Previously in block 4, Professor Jason Weaver and Professor John Williams moderated the screening for \u201cSomewhere Between.\u201d \u201cSomewhere Between\u201d is a documentary by Linda Goldstein Knowlton. Following the lives of four Chinese adoptees living in the United States, their stories reflect issues of adoption, race, gender, culture, identity, and belonging. Transnational adoption was prominent in different parts of Asia as a result of U.S. military and humanitarian interventions. In particular, South Korea was one of the earliest countries to experience a high rate of adoptions. In the 90s, China became the leading country to give up children for international adoption \u2013 especially with the One Child Policy. The process of questioning one\u2019s identity is unique to the individual, and this film was chosen to reflect some of these diverse experiences. Most importantly, thistopic is a reminder that transnational adoptees are also part of the Asian American diaspora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another event was a lecture by Professor Amrita Basu from Amherst College. Basu\u2019s presentation. \u201cLecture: Gendering Populism and Recognizing its Varied Affective Appeals\u201d discusses gendered forms of populism, and how populist leaders use emotions to appeal to people. Professor Basu compares the leadership styles of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, while being mindful of their national, racial, and religious differences. For example, Trump\u2019s childishness and awkward prose makes him less threatening and more approachable, especially to those who feel demeaned by Ivy-league politicians; Modi\u2019s goal to improve conditions for women and people in the lower-caste promotes possibilities for people to access the upper-caste (Basu). Overall, Professor Basu\u2019s lectures taps into the gendered performances of populist leaders and how their success is influenced by affective appeals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two events happening over block 5:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cclotus.files.wordpress.com\/2022\/01\/december-forever-foreign-events-1.png?w=791\")
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