Dr Wah Guan Lim
BA Honours 1 UNSW, MSt Oxford, MA Princeton, PhD Cornell
Wah Guan LIM is excited to be back at his Alma Mater, UNSW. After completing his B.A. (Hons 1) in Chinese Literature and Theatre and Performance Studies here, he went on to pursue an M.St. in Chinese Studies at Oxford, M.A. in East Asian Studies at Princeton and Ph.D. in Asian Literature, Religion and Culture at Cornell. Upon graduating from Cornell, he served in a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Chinese at Bard College, a liberal arts college in New York state, which he left to return to UNSW, favouring its proximity to Asia and strong research culture.
Dr Lim returns to UNSW as Lecturer in Chinese Studies and an Early Career Researcher (ECR). He works across the interstices of Chinese literature, theatre and performance, and film studies. His research examines the politics of culture and performance across the Chinese communities in East and Southeast Asia, demonstrating how theatrical performances complicate national or ethno-cultural discourse and explores the interplay between theatre and politics, cultural identity and artistic expression.
His essays and reviews, in English and Chinese, have appeared in the Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA), Polyphony Embodied: Freedom and Fate in Gao Xingjian’s Writings, the Hong Kong Drama Review (HKDR), Singapore: Negotiating State and Society, 1965–2015, the Journal of Modern Literature in Chinese (JMLC) and Gao Xingjian and Transmedia Aesthetics. He is currently completing a monograph titled Denationalizing Identities: The Politics of Performance in the Chinese Diaspora, which focuses on four of the most important director-playwrights in the contemporary Chinese-speaking world: Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002, Singapore), Gao Xingjian (b. 1940, China), Danny Yung Ning Tsun (b. 1943, Hong Kong) and Lai Sheng-chuan (West. Stan Lai, b. 1954, Taiwan).
His work on transnational Chinese theatre has earned invitations to guest lecture and present papers on the topic in academic symposia and conferences in London, Taipei, Singapore, Sydney, Erlangen, Hamilton (New York), Ithaca and Harvard. He was awarded the “Outstanding Thesis Presentation for Young Scholars Award” at the 10th Chinese Drama Festival (2016) — the oldest biannual platform showcasing the convergence of praxis and scholarship on theatre and performance in the Chinese-speaking world — as well as having been the recipient of external competitive fellowships such as the Center for Chinese Studies Research Grant and the Taiwan Fellowship.
Dr Lim’s varied interests go beyond his scholarly pursuits. While doing his B.A., he was a thespian with the New South Wales University Theatrical Society (NUTS), having performed in every theatre space on campus. A speaker of several Chinese dialects, in addition to Mandarin, he served as linguistic consultant to the international best-sellers Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, by Kevin Kwan, and as a casting and script translation consultant for the production Dim Sum Warriors: The Musical, by the New York-based Singaporean filmmakers and comic artists Jocelyn Woo Yenyen and Colin Goh, produced by Stan Lai with a transnational Chinese cast that premiered in Shanghai. As a past recipient of the New College Award, he is particularly eager to learn from and contribute to the vibrant scholarly communities in UNSW and the New College Postgraduate Village, where he has just been appointed Fellow.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Conference Travel Grant, HAL, UNSW, 2019 (international), 2020 (domestic & international)
Writing Mentor Grant for Early Career Researchers, HAL, UNSW, 2019
Research Start-up Budget, Bard College, 2015–17
Chiang Ching-kuo (CCK) Junior Scholar Conference Attendants’ Travel, 2015
Travel grant for the 13th International Junior Scholars Conference on Sinology, Taipei
Einaudi Center International Travel Grant Award, Cornell, 2014
Travel fund for summer research in Hong Kong
Graduate Student Conference Grant, Cornell, 2010, 2012, 2013
East Asia Program (EAP) Lam Family Travel Grant Award, Cornell, 2013
Graduate School Summer Research Travel Grant, Cornell, 2013
Summer research travel in Hong Kong
