Nina Zhou graduated from the University of Toronto with double majors in History and East Asian Studies in 2018. During her fourth year at college, she had the opportunity to participate in a research project led by Professor Lisa Mar. The project was supported by the Shirley Hune Chinese Canadian Oral History Fund for the training of students in oral history research around a topic pertaining to Chinese Canadian communities. Through this process, she conducted research about the history of Cantonese Opera in Toronto; organizing and archiving the material, interviewing community members, and became increasingly interested in the storytelling on the history of immigration. Her research looks at the role of Cantonese Opera in post-WWII Chinatown community formation, investigates on how the theatrical performance functioned as a tool for ameliorating various stressors and barriers of immigrants’ lives in the second half of the twentieth century, as well as the capacity of mechanics of Cantonese Opera to transmit cultural values and memories.

Nina’s background and experience found her passion in storytelling, where the collective memory in society are documented through first person narratives. She is thrilled to join the OHMA 2020 cohort and hopes to explore further on themes of migration and solidarities associated with the Chinese diaspora.