Graduate Student Fellows

Trevor Van De Velde’s research explores the dynamics between technology and performance within East Asian sound cultures. During the GRI fellowship, Van De Velde will be developing his dissertation, Cybernetic Sound Systems, which examines karaoke and rhythm games as “sonic systems” shaped by musical, cultural, and technical logics rooted in East Asian histories and contexts.

With less than 10% of the world’s arable land, China is home to 17.2% of the world’s population and half of the world’s pigs. In 2024, China slaughtered 702 million pigs and produced over 58 million tons of pork—most consumed domestically—making it the world’s largest pork producer and consumer. Like petroleum in the U.S., pork in China is a matter of national security, requiring strategic reserves to stabilize supply and prices during crises.

In November 2022, 1200 programmers at Twitter quit their jobs when Elon Musk took over the company and demanded an “extremely hardcore” work culture. Musk provocatively posted a happy “code review” picture with a full room of Twitter engineers. Looking at these faces, many retorted that those who stayed were forced to stay because they were H1B visa holders.

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (September 15 - December 12)

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (September 8 - December 5)

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (February 3 - May 2):

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (January 20 - May 16):

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (March 10 - April 4):

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (September 16 - December 15):

Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (September 9 - October 29):