Travel Funding, Berkeley-Stanford Graduate Student Conference in Modern Chinese Humanities, 2013
Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) Conference Travel Grant, Cornell, 2013
National Chung-hsing University Conference Travel Support, 2013
Department Summer Research & Language Study Award, Cornell, 2011
Department Conference Travel Support, Cornell, 2010
Awards & Honours
Early Career Researcher (ECR) Award, UNSW, 2019–
Outstanding Thesis Presentation for Young Scholars Award 青年學者傑出論文表現獎, 2016
The 10th Chinese Drama Festival, Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies
Ta-Chung and Ya-Chao Liu Memorial Award, Cornell, 2011
Awarded to one student per graduate field of study, in recognition of excellent progress and high potential for a successful academic career
The New College Award, UNSW, 2005
The highest accolade the College can bestow on a Collegian
Chinese Studies Essay Prize, UNSW, 2004
For the best essay in Chinese Studies in any undergraduate program
Second Class Award, China Bridge Competition, 2003
Inter-University Chinese Competition, Sydney
Fellowships
Taiwan Fellowship, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan, 2019
Six-month fellowship for research in Taiwan
Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies, Center for Chinese Studies (CCS)
Six-month fellowship for research in Taiwan, 2019 (declined)
Sage Fellowship, Cornell, 2009–10, 2014–15
Full academic year fellowship
Hu Shih Fellowship in Chinese Studies, Cornell, 2013–14
Full academic semester fellowship
Taiwan Fellowship, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan, 2012
Full academic year fellowship for research in Taiwan
C.V. Starr Fellowship, Cornell, 2010–11, 2011–12
Full academic semester fellowship
Graduate School Fellowship, Princeton, 2007–09
Full academic year fellowship
University Honours Year Scholarship, UNSW, 2005
PUBLICATIONS
Book Manuscript (In Preparation)
Denationalizing Identities: The Politics of Performance in the Chinese Diaspora
Journal Articles / Book Chapters
“Lessons From a Cat: What Can a Cat Teach Us About Identity and the Politics of Language in Singapore Theatre?” (in progress)
“The Surging of Local Consciousness in the Chinese Diaspora: The Unintended Consequences of Propaganda Drama.” (in progress)
“From 1989 to 1997 and Beyond: Zuni Icosahedron’s Transnational Explorations.” Asian City Crossings: Pathways of Performance through Hong Kong and Singapore. Eds. Rossella Ferrari and Ashley Thorpe. London: Routledge, Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies Series (forthcoming).
“1980 niandai haiwai Huaren juchang de juhe yu zhangli: Yi Xinjiapo wei li” 〈1980 年代海外華人劇場的聚合與張力：以新加坡為例〉 (Tensions and convergences in 1980s Chinese diasporic theatre: The case of Singapore). Diversity and Singapore Ethnic Chinese Communities: International Conference 《新加坡華族之多元性：國際會議論文集》. Eds. Koh Khee Heong, Ong Chang Woei, Phua Chiew Pheng, Chong Ja Ian and Yang Yan. Singapore: City Book Room, 2020. 87–94.
“From Theater to Cine-Poetry: Gao Xingjian’s Performance Theories.” Gao Xingjian and Transmedia Aesthetics. Eds. Mabel Lee and Liu Jianmei. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press, 2018. 201–215. ISBN: 9781604979466
“The Changing Landscape of Politics and Language Use in Singaporean Theatre: Towards a Multilingual Praxis.” Singapore: Negotiating State and Society, 1965–2015. Eds. Jason Lim and Terence Lee. London: Routledge, 2016. 76–93. ISBN: HB 9781138998629; PB 9781138998650
“Between Memory and Forgetting: Ten Years After Gao Xingjian’s Winning of the Nobel.” Polyphony Embodied: Freedom and Fate in Gao Xingjian’s Writings. Eds. Michael Lackner and Nikola Chardonnens. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014. 185–201. ISBN: 9783110346428
“Danny Yung and Experimental Chinese Theatre” 〈榮念曾與實驗中國劇場〉 (bilingual essay). Zuni Icoshahedron Annual Report 2011–12 《進念·二十面體 2011–12 年度報告》. 32–35.
“Chuyu dongxi wenhua de bianyuan” 〈處於東西文化的邊緣〉 (On the margins of East and West). Hong Kong Drama Review 《香港戲劇學刊》 8 (Sep 2009): 163–82.
Book Reviews
Identity and Theatre Translation in Hong Kong, by Shelby Kar-yan Chan (Berlin: Springer, 2015). Journal of Modern Literature in Chinese (JMLC) 《現代中文文學學報》 13.1–2 Special issue on “Popular Literature and Transnational Circulation” 「大眾文學與跨國傳播」專號 (2016): 214–221.
