Wednesday, February 24 2016
6PM / AUSTIN Stern Lounge – Room 217
“MADE IN CHINA? Trinidad and the Case for a Hemispheric Asian American Studies” by SEAN METZGER, School of Theater, Film & Television, UCLA
Associate Professor SEAN METZGER will present the work of several artists from Trinidad and examine the ways “Chineseness” has shaped and continues to shape this Caribbean island nation.
Moving from the Society of Trinidad Independents through the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago to the more contemporary work of Christopher Cozier, Metzger’s talk will probe the ways in which Chinese investment – both fiscal and cultural – have molded this small island and the implications of such investment in helping to shift understandings of local and national cultures.
Professor Metzger works at the intersections of Asian American, Caribbean, Chinese, film, performance and sexuality studies. He is the author of Chinese Looks: Fashion, Performance, Race (Indiana UP, 2014) which provides a cultural history of three iconic objects in theatrical and cinematic performance: the queue, or man's hair braid; the woman's suit known as the qipao; and the Mao suit – as each object emerges at a pivotal moment in US-China relations. He has also co-edited several collections of essays, the most recent entitled Islands, Images, Imaginaries with Francisco J. Hernández Adrián and Michaeline Crichlow, published as a special issue of the journal Third Text in 2014.
In addition to his academic work, he spent three years in social services at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and as an independent consultant to school districts and other non-profit institutions. Prior to his arrival at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Metzger was assistant professor of English, theater studies, and Asian & Middle Eastern studies at Duke University.
For more information, contact: Ms. Fe Delos-Santos at fe.delos-santos@uconn.edu