In this online reading session, we will be reading a chapter from Cathy Park Hong's Minor Feelings: A Reckoning on Race and the Asian Condition, titled "The End of White Innocence". We will discuss what it means, in Hong's words, to "look sideways", instead of "looking back" in nostalgia, at childhood. We will also address why (visual, oral, etc.) narratives or stories we tell about ourselves are important, not only in relation to the national imaginary, but also in terms of how future generations are impacted with regard to notions of identity and belonging. As Cathy Park Hong's chapter is written in a less theoretical or scholarly way and references many personal anecdotes, participants will also be encouraged, in similar fashion, to share their personal stories and lived experiences.

Alongside Hong’s work, we will bring in short excerpts from Subaltern Studies 2.0 by Milinda Banerjee and Jelle JP Wouters to discuss how knowledge and identity can be co-opted by neoliberalism and the "society of the spectacle," turning personal and collective histories into commodities while silencing alternative ways of knowing.

This reading session is a space for conversation, storytelling, and collective reflection. Bring your thoughts, your experiences, and your curiosity. Let’s learn from each other!

Participation in the reading group is capped at 20 participants. Please register by sending an email to mail@kunstverein-langenhagen.de to receive the Zoom link and the .pdfs we will read. The reading session is facilitated by Thaís Omine and Kathy-Ann Tan, and will take place in English.

This event is part of the exhibition ‘Stories we imagine, stories that connect us’ with Lizza May David, Fumiko Kikuchi, Thaís Omine, Park Kyong Ju, curated by Kathy-Ann Tan.