The UBC History Empires and (P ost-)Colonialisms in the Asia-Pacific Cluster features local schol ars who have recently published monographs to have informal discussions abo ut a chapter or two of their book. We invite all faculty and graduate stude nts with interests in modern Asia/-Pacific (broadly defined) and the themes of empire\, colonialism\, or postcolonialism/decolonization to join\, rega rdless of discipline or department.
If you are interested i n joining the cluster\, please contact Quinton Huang (qhuang98@student.ubc .ca) to be added to the mailing list\, and please direct other inqu iries to Ryan Sun (rchsun29@student.u bc.ca).
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The UBC History Empires and (Post-)Colon ialisms in the Asia-Pacific Cluster is pleased to invite you to a seminar b y Dr. Jane Ferguson (Australian National University) on her book\, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams: a Social History of Burmese Cinema< /a>.
This seminar will be held on December 9\, 11:30-1:00pm i n Buchanan Tower 1112. The conversation will begin with brief rema rks from Professor Ferguson about the motivation behind the book. Participa nts will be invited to share their own reflections\, thoughts\, and connect ions made with the assigned chapters. Light lunch will be provided. All are welcome\; no RSVP required.
Participants are asked to read the
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Participants are further invited to attend a book talk and film screening with Prof Ferguson on Monday\, December 9\, from 3 pm to 6 pm\, for the scre ening of the 1973 film Tender Are the Feet\, directed by Maung Wunna. For more details and to RSVP\, vi sit https://sppga.ubc.ca/events/event/silver-screens-and-golden-dreams/< /a>.
This event is funded by the UBC Department of History and co -sponsored by UBC Centre for Southeast Asia Research.
Silver Screens and Golden Dreams traces the vein s of Burmese popular movies across three periods in history: the colonial e ra\, the parliamentary democracy period\, and the Ne Win Socialist years. A uthor Jane M. Ferguson engages cinema as an interrogator of mainstream cult ural values\, providing political and cultural context to situate the films as artistic endeavors and capitalist products. Exploring how filmmakers es chewed colonial control and later selectively toed the ideological lines of the Burmese Way to Socialism\, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams o ffers a serious yet enjoyable investigation of leisure during difficult tim es of transition and political upheaval. By skillfully blending historical and anthropological approaches\, Ferguson shows how Burmese cinema presents a lively\, unique take on the country’s social history.
Jane M. Ferguson is associate professor of anthropology and Southeast Asian history at the Australian National University. Her previous work has included Repossess ing Shanland: Myanmar\, Thailand\, and a Nation-State Deferred (U Wisconsin Press\, 2021)\, which details tells the story of the Shan people in the Sino-Burmese borderlands in their own voices and offers a fresh pers pective on identity formation\, transformation\, and how people understand and experience borderlands today. She is currently working on a new monogra ph about the history of commercial flight between Southeast Asia\, Australi a and North America\, using archival materials from Thailand and the United States\, ethnographic field research\, and interviews with employees of So utheast Asian and North American carriers.