Descendants of Chinese workers who built transcontinental railroad to correct historical wrong
Descendants of Chinese workers who built transcontinental railroad to correct historical wrong
Saturday, May 10th will mark the 145th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The historic linking of east with west was completed with the ceremonial golden spike…
Countless Chinese workers who contributed their labor and expertise perished to make construction of the Transcontinental Railroad possible, yet the original 1869 photograph marking its completion excluded all persons of Chinese descent. Filed under “Things that are Right in the World” this week, this Saturday, May 10, on the 145th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the descendants of these Chinese Americans will meet at Promontory Point, Utah to recreate the historic photograph and correcting the historical wrong. New York’s very own Corky Lee has the honor of taking the photograph. Click on the link to read interviews with participants and learn more about the historical contribution of Chinese Americans to the Transcontinental Railroad. (AABANY members may know Corky from the many AABANY Annual Dinners and events he has photographed over the years.)
New Modern Chinese Women and Gender Politics: The Centennial of the End of the Qing Dynasty, by Ya-chen Chan, on Friday, May 9, 2014
Please join the Asian American / Asian Research Institute for a talk on, New Modern Chinese Women and Gender Politics: The Centennial of the End of the Qing Dynasty, by Ya-chen Chan, on Friday, May 9, 2014, from 6PM to 8PM, at 25 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor, Room 1000, between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan. This talk is free and open to the general public.
Dr. Ya-chen Chen will discuss her new book, New Modern Chinese Women and Gender Politics: The Centennial of the End of the Qing Dynasty. The past century witnessed dramatic changes in the lives of modern Chinese women and gender politics. The book traces the radical changes in gender politics in China, and the way in which the lives, roles and status of Chinese women have been transformed over the last one hundred years. In doing so, it highlights three distinctive areas of development for modern Chinese women and gender politics: first, women’s equal rights, freedom, careers, and images about their modernized femininity; second, Chinese women’s overseas experiences and accomplishments; and third, advances in Chinese gender politics of non-heterosexuality and same-sex concerns.
Ya-chen Chen is an Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature and Director of Chinese Language Program at Clark University. Dr. Chen is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute. While at Columbia University, Dr. Chen is conducting research on “Queering Chinese Women: LBT Research, Literature, and Cinema in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China.” Dr. Chen was formally a faculty member and Director of Asian Studies at City College of New York – City University of New York. Her academic books include Women and Gender in Contemporary Chinese Societies: Beyond Han Patriarchy; Women in Chinese Martial Arts Films of the New Millennium; Higher Education in East Asia: Neoliberalism and the Professoriate; Women in Taiwan: Sociocultural Perspectives; and Farewell My Concubine: Same-Sex Readings and Cross-Cultural Dialogues.
To RSVP for this talk, please visit http://aaari.info/14-05-09Chen.htm. Please be prepared to present proper identification when entering the building lobby.
For those unable to attend, watch the live webcast of the talk on our website homepage, beginning at 6:15PM EST, or catch the post-live video and audio podcast online the following week. For updates and to view videos from past events, please visit www.aaari.info.
See you on Friday!