The Trena Gillette Memorial Lecture honors PSU '93 alumna, Trena Gillette, and her pursuit of education, enthusiasm for learning, and keen interest in Korean and Asian Studies.
Please register at our registration page so we have enough refreshments!
Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023
Time: Refreshments at 5:30pm, Lecture 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: Native American Student &
Community Center (NASCC) Room 110
(710 SW Jackson St.)
About the Lecture: To begin this two-part talk, Grace Kao proposes that the popularity of K-Pop in the west has transformative possibilities for the lived experiences of Asian Americans. She will introduce K-Pop and BTS in particular. Second, Kao will present a working paper (co-authored with Wonseok Lee, School of Music, Ohio State University) titled, “Are Friends Electric? The Influence of 1980s British New Wave on 2020s K-Pop.” Given the centrality of the music video to the development of both K-pop and the British New Wave, Kao et al. argue that there is a shared musical and visual aesthetic between these two genres. Our paper is also accompanied by a YouTube playlist of the music videos we analyze.
About the Speaker: Grace Kao is IBM Professor of Sociology and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration (Secondary appointment, by courtesy) at Yale University. She is also Faculty Director of Education Studies and Director of the Center for Empirical Research on Stratification and Inequality (CERSI) at Yale University. Her research focuses on: (1) Racial, Ethnic, and Immigrant Differences in Educational Outcomes and Transition to Adulthood; (2) Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships; (3) Social Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic; (4) Dating and Marriage in S. Korea; and (5) Sociology of Music, especially K-Pop and the Hallyu. Her most recent books are Diversity and The Transition to Adulthood in America (2022; co-authored with Phoebe Ho and Hyunjoon Park, University of California Press) and The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood (2019; co-authored with Kara Joyner and Kelly Stamper Balistreri, Russell Sage Foundation). In 2017, she received the “Contribution to the Field Award” from the ASA Section on Asia and Asian America. She was also named the Robin Murphy Williams Lecturer by the Eastern Sociological Society in 2018.