Gao Xingjian and Transcultural Chinese Theater, by Quah Sy Ren (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2004). Journal of Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA) vol. 36–7 (2004–05): 185–189.
Translations
Translation into Chinese, Chapter Four: “Jin Yong’s Islam in the Chinese Cultural Revolution” 在中國文化大革命脈絡中 金庸小說裡頭的伊斯蘭教, in Stateless Subjects: Chinese Martial Arts Literature and Postcolonial History, by Petrus Liu (Ithaca, N.Y.: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 2011), 153–199. Forthcoming.
Translation into Chinese. Presidential Address: “Chinese Philosophy and Human Development in the 21st century: Context, Response and Human Well-Being” 二十一世紀的中國哲学與人的發展：環境、反應以及完美生活的關係, by Dr. Karyn Lai. The 14th International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP) Conference with Australasian Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (ASACP). School of Philosophy, UNSW, July 13–19, 2005.
Book Reviews
Identity and Theatre Translation in Hong Kong, by Shelby Kar-yan Chan (Berlin: Springer, 2015). Journal of Modern Literature in Chinese (JMLC) 《現代中文文學學報》 13.1–2 Special issue on “Popular Literature and Transnational Circulation” 「大眾文學與跨國傳播」
專號 (2016): 214–221.
Gao Xingjian and Transcultural Chinese Theater, by Quah Sy Ren (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2004). Journal of Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA) vol. 36–7 (2004–05): 185–189.
Invited Talks & Conferences
“Huayu juchang de shijie wutai” 〈華語劇場的世界舞台〉 (Chinese-language theatre and performance on the global stage). International Scholar Seminar 【國際學者講座】: Topics on Taiwan Literary Studies 台灣文學研究的重要議題. Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Transnational Cultural Studies 國立中興大學台灣文學與跨國文化研究所. May 21–June 16, 2020.
“Postdramatic Chinese Theatre: Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral” ARTS 2127 Great Plays. School of Arts and Media (SAM), UNSW, Apr 8 2020.
“Xinjiapo Huayu lishi yu juchang: Jiantan Ying Mei yuxi daxue de Huayu jiaoxue xianchang” 〈新加坡華語歷史與劇場：兼談英美語系大學的華語教學現場〉 (Chinese-language history and theatre in Singapore: also on Chinese-language teaching experience in anglophone universities). Graduate Program of Chinese-language Performance and Cultural Theory 華語表演暨文化理論研究室. Graduate Program of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan University. Fall 2019, Dec 26.
“Stan Lai and Cross-Straits Chinese Theatre.” War, Love and Language: Taiwan and its Cultural Interlocutors Workshop. Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne, Dec 12–13 2019.
“Stan Lai and Cross-Straits Chinese Theatre.” Identity and the Arts in Taiwan — A Public Forum. Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne, Dec 12 2019.
“Rang Xinjiapo jiang Huayu: Guo Baokun juchang” 〈讓新加坡講華語：郭寶崑劇場〉 (Getting Singapore to Speak Chinese: The Theatre of Kuo Pao Kun). Chinese-language Theatre and Cultural Criticism 華語劇場與文化批評. Center for General Education, National Taiwan University台大共同教育中心. Fall 2019, Nov 28.
“Mao de qishi: Xinjiapo juchang zhong de shenfen renting he yuyan zhengzhi” 〈貓的啟示：新加坡劇場中的身份認同和語言政治〉 (What can a cat teach us about identity and the politics of language in Singapore theatre?). International Conference on ‘Post’-Humanities 「人文之『後』」. Jointly organized by the Taiwan Humanities Society 台灣人文學社 and Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Transnational Cultural Studies, National Chung-hsing University, Taichung. Nov 23–24 2019.
“‘(Kua)wenhua yu shijie’: Gao Xingjian de shijie shiye” 〈「(跨)文化與世界」：高行健的世界視野〉 (“(Trans-ing) culture and the world”: The global vision of Gao Xingjian). The Literature and Art of Gao Xingjian 高行健的文學與藝術. College of Liberal Arts, National Taiwan Normal University, Spring 2019, May 30.
