Creative Crossings: Sino-African Encounters in Fashion and Literature

Panel Convenor(s)

• IO

  Isaac Odoom

  Carleton University, Canada

Panel Chair(s)

• 

  Lina Benabdallah

  Wake Forest University, United States

Presenter(s)

• TT

  Tommy Tse

  University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
• JT

  Jiaying Tu

  University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
• JS

  Jodie Yuzhou Sun

  Fudan University, China (People's Republic)
• WW

  Wei Jupiter Wang

  University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

This panel highlights the dynamic intersections between fashion, literature, and cultural exchange in Chinese-African encounters. Through five diverse papers, the panel examines how material culture, literary works, and creative co-productions shape and reflect the transnational relationships between Africa and China. From the allure of Gāofǎng fashion in China to the second-hand clothing trade across Asia and Africa, the papers reveal the tensions and aspirations embedded in the circulation of goods and ideas. By engaging with Afro-Asian literary representations, the co-creation of African-Chinese pop-cultural references, and the influence of Euro-American cultural elements, this panel illuminates the complexities of creativity, misunderstandings, and cultural negotiations in an increasingly interconnected world. 

Panel supported by: Chinese in Africa/Africans in China Research Network

Presentations:

• 16:15 - 18:00 GMT

  When the Copies Become Better: Seduction of Gāofǎng Fashion in China
  

  Presenter: Tommy Tse – University of Amsterdam
• 16:15 - 18:00 GMT

  From Asia and Africa to the Globe: Living Memories, Aspirations and Tensions of the Past and Present in Second-hand Cloth Consumption
  

  Presenter: Jiaying Tu – University of Amsterdam
• 16:15 - 18:00 GMT

  Third World Crossings' and China-Africa Networks: Visual representation of Africa in Afro-Asian literature
  

  Presenter: Jodie Yuzhou Sun – Fudan University
• 16:15 - 18:00 GMT

  Cash in on the "African Superstar" Tupac: African-Chinese Co-Creation via Misunderstanding, Misinterpretation, and Racialization
  

  Presenter: Wei Jupiter Wang – University of Amsterdam