LECTURE: Breaking Through The Stereotype of the "Chinese"

In this talk we discuss how stereotypes and the lifelong ‘silence’ have affected Asians in the Netherlands and the role of media and culture. The ‘Chinese’ identity in Western society, and why #StopAsianHate is not only an American movement.

Hui-Hui Pan is a cultural organizer, strategist and connector. Since 2006 active on diversity and inclusion and Asian representation in the Dutch art, culture and media sector. In 2019 she founded the Pan Asian Collective with which she connects, empowers and inspires Asian Creatives to collaborate, to create opportunities, and connect them to diverse podiums and broaden audiences. In 2020 she founded Pan Asian Connections, and started ‘broadcaster’ PAC for more Asian representation in mainstream media. She advocates for more Asian representation and against anti-Asian racism, and plays a pivotal role in the #StopAsianHate movement. Hui-Hui studied international economics, international relations and international communications in Maastricht, Beijing and Washington DC.

LECTURE: Public opinion of Chinese Natives on immigrants in China

Immigration to China has rapidly increased over the last two decades. How do Chinese citizens view the role of immigrants in their society as China transforms into a global power – and an emerging immigrant country? This talk presents the results of survey and interview research into Chinese attitudes towards foreign migrants, and analyzes these findings in the context of China’s overall development trajectory.

Tabitha Speelman is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Area Studies and former correspondent for the newspapers Trouw and DeCorrespondent. Her research focus lies on migration and the Chinese diaspora, and how migration is shaping Chinese society.

WORKSHOP: Language and Identity

“Chinese”, one of the world’s most powerful and most common languages, is spoken by over three billion people. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of people that are learning “Chinese” or to be more specific Mandarin Chinese. However, apart from Mandarin Chinese, the Chinese language encapsulates hundreds of dialects in which the Sichuan dialect showcases the fascinating aspects of the diversity of the language and captivates its audiences through it’s melodic tones and interesting pronunciation. During this workshop, I will take you all through the history and progression of the Sichuan dialect and introduce the special and unique ways we pronounce our words and how it differs from Mandarin Chinese. Furthermore, we will explore the link between Sichuan dialect and the (underground) hip hop culture that has been influenced by this specific dialect. I hope that during this workshop you will be able to grasp an understanding of what shaped this dialect, whilst also simultaneously discovering the beauty of Sichuanese and what makes this dialect one of the most known dialects of the Chinese language.

Junru Lai is an undergraduate student from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) and is originally from Sichuan. During her last year she was the Chairman of the International Cooperation Forum of SUFE. As Chairman she managed the five departments under the International Office and was in charge of over 100 exchange students each semester. She has also done several internships at companies such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited in Mianyang and AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd. She is currently interning at PWC Chengdu and plans to start a Master’s Programme at IE Business School. With such an international orientated mindset and her interest in showing the outside world what China is like, she would love to give a seminar about the Sichuan dialect.

Workshop: Things That Talk

Things—the objects, tools, and artifacts of everyday life—are the material expression of human experience. The website ThingsThatTalk.net puts objects at the centre of research. Through objects, the platform tells stories on a wide range of topics. How do you use an online platform to construct an engaging story that also has academic value? Together, we will look into that during this TTT-workshop.

Koen van der Lijn is a ResMA Asian Studies student who has been working at ThingsThatTalk since the website launched. He publishes stories on the website itself, and also works as an editor for the website.