Keynote Speakers
Abstracts & Biographies
Dr. Kwok Kwan Kenny Ng
Associate Professor, Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University- Dr. Kwok Kwan Kenny NG, the Associate Professor in the Academy of Film at the Hong Kong Baptist University, obtained his Doctoral Degree (East Asian Languages and Civilizations) from Harvard University. He teaches comparative literature, cinema and visual culture, and cultural studies. His book, Li Jieren, Geopoetic Memory, and the Crisis of Writing Chengdu in Revolutionary China was published in 2015 (BRILL). He has published widely on film culture and modern Chinese cultural and literary studies in the U.S., UK and Europe, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. His research interests include history and politics in cinema and literature, relationships between literary and visual culture, and vernacular literature and cinema. His ongoing research book projects concern censorship and visual cultural politics in Cold War China and Asia, and a critical history of Cantophone cinema.
Project to be discussed in his presentation: 中港電視。電影刊物資料庫
Speech title:
How the Lion Rock Was Tempered: Early RTHK Dramas, Social Bonding, and Post-1967-Crisis Governance
Abstract:
In the wake of the 1967 riots in Hong Kong, colonial officials became alert to the failure of communication that had apparently developed between the government and Hong Kong people. In November 1967 Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) began its operations by providing free-to-air terrestrial television channels in the city. Meanwhile the popularity of television as an entertainment and information medium for Hong Kong citizens had captured officials’ attention to the propaganda potential of television for government publicity and education. In 1972 the government established Radio Hong Kong Television (RHKTV)—then reorganized to be Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) in 1976—in a bid to produce government-induced programs and disseminate public information to win the minds of the local citizens.
Under the big picture of the changing broadcasting policies adopted by colonial authorities as post-crisis social management, the talk explores the early RHKTV / RTHK television series Below the Lion Rock in the 1970s. Produced with little commercial concern, the producer and young filmmakers could make use of the television series to articulate the voices of the common people, using the new form of television film to tell contemporary Hong Kong stories. Below the Lion Rock had quickly become the training ground for young talents, paving the way for the Hong Kong New Wave and Hong Kong cinema in its ongoing saga.
Dr. Peter J. COBB
Assistant Professor, Faculties of Education and Arts, The University of Hong Kong-
Dr. Peter J. Cobb is a field archaeologist, ceramics specialist, and a digital humanist. He is an assistant professor in the Faculties of Education and Arts at the University of Hong Kong, where his coursework spans archaeology, ancient history, information sciences, and digital humanities. Each summer, he leads archaeological fieldwork in the South Caucasus in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Armenia, and he also participates in projects in Laos. Dr. Cobb’s research focuses on understanding the lived experiences and mobilities of people in the past. Through investigations of ancient ceramics and landscapes, his work strives to enhance our understanding of the movement and sharing of objects and ideas in the past. He also experiments with advanced digital methods for archaeological field recording and analysis, including with 3D spatial and shape data. Dr. Cobb is the incoming Digital Reviews Editor for the Society of American Archaeology’s journal Advances in Archaeological Practices. He also serves on the iSchools Digital Humanities Curriculum Committee. Prior to HKU, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his PhD in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World. At Penn he was a Mellon Fellow in the Price Lab for Digital Humanities. He also holds a master's degree from the School of Information and Library Sciences of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Speech title:
Must we Define the Digital Humanities?
Abstract:
If we do not use the label ‘digital sciences’ for work in biology, astronomy, physics, etc., then why do we conceptualize a subfield called ‘digital humanities’? Why aren’t all humanities scholars considered digital humanists by default?
In this talk I would like to both problematize any effort to define Digital Humanities, while simultaneously showing how DH is central to my own research. As I step through the various aspects of common DH definitions, I will explore how these align with my efforts to better study and understand the human past. Although I am highlighting the challenges of terminology – I actually hope to use this critical approach to identify multiple opportunities for all of us to advance the humanities and push the boundaries of our fields.
Other Speakers
Biographies
Dr. Tak Mau Simon CHAN
Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University- Dr. Simon Chan is the Board Director, Certified Clinical Supervisor, & Marriage and Family Therapist of Hong Kong Marriage and Family Therapy Association (HKMFTA). He is also the Managing Editor of Research on Social Work Practice, a prestigious journal in social work. Dr. Chan’s research interests focus on indigenous Chinese studies about Men-in-Trauma, such as male survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Family Suicide, Intimate Partner Violence, Divorce and finally Father-son Conflict.
Project to be discussed in his presentation: Venturing to the Unknown: Men’s Studies in Greater China
Dr. Wai Yee Jessica YEUNG
Associate Professor, Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University- Jessica Yeung is Associate Professor in the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies. Her main research areas are alternative cultural productions in China and Hong Kong, and cultural heterogeneity in China. She is creating in collaboration with the HKBU Library a digital archive of the Hong Kong anarchist Mok Chiu-yu Augustine's private archive of the 70's Biweekly journal and Asian people's theatre in Hong Kong. It is a follow-up project of her 2019 monograph 莫昭如的民族戲劇：香港的第三條道路 (Mok Chiu-yu's anarchist people's theatre: a third way for Hong Kong). Her other on-going research projects are on Uyghur cinema and Tibetan contemporary art.
Project to be discussed in her presentation: Hong Kong Cultural Social Movement: The 70's Biweekly and People's Theatre
Ms. Lisa KWAN
Librarian, Library, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts- Lisa has joined the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) as the Librarian since September 2019, responsible for the strategic development of the Library and the overall management of the Library resources, services and learning space. Prior to joining HKAPA, Lisa has worked in the libraries of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), where she has developed extensive experience in various aspects of the libraries, including library management, IT and systems support, multimedia resources management, building infrastructure development as well as management of digitization and institutional repository projects. Lisa is especially interested in applying new technologies in developing library services and preserving information resources.
Project to be discussed in her presentation: HKAPA Digital
Ms. Jenny YEE
Assistant Librarian I (Technical Services), Library, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts- Jenny has joined the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) since 2006 and is currently the Head of the Library Technical Services Section. Besides overseeing the operations in cataloguing, serials control and electronic resources management, Jenny helps to manage and develop the Library’s Digital Performing Arts Repository since its establishment in 2013. Jenny has developed good experience and strong interest in building up the Academy Archives and the collection of local performing arts resources. She has also assisted the Librarian in starting and developing the pilot project of Graduate Profiles in collaboration with the School of Drama since 2017. The Project will soon extend to cover the graduates of the School of Dance and the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts.
Project to be discussed in her presentation: HKAPA Digital
Mr. Tarloff IM
Education Development Officer, EDGE Video Production Studio- Mr. Tarloff Im is an Education Development Officer in EDGE. He received his first degree BSc in Engineering Physics from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, then he gained MSc in E-Commerce Technologies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong; MA in Communication and New Media from City University of Hong Kong; and PgDip in Education (Professional and Vocational Education) from the Education University of Hong Kong with Dean’s Honour List. He has designed and established the EDGE Video Production Studio to support teaching staff, for enhancing the production efficiency and quality of the instructional video. He is currently active in using VR/AR technologies to support the learning experience in various disciplines.
