Doctoral Student in History and Women's and Gender Studies
About
I have a strong interest in the history of science and technology, knowledge production, gender and sexuality, feminist movements, empires, and colonialism. Currently, my academic curiosity revolves around three main questions:
The Role of Authenticity in Knowledge Production
When we say, “General Tso’s Chicken isn’t authentic Chinese food,” what do we mean by ‘authentic,’ and how do we define ‘Chinese food’? Similarly, when classifying medicines as traditional Chinese, Western, Tibetan, or Uyghur, what are we really identifying? This question drives my curiosity about how authenticity shapes our understanding of knowledge, whether in food or medicine, and how these ideas evolve. Why do we tie cooking methods or medical knowledge to national or ethnic identity, and who gets to claim ownership over such knowledge—individuals, families, companies, or nations?
Feminist Movements in East Asia
Euro-American feminist frameworks often distinguish between privileged women in the Global North and women affected by colonialism and capitalism in the Global South. However, many feminists in East Asia navigate global capitalism in a way that challenges this binary. Their struggles frequently target local patriarchal and authoritarian systems, rather than Western colonial powers. Additionally, they often strategically benefit from resources provided by neoliberal systems in the U.S. and Europe. This dynamic drives my curiosity about how we can place East Asian feminism within a transnational context and reframe our thinking about the relationship between feminism, solidarity, and neoliberalism.
Non-Western Empires and Their Place in Colonial History
Despite the significant influence of non-Western empires in early modern and modern history, they are often sidelined in discussions of colonialism, which tend to focus on Western imperial powers. Yet, non-Western empires also used the concept of modernity to justify their territorial expansions and control over ‘backward’ regions. This question motivates my curiosity about how a more global perspective on colonialism, one that includes non-Western empires, might reshape our understanding of modern imperialism and colonial dynamics.
