Current NYU Shanghai Global Research Initiatives Fellows

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 3 - Nov 30)：

As the business world grows smaller, cross-culture collaborations and negotiations have become a common topic over the years. Yet the area remains an under researched practice area. Chen’s research is an overview of the similarities and differences between American and Chinese collaboration strategies. Through last years GRI project, Chen realized the importance of effective communication in Chinese business world, especially for working professionals with limited Chinese work experience. Based on current literature and class materials, Chen would like to conduct empirical research in Shanghai to better identify the Chinese collaboration and negotiation practices. Due to the increasing amount of foreign influence, Chen would like to explore whether the tone, gestures, signals, and underlying assumptions about Chinese business interactions have become similar to the American norms and what differences persist that participants should remain respectful of.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 3 - Nov 30)：

Gill is studying fiction writing and working on her thesis: a novella about the parallel lives of one woman: with children in one section and without children in another. Gill is interested in studying in Shanghai, as she’d like to put her protagonist as far away from America as possible as a means to challenge her during an impending divorce, something devastating, bewildering, and rather exhilarating that she is currently facing after 15 years of marriage, and with no children. Gill believe’s China's distinctive culture, people, and topography would inspire her to enrich this novella with an authentic write what you know: a woman on a journey to discover life on the other side of a broken marriage "hnyn" in Chinese. China has a long, storied, and intriguing history of love and union, with roots in Confucianism and the lore of Nwa and Fu Xi.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 3 - Nov 30)：

Jiang’s dissertation aims to investigate the discursive practices of non-fiction moving image arts, produced in China from late 1970s to the present time. Jiang will examine the ways in which documentary, as a mode of socially-engaged image-making, not only transforms Chinese post-socialist independent film and video art, but also is itself transformed by the country's accelerated and uneven development under the techno-economic conditions of the information age. While the state holds no official records of these oftentimes dissident contents, relevant archives are usually found among individual collectors. Jiang has established contact with four scholars/artists who reside in Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 3 - Nov 30)：

Lin’s masters thesis is a collection of poetry on female Chinese American identity and its relationship to history and the body. Lin immigrated to the U.S. from China at the age of twelve, and has always felt like she was straddling two languages, not belonging to either one. Identity, then has become a central question that she explores in poetry, and a semester in Shanghai would provide her the access to historical documents and studies of Chinese language history. In particular, Lin is interested in researching the etymology of Chinese characters and how the bodies of the words inform our understanding of gender and identity. Moreover, she hopes to research the stories of Chinese immigrants who left China for the U.S. through the extensive historical archives at the Shanghai Library and by visiting the Shanghai Museum. In addition, an office space at the NYU Shanghai research site would give Lin a dedicated space to write and the opportunity to concentrate on her project.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 4 - Nov 29)：

Sanchez Herrera’s research project examines how ingredient combinations and recipes develop over time. His methodological approximation draws upon network analysis, digital humanities, and economic history. Sanchez Herrera’s research relies on a new dataset consisting of approximately 6000 recipes spanning 40 years. case study of his dissertation is Colombia, South America. Although this is his particular focus, Sanchez Herrera is broadly interested in how food recipes change as countries develop, particularly as they embrace globalization. China, similarly to Colombia, has seen rapid developments over the last 40 years. Sanchez Herrera is particularly interested in seeing how food consumption and food recipes have changed in China to be able to draw comparisons. Sanchez Herrera is currently writing and analyzing her data (which is stored in the cloud), and therefore can work anywhere. At NYU Shanghai, he is particularly interested in collaborating with professor Dr. Heather Lee, whom he has contacted previously, as she studies Chinese food in New York City from a historical point of view. Furthermore, Sanchez Herrera anticipates collaborating with professor Dr. Anna Greenspan who studies food consumption and its rapid changes in Shanghai.