folklore studies, critical heritage studies, women’s and gender studies, anti-Asian racism, and global health. Her published works include Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Chinese and Chinese American Women: Racisms, Feminisms, and Foodways (2025) and Folk Literati, Contested Tradition, and Heritage in Contemporary China: Incense Is Kept Burning (2020). She is also a co-editor of Chinese Folklore Studies Today: Discourse and Practice (2019) and the English special issues Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia: Traditions in Transition (2020) and Covid Narratives in China and the US (2025).
In her lecture, Dr. You emphasized that global Asian folklore studies employ interdisciplinary and intersectional research methods to focus on the racialized and gendered experiences of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals and communities. She highlighted the discrimination, inequality, and oppression these groups encounter in their daily lives. The objectives of global Asian folkloristics are twofold: first, to enhance the lives, representation, and visibility of Asian and Pacific communities in America; second, to foster broader alliances in response to the challenges currently facing Transnational Asia/Pacific within the American Folklore Society. This represents a form of “care work” for our global community, creating a dialogue space for Asian and Pacific folklorists, scholars of Asian and Pacific folklore, and their allies, with the goal of achieving healing and alliance-building. Dr. You demonstrates her social commitment as a folklorist and applies it in her research.
Following the lecture, a Q&A session allowed the audience and the moderator to engage with Dr. You on the topic of global Asian folklore studies. The event was moderated by Assistant Professor Dr. Lew Siew Boon from NEUC.
