“Sociological Observations of a Communications Revolution: Introducing Mobile Telephones in a Developing South East Asian Nation” by May Lwin

Also on Wednesday, the Bryn Mawr College Department of Sociology hosted a public lecture presented by May Lwin, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research on “Sociological Observations of a Communications Revolution: Introducing Mobile Telephones in a Developing South East Asian Nation” focused on cellphone usage in Myanmar. May Lwin was born in Myanmar before moving to Singapore during her childhood. She graduated with honors from Bryn Mawr with a B.A. in sociology in 1986.82bad0b9-0d3d-4c6d-9933-c6d626238163 Continue reading

“Sexual Liberation, Socialist Style. Gender, Sex, and Politics in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989” by Katerina Liskova

Today, my history professor Anita Kurimay brought visiting guest speaker, and Assistant Professor of Sociology at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, Katerina Liskova to our class to sit in on our discussion on how communist leaders, intellectuals, and everyday people responded to the suppression of reform movements in East Central Europe.

unnamedWe focused on anti-politics and ethics as a means for people to stop participating in public life away from Communist party scrutiny. People had stopped believing in “socialism with a human face” and instead turned to private life, religion, culture, moral issues, ethics, and anti-politics.

Katerina Liskova’s area of interest is in sexology, which involves aspects of both private and public life. Her opinion on anti-politics in East Central Europe was that it was sometimes difficult to separate private and public life when the Communist party was heavily invested in the reproductive health of their people as a reflection of the growth and strength of socialism.

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