Libsyn Directory

Episode 116: Wu Xiao An, Research Institute of Global Chinese and Area Studies, Huaqiao University

Release Date: 11/20/2024

Episode 128: Hieu Phung, Vietnamese and Southeast Asian History, Rutgers University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, guest co-host Anke Wang, a Cornell PhD candidate in History, joins host Francine Barchett for a tag-team interview with Dr. Hieu Phung, Assistant Professor of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian History at Rutgers University. Dr. Phung discusses her research on how pre-modern environmental factors shaped political and administrative systems in Vietnam, with a focus on state-building in the Red River Delta. She unpacks how perceptions of sea-dykes evolved over time—beyond their physical function, they became central to how people understood nature, risk, and governance. The...

Episode 127: Kristian Karlo Saguin, Department of Geography, University of the Philippines-Diliman

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Dr. Kristian Karlo Saguin, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Dr. Saguin unpacks his recent Gatty Lecture, based on his award-winning book Urban Ecologies on the Edge: Making Manila’s Resource Frontier (winner of the Benda Prize). Their conversation explores the complex socio-environmental dynamics of Laguna Lake—from its role in shaping consumer preferences for fish to its impact on flooding in Metro Manila and beyond. We’re also pretty sure Dr. Saguin is the most enthusiastic geographer...

[Hot Ones Special] Episode 126: Lijun Zhang, Department of History, Cornell University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

Welcome to Spicy SEAP! This special edition of the podcast recreates the popular TV show Hot Ones—but with a twist! Instead of chicken wings, our guests take on a lineup of spicy Southeast Asian dishes, from snacks to main courses and mysterious desserts. Host Francine Barchett is joined by Lijun Zhang, a PhD candidate in History and co-chair of the Cornell Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) Gatty Lecture Series. Lijun’s research explores female migration from southeastern China to British Malaya and Singapore, focusing on grassroots intimacy, women’s mobility, and the agency that shaped...

Episode 125: Benjamin Tausig, Department of Music, SUNY-Stony Brook University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, Francine Barchett sits down to interview Dr. Benjamin Tausig, an Associate Professor of Critical Music Studies at SUNY Stony Brook University. Dr. Tausig shares his work on the transnational dialectic of queerness and race in Cold War-era Thailand. He describes the complex intersections of American military influence, local nightlife, and the socio-economic transformations that shaped Thai culture. Later, he also reflects on the murder of Darrel Berrigan, asking: how do non-heteronormative relationships play a role within this unique cultural moment? Through it all, he invites...

Episode 124: Ivan V. Small, Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Dr. Ivan V. Small, a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Small talks about his research on Vietnamese refugee minorities in the U.S. following the Vietnam War and the Ford administration's resettlement policies. He shares how these communities resisted assimilation, often through second or third migrations. And he highlights the crucial role of automobiles in shaping immigrant experiences, enabling movement to new "ethno-burb" nodes that connected Asian...

Episode 123: Josh Babcock, Department of Anthropology and Science & Technology Studies, Brown University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett pairs up with Shreya Chitnavis, a 2024 Cornell MPH graduate, to interview Dr. Joshua Babcock, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and affiliate faculty in Linguistics and Science & Technology Studies at Brown University. Dr. Babcock talks about the limitations of Singapore's racial and linguistic classifications. Reflecting on his findings, he presents a fiction of multi-racial multilingualism as Singapore’s national identity. In Dr. Babcock’s words, "racial community gets performed, policed, and blocked through everyday activity." And dare we...

Episode 122: Emi Donald, Department of History, Cornell University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Emi Donald, a PhD candidate in the Department of History at Cornell University. Emi shares insights from their 18-month fieldwork in Bangkok, where they explored the roles of tomboys (thom in Thai) and trans men. They highlight ways the transgender experience, including clinic access, social acceptance of the trans community, and their legal protections, have evolved in Thailand in recent history. Then they take a bittersweet victory lap on their PhD experience, with some tips for aspiring PhD students: learn a language, develop time...

Episode 121: Kathryn "Kitsie" Emerson, Ekalaya Performing Arts Center, Indonesia

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, Gatty Rewind founding host, Michael Kirkpatrick Miller, returns to interview Dr. Kathryn "Kitsie" Emerson, the Director of the EKALAYA Arts Centre in Java. Dr. Emerson talks about Semar Mbangun Kayangan, a wayang (Indonesian shadow puppet) piece. She explores the history, narratives, and motives behind its various versions, as each portrays a unique vision of utopia tailored to different demographics. She closes by sharing her journey of discovering the Javanese language and culture as a non-native speaker. Lightning round: 4:11 Research and Lecture Summary: 10:16 Advice...

Episode 120: Nielson Sophann Hul, Department of Linguistics, Cornell University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Mr. Nielson Sophann Hul, a Khmer Lecturer at the University of Washington (at the time of the interview, he was defending his PhD in Linguistics at Cornell University). Mr. Hul's research explores how heritage Khmer speakers in the Northwestern US use implosives, or stop consonants, in their speech. He reveals that fluent Khmer speakers and speakers who have spent less time in the US generally use more implosives than others. Mr. Hul explains the importance of his findings: among immigrant communities, practicing one’s native language...

Episode 119: Lawrence Chua, the School of Architecture, Syracuse University

Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviews Dr. Lawrence Chua, an associate professor at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. Looking from the 1920s onward, he applies a historicist lens to study the histories of two museums: the Musée Albert Sarraut (Cambodge/modern day Cambodia) and the National Museum of Bangkok (Siam/modern day Thailand). Dr. Chua provides context from each to illustrate how fragments of the premodern past are recontextualized through both colonial and post-colonial regimes. Dr. Chua closes with insights about his homecoming to Cornell SEAP and...

More Episodes

Francine Barchett pairs up with Xintong Chen, a PhD student in Southeast Asian history, to interview Dr. Wu Xiao An. Dr. Wu is the Chair Professor and Founding Dean of the Research Institute of Global Chinese and Area Studies at Huaqiao University, Xiamen, China. During the conversation, Dr. Wu gives context on the history and legacies of the Chinese diaspora and explains the importance of the Chinese diaspora within Southeast Asia. He argues that Chinese communities have shaped, and been shaped by, Southeast Asia's social, economic, and political landscapes, particularly after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Dr. Wu also connects the history of the Southeast Asian Chinese diaspora to other global Chinese diasporas. He ends by sharing his vision for future research and hopes for emerging scholars.

Lightning Round: 6:17

Research and fieldwork summary: 19:08

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 55:28

The music on the podcast is from "14 Strings!", a Filipino style Rondalla group established in Cornell University. Check them out here.

Produced by Adam Farihin, Neen Tangcharoenmonkong, and Cecilia Liu.

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