Asian Studies Seminar Series: Christopher Rea 1 In brief Title - How to Develop an Original Research Project from a Media Archive (aka: Melon as Method) Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George Square Speaker - Professor Christopher Rea (University of British Columbia) Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the seminar Sometimes, the key to radical research originality is hiding in plain sight. When browsing through an archive, how can we notice what other researchers have overlooked? How do we then assess the significance of such “noticings” and develop them into a research project that is meaningful, both to our field/discipline and to us as individual researchers? Put another way: Why might the history of Chinese cinema make us think of melons? During this talk, cultural historian Christopher Rea will share techniques for navigating a research archive and identifying the beginnings of a research project that matters to you. Drawing on his co-authored book 'Where Research Begins', Rea will illustrate the research methods that led not only to the creation of the planned book, but also to a new, unexpected book project on the cultural history of something as seemingly self-evident as melons. Rea will share specific tips about how to ask questions, when to follow hunches, and how to extract yourself from the bottomless morass of primary sources and get your project to take shape. About the speaker Christopher Rea is Professor of Chinese and former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia. He is the creator of the Chinese Film Classics Project, whose website ChineseFilmClassics.org hosts over 30 early Chinese films translated by Dr Rea and collaborators, as well as film clips, essays, links, and a free online course on early Chinese films. The website and the course are companions to his book Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 (Columbia, 2021), which covers fourteen films, and has a Chinese edition forthcoming. Rea is also the author of The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (California, 2015) and the co-author of Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World) (with Thomas Mullaney; Chicago, 2022). He is currently working on a second volume of The Book of Swindles (Columbia, 2017) and on a history of melons. Christopher Rea's staff profile [external site] About the seminar series Each year, Asian Studies welcomes a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their research, spanning fields as diverse as film and media, literature, religion, society, politics and international relations. How to attend This lecture is a free, in-person event held on the University of Edinburgh campus. It is open to all. The event will not be live streamed - tickets (bookable via Eventbrite) are for access to the venue. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Are you interested in studying with us? We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Relations. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Apr 28 2023 17.00 - 19.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Christopher Rea 1 Join us in person for a special hands-on research skills workshop by Christopher Rea (University of British Columbia) to discuss developing research from a media archive. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
Asian Studies Seminar Series: Christopher Rea 1 In brief Title - How to Develop an Original Research Project from a Media Archive (aka: Melon as Method) Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George Square Speaker - Professor Christopher Rea (University of British Columbia) Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the seminar Sometimes, the key to radical research originality is hiding in plain sight. When browsing through an archive, how can we notice what other researchers have overlooked? How do we then assess the significance of such “noticings” and develop them into a research project that is meaningful, both to our field/discipline and to us as individual researchers? Put another way: Why might the history of Chinese cinema make us think of melons? During this talk, cultural historian Christopher Rea will share techniques for navigating a research archive and identifying the beginnings of a research project that matters to you. Drawing on his co-authored book 'Where Research Begins', Rea will illustrate the research methods that led not only to the creation of the planned book, but also to a new, unexpected book project on the cultural history of something as seemingly self-evident as melons. Rea will share specific tips about how to ask questions, when to follow hunches, and how to extract yourself from the bottomless morass of primary sources and get your project to take shape. About the speaker Christopher Rea is Professor of Chinese and former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia. He is the creator of the Chinese Film Classics Project, whose website ChineseFilmClassics.org hosts over 30 early Chinese films translated by Dr Rea and collaborators, as well as film clips, essays, links, and a free online course on early Chinese films. The website and the course are companions to his book Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 (Columbia, 2021), which covers fourteen films, and has a Chinese edition forthcoming. Rea is also the author of The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (California, 2015) and the co-author of Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World) (with Thomas Mullaney; Chicago, 2022). He is currently working on a second volume of The Book of Swindles (Columbia, 2017) and on a history of melons. Christopher Rea's staff profile [external site] About the seminar series Each year, Asian Studies welcomes a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their research, spanning fields as diverse as film and media, literature, religion, society, politics and international relations. How to attend This lecture is a free, in-person event held on the University of Edinburgh campus. It is open to all. The event will not be live streamed - tickets (bookable via Eventbrite) are for access to the venue. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Are you interested in studying with us? We are the only university in Scotland to offer full undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as postgraduate programmes in Korean Studies and East Asian Relations. Find out more about Asian Studies at Edinburgh Apr 28 2023 17.00 - 19.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Christopher Rea 1 Join us in person for a special hands-on research skills workshop by Christopher Rea (University of British Columbia) to discuss developing research from a media archive. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
Apr 28 2023 17.00 - 19.00 Asian Studies Seminar Series: Christopher Rea 1 Join us in person for a special hands-on research skills workshop by Christopher Rea (University of British Columbia) to discuss developing research from a media archive.
