Abstract: A reading of two modern cosmopolitan Chinese cities as sites of crisis and transformation. The talk focuses on the backdrop of the cities as structures that challenge traditional patterns and social acceptability. A history of the cities will be included to highlight the hybrid nature of the two cities which add to their seductive luster. The talk will also examine the construction of city culture and gender in opposition to the more popular western reading of rural China. The use of visual of Shanghai and Hong Kong will be included to underscore the impact of these cities that seduced the masses of the world.

About the presenter: George da Roza, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Southern California, is finishing up his dissertation on Eileen Zhang's revisioning of gender in the 20th century Chinese literature. His educational background includes degrees in Comparative Religion, Systematic Theology, East Asian Studies and Chinese Literature and Culture. He currently teaches part time at Pasadena City College and is the research director of Center of Asian Pacific Studies. George da Roza has spoken on topics such as "Women in Modern Chinese Literature," "Cultural Conformation on Gender Configurations," "The Asian Woman--the exotic and the erotic," "A Brief Survey of Chinese Literature from antiquity to modernity" and "The Media: Mass Hysteria and Terrorism."

For more information: Cathy Wei (626) 585-7464 or Eugenia Wu (626) 585-7562

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