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Weihong Du

Chair and Associate Professor of Asian Studies

Weihong Du

Meet Professor Du

Years at Knox: 2009 to present

"Currently I am researching cross-cultural interactions between China and the West during the 1930s. I am focused primarily on how these presentations of culture were made to the Western other and how the specifics of those presentations affect authenticity and understanding between China and its interlocutors. The most interesting thing about this topic is how it provides such a penetrating tool for defining the past and how it sheds light even on contemporary cross-cultural interactions."

Education

Ph.D., Chinese, University of Minnesota.
M.A., Chinese, University of Minnesota.
B.A., Chinese Language and Literature, Nanjing University.

Teaching Interests

Modern and Contemporary Chinese Culture and Literature; Intercultural, Film, and Gender Studies; Chinese Language

Selected Professional Accomplishments

Honors/Grants

  • Knox Mellon Faculty Career Enhancement Grant - Interdisciplinary Course Enhancement: Scouting Trip to China, 2016-2017.
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Grant for Manuscript Development, Knox College, Fall 2011 and Summers 2013-2014.
  • Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Grant for Career Enhancement, Knox College, Summer 2010.
  • Graduate School Thesis Research Grant, University of Minnesota, 2007.

Publications

"S. I. Hsiung: New Discourse and Drama in Early Modern Chinese Theatrical Exchange." Asian Theatre Journal, 33.2 (Fall 2016): 347-368.

"A Turning Point for Guohua? Xu Beihong and Transformative Encounters with the Socialist Spirit, 1933-1953." Twentieth-Century China, 39. 3 (October 2014): 216-244.

Presentations

"Espionage On Screen: Heroes, Nostalgia, and Commercialized History in the Social Narrative of Contemporary Chinese TV Drama," Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, San Diego, March 21-24, 2013.

"Lingo of Change: Forces of Mutation in Contemporary Chinese Colloquialisms," Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, September 21-23, 2012.

"A Turning Point for Guohua? Xu Beihong and His Encounter with the Socialist Spirit," Southeast Conference/ of the Association for Asian Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, January 14-16, 2011.

"S. I. Hsiung: A Forgotten Dramatist and the Politics of Intercultural Transmission," 64th Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, University of Kentucky, Lexington, April 19-21, 2011.

"Homemade Faces in a Foreign Mirror: Mimetic Authenticity in Sino-Western Cultural Interchange during the 1930s," East Asia Seminar Series in the College of Liberal Arts of University of Minnesota, September 30, 2008.

"Reversed Oriental Gaze: Redefining Chinese Arts and Culture," New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS), State University of New York, New Paltz, September 30-October 1, 2005.

"Illness as Female Living Conditions in the Early Stories of Lu Yin and Ding Ling," Annual Graduate Student Conference on East Asia, Columbia University, February 4-5, 2005.

Professional Development

Midwest Faculty Seminar: Digital Humanities, November 14-16, 2013; Institute on Infusing East Asian Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum, hosted by the East-West Center, Asian Studies Development Program, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 23-August 10, 2012.

Professional Service

Member, Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
Member, Modern Language Association (MLA)
Member, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture (MCLC)
Member, Asian History and Studies (H-ASIA)

Campus & Community Involvement

Visiting Faculty Director for ACM Shanghai: Perspectives on Contemporary China, Fall 2016
ACM Shanghai Program Faculty Advisor
Campus Diversity Committee, 2012-Present
First-Year Preceptorial Steering Committee, 2013-2014
Off-Campus Study Committee, 2011-2013
Conduct Council, 2010-2012

what students say

  • Professor Du's enthusiasm and passion comes clearly through her lectures. She is approachable and willing to make time for students outside of class. Her classes are filled with classic novelas, movies, and anecdotes, and the pieces are chosen with deliberate consideration and thoughtfulness. It is clear that Professor Du puts a lot of effort, work, and thought into her lectures.

    Christina Warner

    Psychology Major

  • I first met Professor Du as a second year Chinese student. At that point, I thought I had Knox all figured out; it was my second year of college, obviously I knew it all. I remember one of my first classes with Weihong, when I began to showcase my shaky speaking skills. It was an unnerving experience, one that made me want to give up and try from scratch with something different, anything but enduring the embarrassment that I felt from trying to speak Chinese. To my dismay at the time, it was clear from the get-go that Weihong was absolutely not about to give up on me. Though I didn't always articulate my feelings, she made a point to consistently make sure we were all aware that she was available for any of her students to ask questions or practice speaking outside of class time. Suddenly I found myself sitting in her office for one, even two hours, speaking completely in Chinese. Professor Du's dedication and encouragement contributed to my heartfelt investment in a challenge that, before, I saw as completely insurmountable. I would leave her office feeling like I was on top of the world, and feeling like I could do anything. So, when I had the opportunity to take an independent study with her (an independent study is ultimately a one-on-one class), I was elated. It was called "Occidentalism, Orientalism, and Chinese Culture." I was able to see yet another side to Weihong, one that was incredibly well versed in Chinese culture and literature, but still so interested to hear my ideas and my point of view on the matters. The classes that I took with Professor Du will always be remembered with supreme fondness. She teaches all of her students with an unparalleled sense of dedication, knowledge, and kindness that Knox College is privileged to have.

    Bridget Dooley

    Elementary Education Major and Chinese Minor