Public lecture: Dr. Mao Jingyu, "Doing Ethnicity – the Multi-Layered Ethnic Scripts in Contemporary China" (27.10.2021)

The Department of Sinology welcomes all students as well as everybody who is interested for the first public lecture of the winter semester 2021/22. The lecture will be held on October 27th 18:00 in Hörsaal 2 (Philosophiegebäude) by Dr. Mao Jingyu (The University of Edinburgh / Bielefeld University) on the topic of "Doing Ethnicity – the Multi-Layered Ethnic Scripts in Contemporary China".

Please refer to below abstract for the lecture's contents:

Drawing on my PhD thesis, which focuses on the work and life experiences of ethnic performers in Southwest China, this presentation seeks to explore how a ‘doing ethnicity’ approach might be useful for us to understand the politics of ethnicity in contemporary China. It also further proposes the concept of ‘ethnic scripts’ to illuminate the cultural and social repertoire which deeply shapes people’s understanding and ways of doing ethnicity. By exploring the multi-layered ethnic scripts in contemporary China, this presentation highlights the ways that ethnic scripts are closely related to migrant performers’ emotions and sense of self, and the fact that ethnic scripts are inherently gendered.