Join Dr Mei-fen Kuo as she presents a lecture on her 2023 National Library Fellowship research into our Chinese-language collections and how that has helped in rethinking the influence of the Cold War on the formation of contemporary Chinese Australian identities.
Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential.
The talk will be available to view live online via the Library's Facebook and YouTube pages. You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online.
Dr Mei-fen Kuo is a 2023 National Library of Australia Fellow, supported by the Stokes family.
About Dr Mei-fen Kuo's Fellowship research
In this fellowship, Dr Kuo is on a mission to reshape the narrative surrounding Chinese-Australian relations during the Cold War, portraying the Chinese diaspora as active authors of their own stories.
The contributions of the Chinese diaspora in the Cold War marked a transformative shift in Australia’s public perception towards the Chinese community. Dr Kuo utilises the growing Chinese cafés as a distinctive lens to unpack untold stories within its vibrant space – a hub where consumer culture, migration strategies, business innovation, ideology struggles, language politics, cross cultural exchanges and gender identity converge to shape contested imagined communities. Journey alongside Australian-born descendants from the Cantonese community and post-war arrived Chinese immigrants, including students from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, as they navigate the landscapes of the Cold War era. Their experiences weave a mosaic that vividly reflects the multifaceted historical dynamics at the local level, with profound implications for the broader tapestry of Australia's national life.
About Dr Mei-fen Kuo
Dr Mei-fen Kuo is a lecturer in Contemporary Chinese Culture and History at Macquarie University. Over the past decade, she has dedicated her research efforts to the field of Chinese diaspora history in Australia. She is author of the Making Chinese Australia: Urban Elites, Newspapers & Chinese-Australian Identity During Federation and Unlocking the History of the Australasian Kuo Min Tang. Her research has been supported by Australian Research Council, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the National Library of Australia, Taiwan Fellowship and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
About National Library of Australia Fellowships
The National Library of Australia Fellowships program offers researchers an opportunity to undertake a 12-week residency at the Library. This program is supported by generous donors and bequests.
Image credit: Welcome parade for the Olympic team from the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Melbourne, 1956, courtesy Bruce Lew's family album.
Type
Fellowship presentation
