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"Research is formalised curiosity" – Zora neale hurston

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The Inter-Asia Cultural Studies virtual conference The Inter-Asia Cultural Studies virtual conference website is very sleek with its 3D visuals. And I get that conference organisers have the difficult task of making virtual conferences as engaging as possible. However, accessing the website was a massive pain: I had to initially apply to put for the conference, and it took them 2 days to approve my application just to pay. To check in for the conference, I had to wait for a code sent to my email, which didn’t appear so I missed the opening keynote today while waiting for them to fix my registration. It was extremely frustrating. Just a note for future conference organisers: access is important, and not all of us have the “summer” off for research work — some of us are still teaching and only have time for research/conference stuff on weekends. Make things more accessible and less stressful. It’s so ironic a conference on cultural studies is actually impinging on hierarchies of access for scholars to connect. #thisacademiclife #virtualconference #makethingsaccessible
Cologne was a short weekend trip while I was exami Cologne was a short weekend trip while I was examining a PhD in Leuven, Belgium. I’ve never really talked about this but while waiting for the train back to Belgium, we were hit with tear gas as the police were trying to disperse a crowd of far right demonstrators. I was with my mum and my aunt, and it was never-wrecking trying to keep calm and to avoid the violence when you only understand the very basic of the language. While I’ll take experiences like these over being stuck at home, it goes to show how varied the academic experiences are. A month ago, while giving a workshop on academic profiles on social media, I wanted to explain why I started this Instagram account, and I realised a lot of people here (in Sarawak) have a misconception that travelling for academics is all about fun and glamour. It’s not all that; although this is one experience I wouldn’t change for the world. Cologne, 2014 #thisacademiclife #theacademictravels #cologne #germany #wanderlust #randomthoughts #canon500d
Kuching sometimes do have a rustic feel to it; esp Kuching sometimes do have a rustic feel to it; especially the old part of town. I hope more of it gets preserved and people start to appreciate the heritage more. But as with everything, it’s better if I have an opportunity to be away from time to time to appreciate it more. #wanderlust
When I first heard about Kung Fu, I was sceptical. When I first heard about Kung Fu, I was sceptical. Not another martial arts series featuring Asian characters. But, given the all-Asian cast, I gave it a try. The first few episodes was rough; it depended too much on zen advices (which got a bit annoying), but the characters were compelling. And the supernatural storyline helped. About episode 4 onwards though, it all changed. And I recognised the show for what it was: visibility. And normalcy. Despite the supernatural storyline, the struggles the characters go through were normal, with added inter-generational cultural clash (something that also attracted me to Netflix’s Wu Assassins). But at the centre of it, is the Chinese-American family. It’s the little things we see on screen: family conversations centred around food, taking shoes off when entering a home, snippets of Cantonese and Mandarin littered throughout the dialogue, a tea ceremony coupled with a traditional white wedding. The little things made the difference. It’s definitely made me a fan of the show, and of the cast! I’m looking forward to more, and I hope the fandom flourishes (so I can write about it)! #fandom #fandomlife #randomthoughts #fanstudies #kungfu #cwkungfu
The Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the En The Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah, the principles that form the basis of the being of Sarawak. Long since eroded when Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaysia. 1. That Sarawak is the heritage of Our Subjects and is held in trust by Ourselves for them. 2. That social and education services shall be developed and improved and the standard of living of the people of Sarawak shall steadily be raised. 3. That never shall any person or persons be granted rights inconsistent with those of the people of this country or be in any way permitted to exploit Our Subjects or those who have sought Our protection and care. 4. That justice shall be freely obtainable and that the Rajah and every public servant shall be easily accessible to the public. 5. That freedom of expression both in speech and in writing shall be permitted and encouraged and that everyone shall be entitled to worship as he pleases. 6. That public servants shall ever remember that they are but the servants of the people on whose goodwill and co-operation they are entirely dependent. 7. That so far as may be Our Subjects of whatever race or creed shall be freely and impartially admitted to offices in Our Service, the duties of which they may be qualified by their education, ability and integrity duly to discharge. 8. That the goal of self-government shall always be kept in mind, that the people of Sarawak shall be entrusted in due course with the governance of themselves, and that continuous efforts shall be made to hasten the reaching of this goal by educating them in the obligations, the responsibilities, and the privileges of citizenship. 19. That the general policy of Our predecessors and Ourselves whereby the various races of the State have been enabled to live in happiness and harmony together shall be adhered to by Our successors and Our servants and all who may follow them hereafter. Our history and our heritage is our basic right. Know it. Acknowledge it. Embrace it. #history #livedheritage #SarawakIndependenceDay #reclaimourrealhistory #stoperasingsarawak
“Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society “Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.” Victor Hugo (Les Misérables) Paris, 2014 #wanderlust #theacademictravels #paris #france #canon500d
“What a fate: to be condemned to work for a firm “What a fate: to be condemned to work for a firm where the slightest negligence at once gave rise to the gravest suspicion!” Franz Kafka (The Metamorphosis) #wanderlust #theacademictravels #prague #czechrepublic #canon500d
Metro station Prague, 2014 #wanderlust #theacade Metro station Prague, 2014 #wanderlust #theacademictravels #prague #canon500d
“What I do is not up to you” (Wonder Woman, 20 “What I do is not up to you” (Wonder Woman, 2017) Paris, 2014 #wanderlust #theacademictravels #paris #france #canon500d
