A conversation with Rebecca E. Karl and Lydia H. Liu

24 February 2023

5:30-7:00pm GMT

Zoom Link: https://gold-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97681381396

He-Yin Zhen (1886-1920?) was a theorist who figured centrally in the birth of Chinese feminism. Unlike her contemporaries, she was concerned less with China’s fate as a nation and more with the relationship among patriarchy, imperialism, capitalism, and gender subjugation as global historical problems. The Birth of Chinese Feminism (ed. & transl. Lydia Liu, Dorothy Ko, Rebecca Karl; Columbia UP 2013) is the first translation and study of He-Yin’s work in English. It critically reconstructs early twentieth-century feminist thought in a transnational context by juxtaposing He-Yin Zhen’s writing against works by two better-known male interlocutors of her time. He-Yin Zhen complicates conventional accounts of feminism and China’s history, offering original perspectives on sex, gender, labor and power that remain relevant today. The seminar will take the form of a dialogue with Rebecca Karl and Lydia Liu on He-Yin Zhen’s theoretical work, its intellectual and historical context, and the challenges of translation.

Rebecca E. Karl teaches History at New York University. Her most recent book is China’s Revolutions in the Modern World: A Brief Interpretive History (Verso 2020). She is co-founder of the Critical China Scholars collective and founding co-editor of the website, positionspolitics.org.  

Lydia H. Liu is Wun Tsun Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. She is the author of The Freudian Robot (2010), The Clash of Empires (2004), and Translingual Practice (1995). Her new book Global Language Justice (co-edited) will be published by Columbia University Press in Fall 2023.

The Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought is pleased to announce the theme of this year’s Seminar Series: “Translating Global Critical Theory”

There are 3 seminars scheduled for the Autumn term (and more to follow in Spring):

26th Oct 5pm: Sora Han – Translation in Black

16th Nov 5pm: Hicham Safieddine and Angela Giordani – Reflections on Translating Arab Marxism

8th Dec 5pm: Ken Kawashima and Gavin Walker – Theory & Crisis: Translating Marxism in Japan

All seminars take place online via zoom. Free and open to the public, as always. Convened by Alberto Toscano (a.toscano [at] gold.ac.uk).

For the individual sessions and zoom links please visit https://cpct.uk/2022-2023/

Theme ’21-’22: Thinking through Nature & the Climate Crisis with
Non-Western Philosophies

The Goldsmiths Undergraduate Philosophy Circle is open to all Goldsmiths students interested in reading and discussing philosophical texts together. 

The first two terms will be devoted to exploring key readings on this year’s topic, while the third term will be reserved for participants to self-organise an event related to the theme. The format of the meetings is an open discussion for around 2 hours with a break in the middle. The discussion is usually introduced by a volunteer who speaks on the text and the author for around 5-10 minutes. Conceived as an informal gathering, everyone should feel free to contribute as much as they like.

To join the group and receive the materials in advance (shared via Google Drive), please email s.bromberg@gold.ac.uk.

Meetings: on Fridays, 4-6pm; 3 x Autumn Term; 4 x Spring Term (see dates below)

Location: TBD

Convenor: Svenja Bromberg (Lecturer in Sociology), s.bromberg [at] gold.ac.uk

For more information, please visit https://cpct.uk/ug-2021-2022/.