Current NYU Shanghai Global Research Initiatives Fellows

Laura Bullon
PhD Candidate, Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, Steinhardt
Email:
lb3124@nyu.edu

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (March 30 - May 22)：

Bullon’s research focuses on how various definitions of sustainable development compete at the global level, particularly at the United Nations. She focuses on how activists use technology, and in particular social media tools, to advocate for their interpretation of the concept. For her project to be complete and not biased towards a Western understanding of ‘sustainable development’ and ‘civil society’, she hopes to better understand the Chinese perspective and context, such as the notion of ecological civilization and the nexus between the state and social media in China. Bullon looks forward to meeting the NYU Shanghai faculty working on themes related to sustainable development.

Kareem Collie
Master of Arts Candidate, Gallatin
Email:
kc1837@nyu.edu

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (April 1 - May 22)：

Collie’s area of focus is the narrative construction of contemporary mythology viewed through the lens of visual communication. His time in Shanghai would be part of a language and cultural immersion for his research project. Collie plans to use the Chinese language and culture as one of the case studies in his research. The core questions of the study include: how does a language tradition orient the individual and ultimately the community to itself and it’s surroundings? How does this orientation through language manifest itself visually in a culture’s ideology and artifacts? 

 

Joshua Sooter
PhD Candidate, Department of History, GSAS
Email:
jas1317@nyu.edu

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (February 15 - May 14)：

Sooter’s project explores how the devastation arising from the Taiping Rebellion [1850- 64], the socio-political upheavals during the last decades of Qing rule, and the influx of global intellectual trends produced the category of “religion” in China, and affected Chinese thought on religious practices. By studying the post-Taiping Qing period, he will interrogate how the modern category of religion was disseminated in conditions of already evolving Chinese intellectual paradigms. His research aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of how Chinese actors engaged and translated foreign knowledge from within their own dynamic milieus, though often on terms that were not of their choosing. Sooter will primarily engage in research at the Shanghai Library and Fudan University Library.

Professor Tao Goffe
Assistant Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, FAS
Email:
tg69@nyu.edu

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (May 8 - May 26)：

Professor Goffe’s research project, entitled, "Chiney Royal: Afro-Asian Intimacies in the Americas," connects the Atlantic and Pacific worlds through tracing the history of Chinese indenture in the Caribbean from the nineteenth century to the present. Professor Goffe’s work is in conversation with Global China Studies, and overseas Chinese literary theories would be greatly enhanced by research conducted in Shanghai. The work of Professor Tzu-Hui Celina Hung in literature is especially compelling in connection with Professor Goffe’s research. In Shanghai she plans to conduct interviews in Pudong, where there is a vibrant community of expatriate West Indians. 

Rita Chang
M.F.A. Candidate, Creative Writing Program, GSAS
Email:
rc804@nyu.edu

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (April 27 - May 25)： 

In her fiction, Chang often explores cultural myths and modes of storytelling. Her thesis project in particular contains many metafictional elements, with references to Greek mythology, the Bible, and other works of the Western canon. Unfortunately, the canons of other regions, such as East Asia, have been harder to come by. The primary reason being that not all cultures prefer to disseminate their lore through written text. She plans to spend some time in Shanghai researching Chinese folklore and storytelling methods, something that will be of great value to her thesis. She is especially interested in attending performances at traditional storytelling halls and opera houses to study how narratives are constructed and presented in those contexts. Additionally, she will be visiting libraries in Shanghai to examine collections of both original and translated text, which will provide fodder for her own creative works.