AARC OHANA Series: AACP: Defining Tunes of the Chinese Diaspora presented by Nancy Yunhwa Rao

Sponsored by: Asian American Certificate Program, Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, NIU School of Music, and Asian American Resource Center.

Dr. Nancy Rao is Professor of Music, Music Department, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

Title: Defining Tunes of the Chinese Diaspora

The defining tunes of the Chinese diaspora in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth were those of the Cantonese opera. This history has been invisible due to the scarcity of Chinese materials in archives.  Its sonic imageries were also imprisoned by the mounting derision in historical English newspapers and travelogues. What were the patterns of networks and migrations that made Chinese opera a part of North American cultures?  How did border crossing, listening practices, and visual emblems constitute their sounding identity?  This talk offers readings against the grain to consider the ways that archives structure and frame not only our understanding of the past but how we enter into the present and future.

For NIU Business students, this lecture qualifies as a NIU Business Passport event.

Meets Boey Honors  Requirement: Cultural Education.