Listen to the trailer for the new podcast by Andreea Coscai, "Who Holds Up Half the Sky".

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

Xiao, Smile (any/all pronouns), based in Suzhou, China, is currently studying literature and visual arts at Bennington College. Smile's understanding of love is what led her to create art; her work offers a narrative and photographic exploration of love through observations of human interactions, emotions, and social events.

The exhibition referenced in the interview can be found here: xiao-smile.squarespace.com/recent-thoughts.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

Wang Zheng is associate professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies and associate scientist of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. A long-term academic activist promoting gender studies in China, she is the director of the UM-China Gender Studies Project, and founder and co-director of the UM-Fudan Joint Institute for Gender Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

Wang Zheng is associate professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies and associate scientist of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. A long-term academic activist promoting gender studies in China, she is the director of the UM-China Gender Studies Project, and founder and co-director of the UM-Fudan Joint Institute for Gender Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

Savaş has two lines of inquiry. In the first line, she examines refugee belonging and deservingness from the perspectives of both the receiving society and the displaced persons. Her research identifies how demographic (i.e., age, gender, ability, race, religion, marital status), symbolic (e.g., attitudes, stereotypes), and institutional (e.g., welfare institutions, humanitarian aid structures) factors foster vulnerability and resilience among refugees as they build new selves, identities and communities after displacement. In her second line of research, she studies how people express and interpret political opinions and ideals through activism, advocacy, and voting. With the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between multi-layered citizenship and belonging, she adopts a social justice lens, utilizes feminist theories and methods, sociocultural and developmental frameworks, a range of epistemologies from postpositivist to interpretivist, and brings macro, meso and micro levels of analyses together. She taught in the Departments of Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan; and mentored students from various disciplinary backgrounds. Savas joined the Bennington faculty in Fall 2020.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

FeminismChinaPodcastInvestigativeJournalism

Lisa Li is a writer and content creator from China, currently residing in NYC. She has a following of over 150,000 on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lisatalk_.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae

Ann E. Feldman, Ph.D. has produced a variety of nationally and internationally syndicated television and radio programs, public events, and musical CDs. Dr. Feldman is the Founder and Artistic Director of artistic circles, a nonprofit organization begun in 1989, which creates collaborative media projects to promote social change.

“Who Holds up Half the Sky” is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. Influential activist figures appear in China’s history from the Qing dynasty to the Maoist era with its famous quote: “Women Hold up Half the Sky”. But Chinese women have undergone much pressure from foot binding and arranged marriages to unequal pay and domestic violence. Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China.

You can read more about the podcast, and the research for it, as well as listen to the full interviews and the full-length podcast here: andreeacoscai.com/2020/09/09/sound-projects/

Cover art by Meaghan Paine Mixing by Jullian Androkae