[Public Talk] Night Studies: The emergence of a field
Speaker: Prof. Will Straw
Date: May 20th, 2025
Time: 5:00PM-6:30PM
Venue: Wong Foo Yuan Building LT4 (UG/F), CUHK
Moderator: Prof. Yongwoo Lee
Registration: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/mycuform/view.php?id=3431981
Abstract
The night, of course, has always been a feature of the natural and social worlds. Nevertheless, the emergence of an academic field known as “night studies” may be traced to the mid-2010s. Since then, an association devoted to “night studies,” dozens of conferences large and small, special issues of journals, gallery exhibitions and innumerable books have been devoted to the night in its cultural, social and aesthetic dimensions. At the same time, as cities appoint “night mayors” or work to develop their “night time economies,” the night has become a significant object of public policy at all levels of government. This presentation will offer explanations as to why the interdisciplinary field of “night studies” has taken shape only recently. It will also provide an overview of some of the key themes and directions marking this terrain of academic research.
Biography
Will Straw is James McGill Emeritus Professor of Urban Media Studies at McGill University in Montreal. He is a past President of the Canadian Communications Association and a recipient of the David Thomson Award for Graduate Teaching and Supervision at McGill University. Dr. Straw is the author of Cyanide and Sin: Visualizing Crime in 1950s America (2006) and of the forthcoming Nights in Fairyland: Gossip, blackmail and the many lives of Broadway Brevities (Autumn, 2025). He is the author of over 200 articles on film, media, music and cities, and co-editor of over 20 volumes, including Circulation and the City, Formes Urbaines, Night Studies and the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of the Night Time Economy.
This event is organized by the Master of Arts in Cultural Management Programme, CUHK and supported by the Centre for Cultural Studies, CUHK.
Enquiry: haoqianyu@cuhk.edu.hk