This year’s annual Yip So Man Wat Lecture, presented by Professor Helen F. Siu from Yale University, marked one of the first big events of the year at UBC Asian Studies. On the evening of October 3rd, at the Asian Centre Auditorium, 115 attendees participated in the lecture, entitled “The Worldly Engagement of the Greater Pearl River Delta Region.” Siu, a professor of Anthropology, has conducted decades of fieldwork in South China, exploring agrarian change, the nature of the socialist state, and the refashioning of identities. Community members, UBC faculty, and students attended the reception and lecture, which proved to be a great opportunity for people interested in a variety of aspects of South China history to meet and mingle.
Professor Siu’s lecture explored South China as a hub of cultural fusion and the history of the region’s spectacular mobility of goods, peoples, and ideas. Attendees were engaged by Siu’s intimate knowledge of Canton history but also her thoughts and speculations about where Hong Kong and Cantonese studies might take us in the future. Overall, the night was a captivating look into the history that shaped a unique and distinct culture present in South China today.
We’d like to thank all attendees, organizers, and our speaker, for the wonderful event.
More details from the event can be found here.
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