Board of advisors member

Lily Cho, York University
My research focuses on diasporic subjectivity within the fields of cultural studies, postcolonial literature and theory, and Asian North American and Canadian literature. I have recently co-edited Human Rights and the Arts: Perspectives on Global Asia with Susan Henders (York, Political Science). This book rethinks the contexts and subjects of human rights by taking its lead from writers, artists, filmmakers, and dramatists in Asia and the Asian diaspora. My book, Eating Chinese: Culture on the Menu in Small Town Canada , examines the relationship between Chinese restaurants and Canadian culture. My SSHRC-funded project, Mass Capture: Chinese Head Tax and the Making of Non-Citizens in Canada, focuses on Chinese Canadian head tax certificates known as "C.I. 9's." These certificates mark one of the first uses of identification photography in Canada. Drawing from this archive, my research explores the relationship between citizenship, photography, and anticipation as a mode of agency. My second project, Asian Values: Fictions of Finance and Beautiful Money , explores diasporic movement and theories of value in postcolonial Asia.