“From Platform to Lying Flat – Youth, technology, hipsters, and the question of Chineseness,” Invited talk at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, 21 January, 2022.
“Mediating the Pandemic: Globalization, COVID19, and Biopolitical Nationalism,” Keynote at Shih Hsin University, Taiwan, 28 May, 2021.
“Biopolitical Nationalism, Affective Affordances, and the COVID-19 virus in China,” Keynote at Communication University of China, Beijing, China, 9 October, 2020.
“Create or Fail – Creativity and Its Promiscuities in East and Southeast Asia,” Keynote at National University Singapore, Singapore, 26 July, 2019.
“Cultured Youth: Hipsters with Chinese characteristics?,” Invited talk at Trento University, Italy, 4 October, 2019.
with Chen Siyu, “Aspirations Suspended between the Walls-Autonomy, Creativity and Precarity of Wall Painters in Dafen,” Invited talk at Oxford University, Oxford, UK, 17 September, 2018.
With Chow Yiu Fai “Sound and the Chinese City: Archiving, Authenticating, Alluding,” Acoustic Histories/Historiographies in the Asia Pacific, January 11- 12th, 2018, Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin, Germany.
“Reconnoitring the vernacular creative city in China.” Communicative Cities and Urban Space: Symposium, November 29-30, 2017, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
“No Time to Waste – Chinese Youth and the Politics of Precarity,” Guest Lecture, 5 October 2017, The Université libre de Bruxelles, the Maison des Sciences Humaines, Belgium.
“You Must Create!” Guest Lecture at Leiden University, 4 October 2017, Leiden, The Netherlands.
“Digital labour in China: Platformization, Home delivery, and WeChat,” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference, Worlding: Asia Beyond/After Globalization, 28-30 July, 2017, Seoul, South-Korea.
With Chow Yiu Fai, “From Bowie to the Shenyang Rock Scene: Notes on the Monumentalization of Rock Culture,” Popular Music Today, 19th IASPM conference, 26-20 July 2017, Kassel, Germany.
With Chow Yiu Fai, “What is the Trans in Transasia?” Trans-Asia as method – Exploring new potentials of “trans-Asian” approaches, 12-13 June 2017, Monash University, Prato Centre, Italy.
“Making, Faking or Creating? Rethinking the Creativity Discourse in China.” 18 April 2017. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China.
“I Don’t Want To Follow You – Exploring Music Fandom.” 11 April 2017. Communication University China, Beijing, China.
“It smells like creativity: What if Kurt Cobain comes to China to rescue us?’ Aesthetics and the Political in Contemporary India: Deleuzian Explorations. 16-17 February 2017. Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
“The contemporary imperative of creativity and possible lines of flight,” Aesthetics and the Political in Contemporary India: Deleuzian Explorations – Deleuze Camp, 13-15 February 2017. Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
“Rings of Desire – Beijing as an Ordinary City,” From Chicago to Shenzhen: ‘The City’ at International Workshop on Urban Research and Theory, City University, Hong Kong 6-7 June, 2016.
“Shanzhai culture, Dafen art and Copyrights.” You Must Create? Boredom, Shanzhai and Digitization in the Time of ‘Creative China’. Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, 7-9 April, 2016.
“Love, despair and aspiration: Chinese cinema in times of abundance and precarity,” Lecture at Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, 2 December 2015.
“Being Single in Shanghai and Delhi – Questioning the Emergence of “New” Asian Femininities.” The biannual Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference. Surabaya, Indonesia, 7-9 August 2015.
“Liefde in Tijden van Ongekende Groei.” Lecture at Pakhuis de Zwijer, Amsterdam, 28 May 2015.
“Umbrellas, Aesthetics, Revolutions: Contesting Creativities in China.” Lecture at University of Duisburg, Duisburg, 21 May 2015.
“Umbrellas and Revolutions – The Aesthetics of the Hong Kong Protests.” Mob Politics in Asia. Asian Research Institute, NUS, Singapore, 12 – 13 March 2015.
“Heritage Sites and Citizens Rights – The Case of China.” Keynote at Citizens, Civil Society and the Cultural Politics of Heritage-Making in East and Southeast Asia, organized by Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, International Institute for Asian Studies, the Netherlands. Taipei, 11-13 December 2014.