The excellent #BlackWidow, partly shot in Hungary, The excellent #BlackWidow, partly shot in Hungary, made me miss the sights and sounds — and aromas — of Europe. Some scenes from Budapest, centred around the famed Danube River. Budapest, Hungary 2015 #wanderlust #theacademictravels #budapest #hungary #danuberiver #bluedanube #canon500d
It’s interesting to see my participation in this It’s interesting to see my participation in this edited collection come to fruition. When @rellypops first invited me to submit something for this, and to reflect on my journey from the UK to Sarawak, and how I’ve managed my wellbeing, being in isolation from all that is familiar, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I remember sitting in the humidity with Narelle and @killthebinary2 at Cove55, with a bottle (or two!) of Pinot Grigio chilling as we each worked on our laptops, while I was thinking about this chapter. I remember how our lengthy chats and laughter and unquestioning support helped shape the beginnings of it. But more than that, the opportunity to write this brought me back to cultural studies, to authors whose works I don’t usually have opportunities to engage with. It’s also now given me new insights into how I want to approach my own book (proposal still in process — it WILL get written once I have a chance to take a breather from the endless teaching and focus my thoughts back to my research). Routledge has the release date as 30 November 2021 on its website. It’s not my usual offering, but it’s enabled me to engage with different scholars and explore cultural identity in more detail than before. Thank you for the opportunity to engage with concepts of wellbeing and self-care, and relate it to cultural identity, Narelle! #thisacademiclife #newwork #bookchapter #culturalidentity #wellbeing #selfcare #womensupportingwomen
The complications of working from home: you someti The complications of working from home: you sometimes have no control over pets and other environmental factors. During this morning’s PhD reading group session — I run a bi-monthly group with my PhD candidates where we select a reading and discuss what we take out of the article/chapter — Jiji decided she’s had enough of my inattentiveness to her and parked herself in front of the desktop. Moments later, after they have a bit of a hissing exchange, Leon (swipe for a pic of Leon) decides to do the same, climbs onto the desk and muted my volume when one of my PhD student was midway through sharing her thoughts.🤦🏻‍♀️ #academicswithcats #workfromhome #wfh #zoombombing #blackcats #catsofinstagram #moggie #scottishfold
There’s something alluring about the kinds of wi There’s something alluring about the kinds of wide, open spaces of the British Isles that’s different from the claustrophobia of the rainforest and the urban, concrete blocks. Lake District, 2011 #lifeinengland #windemere #lakedistrict #england #uk #wanderlust #panasonicdmctz7
With barely a break when semester one ended, teach With barely a break when semester one ended, teaching for the short winter term started. It’s not just about condensing information for a topic on a university level from 12 weeks to 6 weeks. It’s the type of topic and approach that honestly demoralises me to the core, and goes against every being of my ideology. That’s the one thing that bothers me about being in Asia: the inability to accept the fact that someone had chosen to take a different path, to not fall on “safe options”. And with teaching happening everyday, coupled with a national lockdown that prevents dining in, I haven’t seen friends for ages. So it’s double the isolation, at not being able to go back to the UK to see my people, at being cut off from all that is familiar, that ensures a semblance of sanity. Finally had a small amount of time last Friday to pop into my favourite cafe, see some familiar faces, chat with friends and grab a good cup of coffee. #burnout #mentalhealthforacademics #mentalhealthawareness #listen #wearenotrobots #imissacademicconversations
Missing the summer days, and missing being surroun Missing the summer days, and missing being surrounded by academics. And not feeling like my brain is bleeding out stupid by the minute. #burnout #missinglifeinEngland #lifeinEngland #london #southeast #newcoss #uk #almamater
It has been a very long and tiring couple of weeks It has been a very long and tiring couple of weeks, but I’m so glad I stayed up for this public lecture by Henry Jenkins. Listening to him situate the importance of popular and participatory culture into our current conditions amidst a global pandemic is a good reminder of why I do the things that I do. A really lovely reprieve from feeling like my knowledge, my education, my expertise have been bastardised and demeaned by an institution that doesn’t care nor bother to listen, and would just as soon wish us to be robots so they don’t have to deal with complexities of human lives. #thisacademiclife #pandemicfatigue #burnoutwoes #laptopphotos
It’s a Swedish meatball with spaghetti kind of n It’s a Swedish meatball with spaghetti kind of night #food #swedishmeatballs
Was interviewed for this piece on @refinery29uk on Was interviewed for this piece on @refinery29uk on the anti-fandom of Meghan Markle. #mediainterviews #thisacademiclife Posted @withregram • @refinery29uk There are corners of the internet obsessed with tearing down the Duchess of Sussex. Their activities – petitioning (for the removal of titles), boycotting companies that work with Harry and Meghan, organised hate-watching and review bombing – mirror media anti-fan behaviour. But what exactly is driving them? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For some of the accounts, an intense love of the monarchy fuels their anti-fandom. Wanting Megxit, longing for the days when Harry played gooseberry to Wills and Kate, could be compared to liking a TV series before a new showrunner took over. The elimination of the "threat" Meghan poses to the monarchy is the biggest motivation behind Meghan anti-fan activity and might explain why more extreme accounts buy into conspiracy theories. But anti-fandom shouldn’t be seen as a cover for what is at its core: obsessive online hatred.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Although it’s been over a year since Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties the negativity still runs at fever pitch. So where do we go from here? Click the🔗 in bio to find out what we learned undercover inside the sinister world of Meghan Markle hate accounts. ✍️ @aida__gram 📸 @gettyimages
First dose. Done. Thank you to all volunteers and First dose. Done. Thank you to all volunteers and those on duty at the centre today who ensured everything ran smoothly. In and out within the hour. #astrazeneca #ɢᴇᴛᴠᴀᴄᴄɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ #covidvacccine
Ordered from @borneocandlestudio for the first tim Ordered from @borneocandlestudio for the first time. Refreshing scent that isn’t overpowering at all. #scentedcandles #bcswithme #wfh #workfromhome
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