Teachers of the Inner Chambers：Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century China

ProfessorKo’sresearchinterestistheeverydaylivesofwomeninChina–alongwiththedomesticobjectstheymadebyhand–asasignificantpartofcountry’scultural,economicandpoliticaldevelopment.Sheworksattheintersectionsofanthropology,history,andwomen’sstudies.Ko’srecentbook,CinderellaSisters:ARevisionistHistoryofFootbinding,publishedin2005,shatteredthepopularconceptionoffootbindingasatooltooppresswomenanddemonstratedthatitwasinsteadasourceoffemaleidentity,purpose,pride,andpower.ItwontheJoanKellyMemorialPrizeoftheAmericanHistoricalAssociation,Recently,shehasbeenturningherattentiontotheskillsofwomen’sartisanssuchasembroiderers,stonecarvers,andceramicartists.Herresearchduringspringsemester,2004,asaseniorfellowattheHopkins-NanjingCenter’sInstituteforInternationalResearchinNanjing,focusedontheimportanceofancientartofsilk-weavingforastudyofthedress-makingtraditionanddomesticworkcultureinChina’ssilkindustryregion.Morerecently,asafellowattheNeedhamResearchInstituteinCambridge,England,inspring2007,sheresearchedancientswordsmithlegendsforinsightsintotherelationsbetweenbodilyinvestmentsandtransformationofmatter.InadditiontoCinderella’sSisters,Kohaswrittennumerousbooksandpublications,including“BetweentheBoudoirandtheGlobalMarket:ShenShou,EmbroideryandModernityattheTurnoftheTwentiethCentury,”inLookingModern(forthcoming),EveryStepaLotus(2001),andTeachersoftheInnerChambers(1994).Sheisalsoco-editorofWomenandConfucianCulturesinPre-modernChina,Korea,andJapan.Ko’scoursesincludeChineseculturalhistory,bodyhistories,womenandculturein17thcenturyChina,andConfuciancultures.KoearnedundergraduateandadvanceddegreesatStanfordUniversity,includingthedoctorate.Shehasreceivedanumberoffellowshipsandawards.ShewasamemberoftheSchoolofHistoricalStudiesattheInstituteforAdvancedStudy(2000-2001),afellowoftheJohnSimonGuggenheimMemorialFoundation(2000-2001)andafellowattheCenterforCriticalAnalysisofContemporaryCulture,RutgersUniversity(1999-2000).BeforejoiningtheBarnardfacultyin2001,ProfessorKotaughtatRutgersUniversity.