Fall 2023 Lectures
Grace Kao
"THE IMPORTANCE OF K-POP"
Native American Student & Community Center (NASCC) Room 110
Refreshments at 5:30, Lecture at 6-7:30
About the Lecture: To begin this two-part talk, Grace Kao proposes that the popularity of K-Pop in the west has transformative possibilities for the lived experiences of Asian Americans. She will introduce K-Pop and BTS in particular. Second, Kao will present a working paper (co-authored with Wonseok Lee, School of Music, Ohio State University) titled, “Are Friends Electric? The Influence of 1980s British New Wave on 2020s K-Pop.” Given the centrality of the music video to the development of both K-pop and the British New Wave, Kao et al. argue that there is a shared musical and visual aesthetic between these two genres. Our paper is also accompanied by a YouTube playlist of the music videos we analyze.
About the Speaker: Grace Kao is IBM Professor of Sociology and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration (Secondary appointment, by courtesy) at Yale University. She is also Faculty Director of Education Studies and Director of the Center for Empirical Research on Stratification and Inequality (CERSI) at Yale University. Her research focuses on: (1) Racial, Ethnic, and Immigrant Differences in Educational Outcomes and Transition to Adulthood; (2) Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships; (3) Social Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic; (4) Dating and Marriage in S. Korea; and (5) Sociology of Music, especially K-Pop and the Hallyu. Her most recent books are Diversity and The Transition to Adulthood in America (2022; co-authored with Phoebe Ho and Hyunjoon Park, University of California Press) and The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood (2019; co-authored with Kara Joyner and Kelly Stamper Balistreri, Russell Sage Foundation). In 2017, she received the “Contribution to the Field Award” from the ASA Section on Asia and Asian America. She was also named the Robin Murphy Williams Lecturer by the Eastern Sociological Society in 2018.
Hyeyoung Woo
Hyeyoung Woo
"Multicultural Families in South Korea"
Professor of Sociology and Director of Institute for Asian Studies at Portland State University
Date and Time: Saturday, November 4, 2023, 4:00 pm (tentatively)
Location: Academic & Student Rec Center, Room 230
Wei-hsin Yu
"Later and Less Marriage in Japan: Plausible Explanations and Longitudinal Evidence"
Professor of Sociology at University of California, Los Angeles
Date and Time: Thursday, November 30, 2023, 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Location: Urban Center Building, Room 212 (Parson's Gallery)
Work-in-progress workshops
Open to all Sociology faculty and graduate students
October 13, 2023 and October 17, 2023
Cramer Hall 371 from 12:00-1:00 pm