Biography
Xi studies modern Chinese art and architecture with Professor Wu Hung. Prior to entering the PhD program at the University of Chicago in 2012, she received her MA in Art History from University of Louisville. Her thesis focuses on a case study of the Paramount Ballroom, entitled “The Paramount Ballroom in the 1930s: A Modernist Social and Architectural Space.” It examines how this ballroom emerged, how it was interpreted by Chinese society, and the historical role it played in modernizing Shanghai’s urban space in the 1930s. She is particularly interested in how early 20th century Chinese art and architecture are borrowed, adopted, incorporated, and reinterpreted in both historical and cultural contexts.