“1980 niandai haiwai Huaren juchang de juhe yu zhangli: Yi Xinjiapo wei li” 〈1980 年代海外華人劇場的聚合與張力：以新加坡為例〉 (Tensions and convergences in 1980s Chinese diasporic theatre: The case of Singapore). Diversity and Singapore Ethnic Chinese Communities International Conference 新加坡華族之多元性國際會議. Jointly organized by the Singapore Chinese Culture Centre (SCCC) and the Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS). Apr 13–14 2019.
“Researching Global Chinese Theatre.” Opening lecture for 2019 Postgraduate Night –– fortnightly research community event. New College Village, University of New South Wales. Sydney, Feb 21 2019.
“Singapore Theatre: The Case for Crossing Borders and Experimentation.” Open Forum: Intercultural Theatre in Singapore. As part of Southernmost: 1 Table 2 Chairs Project 最南階段 2018. Organized by Emergency Stairs 避難階段. Centre 42, Singapore, Nov 3–11 2018.
“1980 niandai haiwai Huaren juchang de juhe yu zhangli: Yi Xinjiapo wei li” 〈1980 年代海外華人劇場的聚合與張力：以新加坡為例〉 (Tensions and convergences in 1980s Chinese diasporic theatre: The case of Singapore). Overseas Chinese Seminar Series, co-organised by the Chinese Heritage Centre (CHC), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National Library Board (NLB). Public lecture in Chinese. NLB, Singapore, Aug 19 2018.
“Theatre of Rebellion: Danny Yung and Political Hong Kong Theatre.” Leading a faculty seminar at Colgate University, Hamilton for the Performance/History Working Group in Colgate, Syracuse University, Cornell University, and Hamilton College. With support from the Central New York Humanities Corridor Grant. April 20 2018.
“Tracing Kuo Pao Kun’s Intercultural Theatre Explorations.” Open Forum: Intercultural Theatre in Singapore. As part of Southernmost: 1 Table 2 Chairs Project 最南階段 2017. Organized by Emergency Stairs 避難階段. The Arts House, Singapore, Dec 12–24 2017.
“Zuni Icosahedron’s Pre- and Post-1997 Transnational Explorations.” Hong Kong Theatre in Transnational Perspective: New Directions and Discourses since 1997 International Academic Symposium. As part of Hong Kong in Transition: Asian City-to-City Collaboration and Performing Arts Exchange, 1997–2017. Co-organized by School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and Zuni Icosahedron. SOAS, London, Sep 9–10 2017.
“Wenhua rentong de lingyizhong biaoshu: Guo Baokun yu Xinjiapo duoyuan yuyan juchang” 〈文化認同的另一種表述：郭寶崑於新加坡多元語言劇場〉 (Articulating alternative cultural identity: Kuo Pao Kun’s multilingual theatre practice in Singapore). The 13th International Junior Scholars Conference on Sinology “Sinophone Onstage: New Voices & Discourses in Chinese Theater & Performance Studies” 第十三屆國際青年學者漢學會議【華語舞臺的新聲與複調：華語戲劇暨表演研究新趨勢】 National Central Library, Taipei, Oct 16–18 2015. Discussant: Joyce C.H. Liu 劉紀蕙.
“Can the Impostor Student Actually Finish? Reflections Upon Graduate School (Near) Completion.” East Asia Program Graduate Student Steering Committee (EAP–GSSC) Brown Bag Lunch Series. Cornell University, Ithaca, Apr 29 2015.
“Two Chinas and Two ‘Third Chinas.’” ASIAN 2212 Introduction to China, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, Spring 2014.
“Who is Kuo Pao Kun?” 誰是郭寶崑？ Introducing the father of modern Singapore theatre to Taiwanese audience with Taipei National University of the Arts Lecturer Yu Shan-lu 于善祿, “Kuo Pao Kun Festival 2012” 「郭寶崑節 2012」. In Chinese. Taipei, Sep 1 2012.
“Myth in Singapore’s Nation Building.” Transnational Identification: Boundaries, Identity and Taiwan 跨國認同：疆界、身份與臺灣. Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Transnational Cultural Studies, National Chung-hsing University, Taichung, Fall 2012.
“Ten Years On: Between Memory and Forgetting.” Gao Xingjian: Freedom, Fate, and Prognostication Conference. Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, Oct 24–27 2011.
