By Zu (Zuo Rui) Gan, Class of 2025
On the 9th of October, the CSCC Meanings, Identities and Communities cluster were privileged to have hosted “Beijing from Below: Stories of Marginal Lives in the Capital Center”. The talk was done over Zoom by Professor Harriet Evans. Professor Evans is a Professor Emerita of Chinese Cultural Studies at the University of Westminster and Visiting Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics. In total, 5 faculty and 21 students attended the event.
Professor Evans started centered her talk on how her book “Beijing from Below” came into being. She first shared on how she came to formulate her research project. She pointed out how as anthropologists, most of the time one goes into a field without a firm research project in mind. To her, this was something to be celebrated. Nevertheless, she also reflected on her path towards her book. She recounted how she wanted to combine her teaching efforts with her research. This meant she exploring photographic memory in Beijing and led her to the photographer Lao Zhao (Zhao Tielin). It was through the unfortunate demise of Lao Zhao that her project came into fruition.
This led to the second part of Professor Evans’ talk: her methodological reflections doing the work. The project was initially spearheaded by Lao Zhao, but after his passing, she decided to take on his work. She shared that this was because she felt that the project allowed the people of Dashalar a recognition and avenue to tell their stories. The people of Dashalar had their own stories of neglect that were often silenced and unheard. Professor Evans also shared about her own writing and research direction. “Beijing from Below” was not a standard work of ethnography or anthropology as it incorporated both archival and ethnographic data. She shared how her experience in the local archives were illuminating even within the confines of a tightly curated selection. With her own knowledge sourced from the ethnographic interview, Professor Evans was able to construct and bring to life the data that was presented. The archives provided surprisingly detailed survey data that she could utilize in bringing the ethnography to life.
Moreover, Professor Evans shed light on the structure of her book. Her book alternated between narratives of the peoples of Dashalaar and ‘interludes.’ These ‘interludes’ were her own analyses and historicizing of the situation. She shared the structure not only acted as a way for the narratives to be heard but also as a contribution to the historical archives. Professor Evans also answered other questions from students. In particular students were very interested in her novel methodology. One student also asked on the usage and capturing of images. Professor Evans had pointed out her intentionality when taking photographs, making sure to not capture any identifying images. She also highlighted that while one of the interviewees had agreed to have her picture taken, she had decided not to publish it out of respect for the individual. She also shared how themes of gender had surfaced during the interviews even though she had not actively sought them out.
