21/01/2026
In the age of artificial intelligence, questions of how individuals connect, collaborate, and create meaning together have become newly urgent.
This talk explores these questions through the lived experience of Chinaβs D**g (Kam) communities, whose social harmony and communal decision-making have long relied on non-hierarchical communication, embodied in music, ritual, and space. Rather than presenting the D**g as an object of study, this conversation uses their example as a lens to rethink our own moment: what might their ways of listening, negotiating, and belonging teach us about building humane connections in the post-AI world?
Guest Speaker: Yiyuan Shi
Host: Feifan Lou
Moderator: Dr Ashley Xiong
Bamboo Flute (Dizi) Artist: Zongpu Lu
Pianist: Bingbing Jiang
Composer: Ray Lin
π Time
Saturday, 31st January 2026, 15:00β17:00
πVenue
New Music Room, St Johnβs College
Tickets can be found here
https://fixr.co/event/from-the-mountain-village-to-the-world-a-dialogue-tickets-304848081
We hope to hear how scholars in literature, digital humanities, cross-cultural studies and creative practice approach similar questions in their own work. It aims to foster an interdisciplinary exchange on how narrative, art, and collective imagination might reshape human connection in a technological age.
This event is open to all, with limited capacity. Those who wish to attend are encouraged to reserve a free ticket in advance - ticket holders will be given priority entry.
We look forward to seeing you at St Johnβs College for an afternoon of thought, music, and dialogue.