“Danny Yung and Experimental Chinese Theatre.” Staging the Modern: Theatre, Intermediality, and Chinese Drama — an International Symposium. Harvard University, Cambridge, May 6–7 2011.
Academic Conferences & Presentations
“From 1989 to 1997 and Beyond: Zuni Icosahedron’s Transnational Explorations.” Panel on “Asian City Crossings: Pathways of Performance through Hong Kong and Singapore.” European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS), Institute of East Asian Studies, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany, Aug 25–29 2020.
“Articulating Alternative Cultural Identities: Kuo Pao Kun’s Multilingual Theatre Praxis in Singapore.” Performing Transculturality and Chineseness in Australasian Contemporary Art. Future Asias: 23rd Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA). University of Melbourne, 6–9 July 2020.
“Articulating Alternative Cultural Identities: Kuo Pao Kun’s Multilingual Theatre Praxis in Singapore.” 2019 Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture (ACIAC) Emerging Scholars’ Forum on Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture: Compare, Contrast, Converge and Commingle. Western Sydney University, June 22–23 2019.
“The Surging of Local Consciousness in the Chinese Diaspora: The Unintended Consequences of Propaganda Drama.” Panel: Intra-Asian Networks of Propaganda and Intelligence in Cold War Sinosphere (1930–1970). Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, Mar 21–24 2019.
“Theatre of Rebellion: Danny Yung and Political Hong Kong Theatre.” Sights and Sounds of the Cold War in the Sinophone World Conference. Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Mar 25–26 2017.
“Theatre of Rebellion: Danny Yung and Political Hong Kong Theatre.” Chinese Oral and Performing Literature (CHINOPERL) Conference. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Mar 16 2017.
“Theatre of Rebellion: Danny Yung and Political Hong Kong Theatre.” Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs (RCGA) 5th Annual International and Interdisciplinary Conference: From Scroll to Scrolling: Shifting Cultures of Language and Identity. Middlebury College, Vermont, Mar 9–11 2017.
“Wenhua rentong de lingyizhong biaoshu: Guo Baokun yu Xinjiapo duoyuan yuyan juchang” 〈文化認同的另一種表述：郭寶崑於新加坡多元語言劇場〉 (Articulating alternative cultural identity: Kuo Pao Kun’s multilingual theatre practice in Singapore). The 10th Chinese Drama Festival: Chinese Drama and the Global Stage in the 21st Century 第十屆華文戲劇節：廿一世紀華文戲劇與世界舞台 Hong Kong Federation of Drama Societies. Hong Kong Baptist University, Apr 8–16 2016.
“Articulating Alternative Cultural Identity: Kuo Pao Kun’s Multilingual Theatre Praxis in Singapore.” Panel # 275: Taboo and Resistance in Contemporary Chinese Literature and Culture: Honoring the Work of Perry Link (1). Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, Mar 26–29, 2015.
“Articulating Alternative Cultural Identity: Kuo Pao Kun’s Multilingual Theatre Practice in Singapore.” The 16th Annual Southeast Asian Program (SEAP) Graduate Student Conference: “Southeast Asia in the Disciplines.” Cornell University, Ithaca, Feb 28–Mar 2 2014.
“The Performance of ‘Chinese-ness’ in the Work of Four Contemporary Sinophone Theatre Director-Playwrights.” Sinophone Literature and Cinema: The 12th International Junior Scholars Conference on Sinology. National Chung-hsing University, Taichung, July 30–31 2013. Discussant: Katherine Hui-ling Chou 周慧玲.
“The Performance of ‘Chinese-ness’ in the Work of Four Contemporary Sinophone Theatre Director-Playwrights.” 4th Annual Berkeley-Stanford Graduate Student Conference in Modern Chinese Humanities. Stanford University, California, Apr 26–27 2013. Discussants: Bao Weihong 包衛紅 and Christine I. Ho.
“Negotiating Discursive Spaces in Singaporean Chinese-Language Theatre: The Case of Kuo Pao Kun.” Panel: Negotiating Spaces: The Politics of Claiming Public Spaces in the Age of Globalization. Association of Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference, San Diego, Mar 21–24 2013.