“Sanitized Modernities: Love and Romance in Chinese Cinemas,” Performative Publics and Global Modernities in Asia. Organised by the Centre for Communication, Politics and Culture in the School of Media and Communication at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Cultural Anthropology, University of Leiden, Netherlands Barcelona, 3-4 November, 2014.
“Creativity and Knowledge in a Globalized Mimetic World,” Talk at Tsinghua University, Beijing, 22 October 2014.
“Criticality Critique, Commerce and Chinese Art – An Impossible Combination?,” Talk at #SinArts and Canvas Art International, Amsterdam, 27 May 2014.
“‘Rescuing History from the City,” Global Cities and Practices of Interruption. London, 22-23 May, 2014.
“Van ‘Made in China’ naar ‘Created in China’ – Cultuur, Politiek en Kritiek in China,” NRC / Spui25 Lecture, Amsterdam, 23 April 2014.
“Fernando Pessoa en de Kapper,” Wereldreizigers? Over de grenzen van de mondiale mobiliteit, Illustere School, 12 March, 2014.
“Looking for a Gown – Creative Production in a Mimetic World.” Inaugural Lecture, University of Amsterdam, 24 January, 2014.
“Fuck Off, maar wie dan? Het probleem van kritiek in de Chinese kunst.” Lecture at Groninger Museum, 13 November, 2013.
“Convivial China,” Opening UvA Academic Year Symposium, 3 September, 2013.
With Leonie Schmidt and Yiu Fai Chow, “‘From Handover to Leftover: Tatming and the Postcolonial Ruins of Hong Kong.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference – Beyond the Culture Indutry. Singapore: NUS, 3-5 July, 2013.
“Welcome to the Desert of the Fake – Creativity, Soft Power and Criticality in China,” Producing Chinese Cinemas in the 21st Century, Singapore: 1-2 July, 2013.
“Europe as Façade,” International Convention of Asian Studies (ICAS), Macau: Macau University, 24-26 June, 2013.
With David Nieborg, “In Policy we trust: A Survey of the European game Industry,” New Directions in the Development of Creative & Media Industries, Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 7-8 June, 2013.
Met Leonie Schmidt, “Verlangen, verzet of nostalgie? Postkoloniale oprispingen in Yogyakarta en Hong Kong,” Indië on the Move, Spui25, 31 May 2013.
“Destruction, Demolition and Disappearance, or, Getting Lost in Beijing,” Global Cities and Theories of Interruption, New York: New York University, 8-9 May 2013.
“Going Global!”, seminar and lecture at Spui25, 8 April 2013.
“What’s Creativity Got To Do With It?,” Invited lecture at Jinan University, Guangzhou, 26 March, 2013.
With Thomas Poell & Zeng Guohua – Will the Real Weibo Please Stand Up? Chinese Online Contention and Actor-Network Theory, Social Media Activism in the Arab World and China, ACGS, Amsterdam: 21 january, 2013.
“Creativity and Criticality in a Globalizing China,” Invited lecture at National Taiwan Normal University, 11 October 2012.
Participant of roundtable “Constructive Contestation around Urban heritage in Taipei: a New Approach for Asian Cities?” Organised by the IIAS and National Taiwan Normal University from 7-10 October, 2012 [Link]
With Chow Yiu Fai, “Theorising the fake: Shanzhai culture in China,” Crossroads in Cultural Studies, 2-6 July, Paris, France. [Link]
With Lena Scheen, “Pudong – The Shanzhai Global City of China.” Questioning Urban Modernity, 18 May 2012, ASCA, Amsterdam. [Link]
With Chow Yiu Fai, “Standing, Sitting and Jumping: Rooftops in Hong Kong Cinema.” Asian Cinema Studies Society Conference, 16-21 March 2012, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Invited speaker for four talks at Baptist University Hong Kong, February 2012-April 2012
Invited speaker for Digital East Asia Conference, where I will present with Thomas Poell a paper titled “Online activism and Chinese voices of discontent.” Leiden University, 8-9 December 2011.
“Nevermind Politics,” symposium 1991@2011_Media_in_Motion Symposium, University of Amsterdam, 21st October 2011.
“Factories and Slaughterhauses: Creativity and the Asian City,” CRESC Conference Framing the City, 6-9 September 2011, Manchester University, UK.
