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Author Talk with Annelise Heinz -All Alexandria Reads

Mahjong: A Chinese Game & The Making of American Culture

Mahjong is an Oregon Book Award finalist in Nonfiction and has been featured by National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, and the South China Morning Post.

Join us for a conversation with author, historian, and professor Annelise Heinz as she discusses her research for the book, the complex history behind mahjong and provides critical insights into the way this game helped with the formation of American ethnic identities, the role of women in transnational consumerism, and the significance of leisure as a source of cultural meaning and identity. 

Mahjong narrates the history of this game to show how it has created a variety of meanings, among them American modernity, Chinese American heritage, and Jewish American women's culture. As it traveled from China to the United States and caught on with Hollywood starlets, high society, middle-class housewives, and immigrants alike, mahjong became a quintessentially American pastime.

Read more about the author's biography and upcoming works here.

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