“The Performance of ‘Chinese-ness’ in the Work of Four Contemporary Sinophone Theatre Director-Playwrights.” 表演「中國性」：當代華語語系劇場 Association of Chinese and Comparative Literature (ACCL) International Conference on ‘Global Sinophonia’ 「全球華語文化」國際學術研討會. Academia Sinica, Taipei, Dec 17–19 2012.
“Kuo Pao Kun’s Significance in the Pan-Chinese Theatre Scene.” Kuo Pao Kun International Conference 郭寶崑國際會議. Singapore, Sep 14–15 2012.
“The Performance of ‘Chineseness’ in the Work of Four Contemporary Sinophone Theatre Director-Playwrights: Gao Xingjian (Dissident), Stan Lai Sheng-chuan (Taiwan), Danny Yung Ning Tsun (Hong Kong) and Kuo Pao Kun (Singapore).” Workshop facilitated by Professor Peng Hsiao-yen 彭小妍, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy (ICLP), Academia Sinica, Taipei, Mar 30 2012.
“Singapore: A Nation of Dreams or Dreams Unfulfilled? Probing the Singapore Dream in Singapore Dreaming.” Asian Cinema Studies Society (ACSS) Conference, Hong Kong University, Mar 16–20 2012.
“Singapore: A Nation of Dreams or Dreams Unfulfilled? Probing the Singapore Dream in Singapore Dreaming.” Critical Connections: Forum on Cultural Studies in Asia and Beyond, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, Mar 16 2012.
“Competing Discourses or Complementary Opposites?: An Allegorical Reading of Stan Lai’s Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land as Cross-Straits Relations, and More.” Department of Asian Studies Colloquium, Cornell University, Ithaca, May 10 2011.
“The Cultural-Historical Significance in the Works of Stan Lai.” Panel on Literature, History, and Identity for the 21st Conference of the International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA), Singapore, June 22–25 2010.
“On the Margins of East and West.” The International Symposium: Gao Xingjian — A Writer For His Culture, A Writer Against His Culture 高行健：中國文化交叉路. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, May 28–30 2008.
Panel Organizer
Performing Transculturality and Chineseness in Australasian Contemporary Art. Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) 2020: Future Asias. University of Melbourne, 6–9 July 2020.
Respondent
Pak Tai Foto 百代照相館 (2015), by Taiwan-based Malaysian filmmaker Au Sow Yee 區秀詒.
Media Art as Border Crossings: Gazing from the Sinosphere.
UNSW Art & Design and UNSW Galleries. Sydney, Nov 1–2 2019.
Chair
Panel 6. Transnational and Translational: The Australia-China / East-West Connections.
2019 Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture (ACIAC) Emerging Scholars’ Forum on Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture: Compare, Contrast, Converge and Commingle. Western Sydney University, June 22–23 2019.
Service to Profession
Manuscript Reviewer for:
Journal of Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA)
Routledge
Executive Committee, The Oriental Society of Australia, 2019–
Book Review Editor, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA), 2019–
Editorial Board, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia (JOSA), 2019–
Linguistic Consultant, Sex and Vanity, by Kevin Kwan (New York: Doubleday, 2020)
Linguistic Consultant, Rich People Problems, by Kevin Kwan (New York: Doubleday, 2017)
Linguistic Consultant, China Rich Girlfriend, by Kevin Kwan (New York: Doubleday, 2015)
Linguistic Consultant, Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan (New York: Doubleday, 2013)
Securing ‘Global Sinophonia’ conference guest speakers invitation, Dec 17–19 2012
New York-based Singaporean filmmakers and comic artists, Jocelyn Woo Yenyen & Colin Goh
Association of Chinese and Comparative Literature (ACCL) International Conference
Academia Sinica, Taipei
University Service
Co-convenor, Chinese Studies Seminar, UNSW, 2020
Securing Chinese Studies Seminar speaker invitation, UNSW, Oct 2019
Colin Mackerras, Professor Emeritus of Chinese, Griffith University
Secretary, Chinese Program Group Meetings, HAL, UNSW, 2019–
Acting Chinese Program Group Convenor, HAL Welcome, UNSW, Feb 12 2019
Initiator, Peer Mentoring Scheme, Chinese Program, Bard College, Fall 2017
Pairing up advanced learners of Chinese with beginners to mentor them in overcoming challenges faced by foreign learners of the language
Co-director, Bard Chinese Language Summer Intensive Study Program
Qingdao University, Shandong, China, June–July 2017