“Europe as Façade,” China-Netherlands Forum for Literary Theory, Aesthetics and Cultural Studies, Beijing, KNAW & Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, August 27-28, 2011.
“Lost in Translation – Theory and Cinema in Globalized Times,” Invited lecture at People’s University (Renmin Daxue), Beijing, 21 April 2011.
“Edison Chen: Morality, Materiality, and Heterotopia,” paper presented at the ICAS / AAS Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, 31 March – 3 April 2011.
“Towards an Ethics of Slowness in an Era of Academic Corporatism,” seminar EspacesTemps on Academic evaluation, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, 12-11-2010.
“Sonic Mimicry in China – The West is the Best, Get Here, and We’ll Do the Rest,” workshop Lock’n’Loll Is Here To Stay: Stereotyping, Domesticating and Inventing Popular Musics in/of Asia”, Heidelberg, Germany, 5-7 August 2010.
“Segmentary Lines of Chineseness and Tozer Pak’s Micropolitics of the Mundane,” 3d international Deleuze studies conference “Connect, Continue, Create: Deleuze and Nomadic Methodologies Amsterdam July 12-14, 2010.
“Fantasies of a Disappearing and Reappearing Chinese City,” Crossroads In Cultural Studies, Hong Kong, Lingnan University, 17-21June, 2010.
“Creativity, Governmentality and the rise of a New China: A study of the art zones 798 in Beijing and Cattle Depot in Hong Kong,” Crossroads In Cultural Studies, Hong Kong, Lingnan University, 17-21June, 2010.
“Media, Culture and Urbanity: the Spectacle of the Beijing Olympics and its Mediated Discontents,” lecture at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 2 December 2009.
With Chow Yiu Fai, “Sex, drugs and Cantopop: a study of spectacularization of popular culture in Hong Kong,” ECREA Conference – Media, Communication and the Spectacle, Rotterdam: Erasmus University, 26-27 November 2009.
“Abandoned Factories, Artistic Fantasies – Creative Labour and Urbanity in a “New” China” ASSR Staffseminar, 10 November 2009.
“De Verdwaalde Stad – Beijing en de Olympische Droom,” public lecture, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam, 25 October 2009.
“Visuality and Urbanity – Representing Olympic Beijing,” International Convention of Asian Studies (ICAS), Daejon, South Korea, 6-9 August 2009.
“Celebrating the Nation: Olympic Songs,” Biannual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, Liverpool, 13-17 July 2009.
“A Visual Celebration of Chinese Progress and its Sensory Discontents,” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Typhoon, Tokyo, 3-5 July 2009.
“Medals, Media and King Kong – Spectacle in the Age of Globalization,” Paradoxical China – Western perceptions, Eastern realities?, Academic China Meeting, 28 November, 2008.
“One World, One Dream?” Dutch Embassy in Beijing, lecture, 5 August 2008.
“’Chinese’ Sounds and Imageries- Globalization, Popular Culture and the seduction of Cultural Pollution,” Beijing One Way Library Salon, public lecture, 7 June, 2008.
“One Word, One Dream,” Beijing dance and documentary festival, CCD workstudio and Living Dance Studio,public lecture, 27 April, 2008.
“Welkom in Olympisch Beijing” Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, public lecture, 9 March, 2008.
“Surveillance, Resistance or Participation: Questioning Chinese Cultural Citizenship,” DPRN Conference Citizen in East Asia, Groningen: 14 December, 2007.
“Celebrations and Contestations of Chineseness – The Beijing 2008 Olympics and 21st Century Imaginations of Place, Culture and Identity”, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing: 21 November, 2007.
“One World, One Dream and One Pen? – Reporting on the Beijing Olympics in a globalized world,” In-country Workshop on Ethics & Sports Reporting, Communication University China. Beijing: 8 November 2007.
“Een wereld, een droom?” De andere kant van de medaille.’Workshop voor journalisten en wetenschappers in de aanloop naar de Olympische Spelen. IIAS & Amnesty International. Amsterdam: 27 September 2007.
with Yiu Fai Chow, “The Reappearance of Hong Kong,” International Convention for Asia Scholars 5, Kuala Lumpur: 6 Augustus 2007.
with Berrin Yanikkaya, “Imaginary homelands and feeling hüzün – A Study on Turkish pop diva Sezen Aksu and her fans,” INTER: A European Cultural Studies Conference. Norrkoping: 13 June 2007.
