This talk is co-sponsored by Rutgers Global-China Office. It is open to the public, but registration is required. Click here to register.

Abstract:

This talk examines the use of war metaphors during COVID-19 in East Asia, through the examples of “revolution” [康復香港，時代抗疫, which was adapted from the 2019 Anti-ELAB Protests slogan 光復香港，時代革命] in Hong Kong and that of “war” [超前部署、防疫如作戰] in Taiwan.  Drawing on cultural studies and security studies approaches, analysis of protest art, memes, news reports, and official statements demonstrates that popular war metaphors have drawn the public’s attention to political accountability. The presentation will be followed by a participatory discussion incorporating comparison of U.S., U.K. and mainland Chinese uses of military metaphors during the pandemic. We will collaboratively think about concepts such as "enemy," "fighting" and "weapon" in Chinese and English and what they tell us about the intersections of medical and political discourses.

Bio:

Eva Cheuk-Yin Li is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sociology at Lancaster University, UK. She has an interdisciplinary background, consisting of sociology, media and cultural studies, and gender and sexuality studies. She holds a PhD in Gender, Media, and Culture (King’s College London) and MPhil in Sociology (The University of Hong Kong). Her works have appeared in edited volumes, encyclopedias, and journals, such as East Asian Journal of Popular Culture, Crime, Media, Culture, and Transformative Works and Culture. She is currently working on a monograph, tentatively titled Chinese Women Doing Zhongxing: Strategic Resistance against Gender Binaries, based on her award-winning doctoral dissertation.

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