Radio in the Global 1980s: from Amateur Writing to Labor Organizing

Fri Oct 24 2025 at 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm UTC-04:00

Weatherhead East Asian Institute (located at the School of International and Public Affairs) | New York

Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Publisher/HostWeatherhead East Asian Institute
Advertisement
Together, two speakers will present their research on radio, the culture of work, and labor organizing in the global 1980s.
About this Event

For non-Columbia affiliates, registration is required to access the Morningside campus. After registering you will receive an email with a QR code that must be presented along with a government-issued ID (your name must match exactly the name registered for the event) at either the 116th Street & Broadway or 116th Street & Amsterdam gates for entry. Please register using a unique email address (one email address per registrant) by 4:00pm on Oct. 23 for campus access.

Names will be submitted for QR codes 1-2 days prior to the event. Registrants will receive an email from CU Guest Access with the QR code before or on the day of the event. NOTE: You cannot access campus using the QR code from Eventbrite.

Speakers:

Paola Iovene, Associate Professor in Chinese Literature, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago

Kaitlin Hao, PhD student, EALAC, Columbia University

Moderator:

Ying Qian, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, East Asian Languages & Cultures, Columbia University

Together, two speakers will present their research on radio, the culture of work, and labor organizing in the global 1980s. Paola Iovene discusses how radio in China’s “reform and opening” era cultivated an amateur writing culture among listening publics, thereby negotiating changing relationships between mental and menial labor, and the collective and the personal. Kaitlin Hao draws from archival research at the Museum of Chinese in America to discuss how the radio helped Chinese immigrants navigate American labor politics in the Chinatown garment industry.

Speakers' Bios:

Paola Iovene is associate professor of modern Chinese literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. She is the author of Tales of Futures Past: Anticipation and the Ends of Literature in Contemporary China (2014), coeditor of Sound Alignments: Popular Music in Asia’s Cold Wars (with Michael Bourdaghs and Kaley Mason, 2021), and guest editor of a special issue of positions titled “Cultures of Labor in Contemporary China” (2023). Her current research focuses on concepts of work, division of labor, and amateurism in contemporary Chinese literature and media.

Kaitlin Hao is a PhD student in the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department at Columbia University. She holds an MA from Columbia and BA in the History of Art and Architecture from Harvard. Her research concerns the overseas Chinese-run garment industry (1980s-2000s), and has received support from the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and Columbia Center for Political Economy. Kaitlin pursues projects in public education and social media-based pedagogy featured by the Asian Art Museum and Museum of Chinese in America.

This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute.

Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Weatherhead East Asian Institute (located at the School of International and Public Affairs), 420 West 118th Street, New York, United States

Tickets

USD 0.00

Icon
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Ask AI if this event suits you:

More Events in New York

#CREATIVEARTISTSHOWCASESERIES
Fri, 24 Oct at 03:00 pm #CREATIVEARTISTSHOWCASESERIES

299 South St

SIR SKLTR \u201cSKELOWEEN\u201d  MIXTAPE RELEASE PARTY
Fri, 24 Oct at 03:00 pm SIR SKLTR “SKELOWEEN” MIXTAPE RELEASE PARTY

212 E 52nd St

El planeta de los hongos de Naief Yehya
Fri, 24 Oct at 03:00 pm El planeta de los hongos de Naief Yehya

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Polifon\u00edas del deseo: corear el cuerpo
Fri, 24 Oct at 03:00 pm Polifonías del deseo: corear el cuerpo

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

HIRAETH... (3pm): 2025 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival
Fri, 24 Oct at 03:00 pm HIRAETH... (3pm): 2025 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival

Open Jar Studios

Decorative Embroidery with Jessica Lagunas
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm Decorative Embroidery with Jessica Lagunas

apexart

NRBS 2025 Annual Conference
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm NRBS 2025 Annual Conference

350 Grand St

RSVP Free Admission Outdoor + Indoor NYC After Work + Late Party! Fri 10\/24
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm RSVP Free Admission Outdoor + Indoor NYC After Work + Late Party! Fri 10/24

Skinny's Cantina On The Hudson

Una colcha de retazos imperfectos: de lo pol\u00edtico a lo literario
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm Una colcha de retazos imperfectos: de lo político a lo literario

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

La modernidad insufrible
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm La modernidad insufrible

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Macondo York: Gabo entre rascacielos
Fri, 24 Oct at 04:00 pm Macondo York: Gabo entre rascacielos

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

New York is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore New York Events