“Hacking Knowledge,” ASCA, Inside Knowledge Conference. Amsterdam: 26 March 2007.
“Mobile Chineseness,” Amsterdam School for Social Science Research, Mobility Conference, Amsterdam: 24 January 2007.
“Silencing Sounds – On Music Censorship in China,” Freemuse World Conference on Music and censorship, Istanbul: November 2006.
“Welcome to the Digital Underground – on Hacking, Politics and Techno-Curiosity in Shanghai and New York,” Changing Identities and Networks in a Digital World, NWO-MES program, Amsterdam: September 2006.
“Chinese Cinematic Pollutions,” The XVI Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies, Ljubljana: August – September 2006.
“Chinese Cosmopatriot Contaminations,” Crossroads Association for Cultural Studies Conference – Istanbul Bilgi University: July 2006.
With Toon van Veelen, Tom ter Bogt and Piet Bakker, “Portable Sounds in the Age of Digital Reproduction,” European Communication Conference, Amsterdam: November 2005.
“Multicultural Pollutions: Music and New Dutch Ethnicities,” Multicultural Sounds, Germany Institute and Center for Study of Popular Culture, Amsterdam: November 2005.
“Lang Leve de Spirituele Vervuiling! Over de Authenticiteit van Chinese Pop en Rock. Studium Generale. Universiteit Groningen. November 2005.
With Chow Yiufai, “Stars in a Star-Spangled World: A Comparative Study of Pop Fans in The Netherlands and Hong Kong, IASPM, Rome: 2005.
“Cultural Synchronization: Hip Hop With Chinese Characteristics?” Media and Society in China Today, China Media Center, Westminster University, London: June 2005 and IASPM, Rome: July 2005.
With Giselinde Kuipers, “Fantastic Dutch – The Conceptualization of National Culture in a Comparative Project,” Society for Media and Cinema Studies, London: April 2005.
With Giselinde Kuipers, “Spirituality and Fan Culture Around The lord of the Rings,” Meertens Instituur, Amsterdam: February 2005.
With Giselinde Kuipers, “Lord of the Rings – Grenzeloze Fantasie?” Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap, Enschede: November 2004.
With Giselinde Kuipers, “Character Preferences Around the World – Searching for Meaning(s) of Favorite Charactes of Lord of the Rings,” The Art of Comparison, European Sociological Association (ESA), Rotterdam: November 2004 and at Lord of the Rings Seminar, Wales: December 2005.
“Popular Music in Urban China: From Dakou to Hip Hop,” China Quarterly Conference, Harvard: October 2004.
“Saved by Betrayal? Ang Lee’s Translations of Chinese family Ideology,” Withering Film Theory Conference, University of Shanghai, Shanghai: June 2004.
“Pietje Bell in Cyberspace – Hacking, Globalization and Digital Politics. “ The Media and Communications in the Emerging European Knowledge Society”, European Sociological Association’s Research Network “Sociology of Mass Media and Communication”, International University of Bremen: January 2003. “
“Notes on Sonic Sturdiness – Contesting Glocalization,” IASPM, Montreal: July 2003.
With Yiufai Chow, “Buitenaardse en alledaagse sterren – Een vergelijkende studie naar pop fans in Nederland en Hong Kong,” Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap, Nijmegen: November 2003.
“Chinese Hacktivism,” Association of Internet Researchers Conference, Internet Research 3.0: Net/Work/Theory’, Maastricht: October 2002
“Local Hacktivism, Global Politics?” Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap, Utrecht: November 2002.“
Internet Use in Indonesia and China,” Global E-Quality Conference, Infonomics, Maastricht: March 2002.
“Born on the First of July? Popular Music and the Hong Kong 1997 Handover,” Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, Birmingham: June 2000.
“Audiences in Wonderland: the Reception of Rock Music in China,” IASPM, Montreal: July 1999.
“Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?” Asian Cultures at the Crossroads: An East-West Dialogue in the New World Order, Baptist University, Hong Kong: October 1998.
“On the Authenticity of Chinese Rock and Pop,” Asian Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College, London: June 1998.
“Living in Confusion, Remembering Clearly – Chinese Rock,” International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM), Kanazawa: July 1997.
“To Seek Beautiful Dreams: Rock in China,” International Communication Association (ICA), Montreal: May 1997