Yun Emily Wang is fascinated by sound. Her interest was originally rooted in the study of music, but has since broadened in scope to sounds of all kinds as they relate to social processes. In her 2012 Threesis presentation, Emily explored the connection between “noisy-hot” social sounds (“basically a dense soundscape of human social sounds: talking, walking, bargaining, etc.”) in the night markets of Taipei and “how these sounds are used to articulate my interlocutors’ versions of Taiwanese identity.” She decided to participate in the Threesis Challenge because, “it sounded kind of fun and certainly less stressful than giving a conference paper.” She found the interdisciplinary environment and challenge of conveying her research to a broad audience a rewarding experience that taught her valuable skills. These skills have carried on in the years since the competition. “The Threesis was a low-stress but high-reward experience, and I think it continues to be–I am probably waxing poetic here, but I think the challenge of explaining a complex project succinctly and in relatable ways continues long after the Threesis event has concluded. I’ve had to tap into these skills, which I only started thinking about developing for the Threesis, every time I apply for a grant, ask a fieldwork interlocutor for an interview, or see my family.”
Currently, Emily studies at the University of Toronto as a PhD student in ethnomusicology. Her current research “explores the roles of sound music in the everyday homemaking processes among Chinese diaspora in Toronto.” In addition to her work within Toronto, she will be traveling to Taiwan for three months this summer on the Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement grant. Her advice to future Threesis competitors? “Have fun. Literally tell your three minutes to your grandma. If you can’t squeeze everything in three minutes, it’s probably because you don’t understand your project enough, and not because your project is impossibly complex.”