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Ada Cheng

Ada Cheng

Storyteller Ada Cheng mixes personal narrative and history to engage audiences in the experiences of Asian Americans and immigrants and uncover truths about the urgent social concerns of our time.

Ada is a dynamic public speaker with decades of experience and is adept at adapting her presentations to different audiences to create an engaging and educational experience for all. She has a deep commitment to public education, the arts, and performing, all of which allow her to present information with creativity and passion.

Presentation 1 of 2
Available

Yellow Peril Past and Present: Understanding Asian America through Personal and Historical Stories

This presentation/performance offers an exciting mixture of intimate personal storytelling and mini-presentations packed with historical information. Dr. Ada Cheng will weave personal stories to highlight the myth of the model minority, the image of the perpetual foreigner, practices of othering via micro-aggression, and the negative impact of stereotypes and practices on Asian Americans and their mental health during the global pandemic.

Along with intimate storytelling, Ada will present, from a historical perspective, the various laws and regulations that have contributed to the construction of Asian Americans as the “other” in this country historically. The session is highly interactive.

Program Logistics

The presentation takes approximately 45 minutes, with extra time at the end for Q&A, making it approximately one hour. No equipment is necessary.

  

黄祸的过去与现在:

通过个人和历史故事了解亚裔美国人

该演示/表演将亲密的个人故事讲述和充满历史信息的迷你演示融为一体。郑少芬博士将编织个人故事,突出模范少数族裔的神话、永远的外国人形象、通过微攻击进行他人的做法,以及全球经济全球化期间刻板印象和做法对亚裔美国人及其心理健康的负面影响。

除了亲密的故事讲述外,艾达还将从历史的角度呈现历史上促成亚裔美国人成为这个国家的“他者”的各种法律和法规。会议互动性很强。

项目物流

演示大约需要 45 分钟,最后还有额外的问答时间. 总共大约一小时。不需要任何设备。

亚裔美国人历史移民故事讲述

Presentation 2 of 2
Available

Our Words, Our Truths: Storytelling for Collective Identity and Community Engagement

This eclectic presentation will map out my own journey as an Asian American and immigrant storyteller and delineate how my personal stories reflect and mirror the urgent social concerns of our time. It also includes my experiences as a storytelling producer, who engages in community-based storytelling. This workshop aims to provide community builders with the foundational skill set to build intimate communities through storytelling.

The workshop includes the following components:

  • Why is storytelling important to our understanding of personal and collective experiences?
  • How can we use personal stories to critically reflect urgent social issues of our time, such as racism, xenophobia, gender-based violence, etc.?
  • What does community-based storytelling mean? How do we use personal storytelling for collective identity formation and community engagement?
  • How can we strategically use storytelling to address the issue of equity, beyond diversity and inclusion?

Program Logistics

The presentation takes approximately 45 minutes, with extra time at the end for Q&A, making it approximately one hour. No equipment is necessary.

  

我们的话语,我们的真理:

讲故事以实现集体身份和社区参与

这个不拘一格的演讲将勾勒出我作为一名亚裔美国人和移民故事讲述者的旅程,并描述我的个人故事如何反映和反映我们这个时代紧迫的社会问题。它还包括我作为讲故事制作人的经历,从事基于社区的讲故事。本研讨会旨在为社区建设者提供通过讲故事建立亲密社区的基本技能。

研讨会包括以下组成部分:

为什么讲故事对于我们理解个人和集体经历很重要?

我们如何利用个人故事批判性地反映我们这个时代紧迫的社会问题,例如种族主义、仇外心理、性别暴力等?

基于社区的故事讲述意味着什么?我们如何利用个人故事讲述来形成集体身份和社区参与?

除了多样性和包容性之外,我们如何战略性地利用讲故事来解决公平问题?

项目物流

演示大约需要 45 分钟,最后还有额外的问答时间.

总共大约一小时。不需要任何设备。

Bio

An educator-turned artist, storyteller, and creator, Dr. Ada Cheng has utilized storytelling to illustrate structural inequities, raise critical awareness, and build intimate communities. Committed to amplifying and uplifting marginalized voices, she has created numerous storytelling platforms for BIPOC and LGBTQIA community members to tell difficult and vulnerable stories. Since she resigned from her tenured position in sociology at DePaul University in 2016, she has been featured at storytelling shows and performed her two solo performances at theaters, universities, and conferences across the nation.

Dr. Cheng has partnered with numerous community and cultural organizations across the state for her storytelling platforms, including Chinese American Museum of Chicago, National Cambodian Heritage Museum, Japanese American Service Committee, i2i: Invisible to Invincible Asian Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago, Center on Halsted, DeKalb County History Center, and Ellwood House Museum. She features community members as tellers and brings these events to community spaces for critical engagement and alliance building. 

Dr. Cheng has been a Road Scholar since 2019. She is the 2023-24 Lund Gill Chair at Dominican University. She is one of the 2024 IH Public Humanities Award honorees. Her interests encompass academia, storytelling/performance, and advocacy.

Ada Cheng sitting with leather boots

Book this Road Scholar

Follow the steps below to book a presentation.
  1. Contact Ada to schedule a date and time via email at sj.ada.cheng@gmail.com or phone at (773) 806-9674.
  2. Once you and Ada have agreed upon a date and time, complete the online Road Scholars Host Organization application.
Contact Us

Nicole Rodriguez
Senior Manager of Community Conversations

speakers@ilhumanities.org
(312) 374-1558