Agenda
Seminar ‘Sources, silence and the senses in the study of the history of global Chinese Labour’
Jens Aurich (junior researcher at the IISH), Koen van der Lijn (Johan Huizinga Fellow at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) and Fresco Sam-Sin (founder and creative lead of the Things That Talk Foundation), both connected to the Contract Labourers and Collective Action project at IISG, organise the seminar ‘Sources, silence and the senses in the study of the history of global Chinese Labour’, to be held at 18 August 2025 at the IISH in Amsterdam. The opening lecture will be delivered by Professor Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Professor of History and American Studies at Brown University, who will also act as key listener at this seminar.
A critical engagement with archival material is fundamental to understanding the history of labour in colonial contexts. Central to this inquiry are our reading strategies — both against and along the grain of the archives — which serve as essential tools in navigating and interrogating these sources. This seminar aims not only to contextualise such strategies within the framework of global Chinese labour history — particularly by considering issues such as multilingualism, intermediaries and transcultural dynamics — but also to examine the potential contributions of non-archivalsources. Special attention will be given to material culture, silence, and the senses.
Participants are expected to prepare a presentation consisting of three case studies in total. Goal is to foster collective reflection and opportunities to advance one another’s research. More info on the format of the presentation is to be found in the full call (see button below). Those interested to participate should send an e-mail with a few lines about their research interest in the study of the history of global Chinese Labour to Fresco Sam-Sin before 4 July 2025.
