At the US China Peoples Friendship Association-Chicago Chapter meeting on August 21, Professor Dora Chen will give a talk on "Three Generations of Women in China:From Footbinding to Business Dress."
Dora Chen is former Professor, Fudan University. Her life has spanned over 7 decades in China and the U.S. She will use reminiscences about episodes and circumstances in the lives, in China, of her grandmother, her mother, her mother-in-law and herself, together with observations about the contemporary life of women in China, to tell the broader story and explain the condition of women in China during the past three generations. For a period of time Dora served as a professor of English at China's Fudan University, and Chapter board member Jane Wu considers herself fortunate to have been one of Dora's Fudan students.
Dora's story will include anecdotes and commentary about the Chinese socialites and wealthy families following the 1911 revolution, Dora's experiences as a woman during the Cultural Revolution in China, and the contemporary career and business woman in China today. Dora's perspective and insights are heightened by the contrast she has been able to witness by her corresponding life in the U.S., as well as China. Dora attended Smith College, in the U.S., and returned to the U.S. in the early 80's.