We regret that Siqi Zheng, MIT, had to cancel her talk for April 16th due to unforeseen circumstances. She will be rescheduling to the Fall Term 2024 lecture series.

If you would like to attend this lecture via Zoom, please register at https://myumi.ch/zXwJd

This lecture traces the evolution of unruly women in Chinese literature and culture, from the reviled “shrew” to the celebrated “new woman.” Rather than meeting her demise, the shrew persisted, and her negative qualities became the basis for many forms of the new woman, ranging from the early Republican suffragettes and Chinese Noras, to the Communist and socialist radicals. This lecture focuses on the yinfu (wanton woman) and revolution from the women’s suffrage movement to Jiang Qing and the Yan’an campaign.

Shu Yang is an Associate Professor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Western Michigan University, specializing in literary, cultural and gender studies on modern China. She has published in leading journals including Gender & History, Nan Nü, CLEAR, and Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. Her recent book Untamed Shrews came out under the Cornell East Asia Series by Cornell University Press (July 2023). Now Shu Yang is continuing her exploration of gender and modernity by writing on the discourse of hysteria in Republican China.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.