Consecutive interpreting into English, “Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series,” Bard
Can Xue 殘雪, celebrated Chinese avant-garde fiction writer & literary critic, Oct 17 2016
Acting Director, Chinese Program, Division of Languages and Literatures, Bard, Spring 2016
Initiator, Asian Studies Program planning, Bard, Spring 2016
Proposal for inclusion of texts from traditional and contemporary Asia in new itineration of College-wide common course First Year Seminar (FYSEM)
Dialogue with Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Susan Merriam, Bard, Spring 2016
College-wide proposal to improve international student experiential learning
Engagement with student leaders from the Global China Connection (GCC), Bard, Spring 2016
Advising on organization of public forum on freedom of speech
Working Group, Foreign Languages, Cultures & Literatures Program (FLCL), Bard, 2015–16
Proposal for improvement of Senior Projects by English-as-second-language (ESL) students
Introduction to speakers, EAP–GSSC Professionalization Workshop, Cornell University
Andrea Bachner (Comparative Lit), Nick Admussen (Asian Studies), and Victor Seow (History)
“Beyond the Doctoral Program: Entering the Job Market,” Sep 24 2014
Securing keynote speaker invitation for Speaker Series, Apr 24 2014
East Asia Program Graduate Student Steering Committee (EAP–GSSC), Cornell
Associate Professor Leo Ching, Chair, Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University
Graduate Student Lounge Committee, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell, 2013–14
Institute of Comparative Modernities (ICM), Cornell, 2013–14
Reading Group: “Rethinking Multiplicity”
East Asia Program Graduate Student Steering Committee (EAP–GSSC), Cornell, 2011–12
Brown Bag Lunch Colloquium: soliciting faculty speakers and organizing their guest lectures for the East Asia Program graduate student community on a monthly basis
Vice President, Asian Studies Graduate Student Society (ASGSS), Cornell, 2010–12
Activities Coordinator, Association of Graduates in Theatre (AGIT), Cornell, 2010–12
Volunteer, East Asia Program Outreach Program, Cornell, 2010–12
On-site interpreting into Chinese, October 15–16, 2010
‘Global Aesthetics: Intersecting Culture, Theory, Practice’ conference, Cornell University
Sui Jianguo 隋建國, Sculptor, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
Volunteer, Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) Brown Bag Lunch Colloquium, Cornell, 2009–13
Hasbrouck Community Council, Cornell, 2009–11
Volunteering and brainstorming constructive ways to improve community living experience at Hasbrouck graduate residential dormitory
Secretary, Asian Studies Graduate Student Society (ASGSS), Cornell, 2009–10
Conference Assistant, “Reading Christian Scriptures in China” Conference, January 8–10, 2007
Institute for Chinese Studies, Oxford University
Consecutive interpreting into English, April 1–3, 2006
“Celebratory Screens: A New Century for Chinese Film” 慶典之屏：新世紀的中國電影, by Dai Jinhua 戴錦華, Professor of Film and Cultural Studies, Peking University.
‘The Future of Chinese Cinema’ Conference. School of Media, Film and Theatre and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences I-Program, UNSW
Conference Assistant, School of Philosophy, UNSW, July 13–19, 2005
14th International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP) Conference with Australasian Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (ASACP).
Consecutive interpreting into English, March 13, 2004
Richard Schechner, Professor of Performance Studies, New York University (NYU), Master Class, Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA)
Research Assistant for Professor Jon Kowallis, 2003–10 (annual)
Head, Department of Chinese and Indonesian Studies, UNSW
Discovery Project large grant application, Australian Research Council (ARC)
My Teaching
ARTS 2450 Intermediate Chinese for Non-Background Speakers A, Term 1 2019
ARTS 2451 Intermediate Chinese for Non-Background Speakers B, Term 3 2019
ARTS 2461 Intermediate Chinese for Background Speakers A, Term 1 2020
ARTS 2462 Intermediate Chinese for Background Speakers B, Term 3 2020
ARTS 3458 Chinese Capstone: Re-Visioning China and Chinese Studies, Term 3 2019; 2020
ARTS 3462 Artistic Representations of China and the Diaspora, Term 1 2021