sinokultur would like to invite you to our first Salon this year with writer, filmmaker and translator Jialu Zhu on Saturday, May 16th from 6 to 9 pm. The title of her presentation is Between Home and the World: A Personal Journey Reflected in Academic Research.
For Jialu, her academic journey corresponds to her personal journey. Having grown up in a small town in north China, she moved to south China to pursue her BA studies and then traveled further to Switzerland for her MA and PhD. Every departure from the place she was familiar with distanced her from her past and opened up new possibilities for exploration. And interestingly, the further she expands her horizon, the closer she feels to home because of all the comparisons made possible by her changes of geographical location.
This habit and experience of cultural comparison then played a seminal role in her PhD research, which accentuates the depiction of home in films from different cultures.
In Jialu’s project, the case studies include American Westerns, Hong Kong gangster films, and Chinese melodramas. Why can cowboys never go home? Why do gang members turn away from home? Why will common residents have no families to belong? What are the connections between these characters’ sense of belonging? What are the social-cultural reasons that don’t allow them to enjoy happiness at home?
Date: Saturday, May 16th from 6-9pm
Location: sinokultur, Klosbachstrasse 109, 8032 Zurich
For tickets click here.
Many thanks to our Communication Partner Asia Society Switzerland for supporting this event!
