Michela BONATO

My de-performative CV:
I have been addicted to critical space since I took my first steps in a remote village in northern Italy. I am a crochetera. I have been practicing yoga since 2012. I was a swimmer. I speak five languages despite the many attempts at silencing my presence. I dance salsa to remind myself to love my body and soul constantly. I acknowledge being the product of late capitalism. I fight nativism, colonialism(s), and specism. I have been vegan since 2019. If you see temporal breaks in my professional CV, please consider those ‘holes/wells’ full of non-performative acts of care towards myself and the people I hold dear. I will not provide medical reports.

what I do:
I am a political geographer/sinologist. I am trained in qualitative methods. I have been investigating urban-rural development in Chinese southwestern peripheries since 2011. I possess extensive analytical skills, strong attention to detail, and a significant ability to work in multicultural environments.

Fields of Interest: Chinese urban-rural development; decolonial approach; tourism geopolitics; border as method

Current Position: Precaria, arbeitslos,谋职, looking for postdoc positions

EDUCATION

Dr.Phil., Geography/Human Geography (June 2020), Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany. Dissertation: “Spatialization of Happiness in Chongqing Watershed”, awarded cum laude
Advisors: Prof. Dr. Hans Gebhardt (Geography), Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler (Chinese Studies)

MA, East Asian Languages and Cultures (China), Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy (September 2009 to February 2012), 110 out of 110 summa cum laude. Thesis on Chongqing demographic and urban history.

BA, East Asian Languages and Cultures (China), Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy (September 2006 to July 2009). Thesis on Qigong discipline. 

PREVIOUS POSITIONS

01/01/2023–31/12/2024 Post-Doc, Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and The Ancient World (DiSSGeA), University of Padua, Italy

01/09/2022–01/09/2023 Adjunct Lecturer at Ca’ Foscari University Venice & University of Pavia, Italy

01/09/2021–01/09/2022 Adjunct Lecturer, University of Pavia, Italy

01/10/2020–01/09/2021 Adjunct Lecturer, University of Catania, Italy

01/09/2021–01/09/2023 Teaching Assistant Senior, Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy

01/09/2014–31/07/2015 Visiting Researcher, Institute of Geography, Southwest University Chongqing, China (China Scholarship Council scholarship and Italian Foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; funding body: China Scholarship Council). Project: Historical Analysis of Chongqing Water Management (part of the PhD Project)

01/01/2014–31/03/2014 Graduate Assistant, Institute of Geography/Chair of Human Geography, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany

FUNDING RECEIVED

2014 China Scholarship Council and Italian Foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (funding body: China Scholarship Council), 11-month postgraduate research fellowship

PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH PROJECTS

01/01/2023 – 31/12/2024 Post-Doc project (P.I. Prof. Chiara Rabbiosi; funding body: DiSSGeA, UNIPD, prot. BIRD220431). Title: Travelling Europe(s): rethinking Europeanisation through tourism mobilities performances

RESEARCH GROUPS AND NETWORKS

2023 on - Transfeminist Geographers Group of Mutual Care and Awareness in Academia (co-founder)

2023 Online Research Group on WeChat (digital) Ethnography

2022 AgeS (Centro di ricerche antropologiche geografiche e storiche dal medioevo all’età contemporanea), Department of Humanities, Ca’ Foscari

2021–2022 Urban Knowledge Network Asia UKNA at IIAS, Leiden (online) | Symposium: “Neighborhood Transformation in East Asian Cities: Is ‘Gentrification’ the Right Frame of Reference?”

2021–2022 CHAIN Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network, Dept. of Humanities, Univ. of Catania

TEACHING, SUPERVISING AND MENTORING ACTIVITIES

Adjunct Lecturer in the following courses:

a.y. 2024-2025: Political-Economic Geography (B.A., 30h), Dept. of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Italy; Chinese Culture and Society (B.A., 30h, in English), Dept. of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy.

M.A. Thesis Supervisor: 1 (M.A. Language and Management to China, Ca’ Foscari University Venice)

a.y. 2023-2024: Political-Economic Geography (B.A., 30h), Dept. of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Italy; Chinese Language 1 (B.A., 30h), Dept. of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy; Chinese Culture and Society (B.A., 30h, in English), Dept. of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy.

M.A. Thesis Co-supervisor: 1 (DiSSGeA, University of Padua, Italy)

a.y. 2022-2023: Cina Oggi [Introduction to Chinese culture and society] (B.A., 30h), Lingua Cinese per la Comunicazione di Base [Basic Chinese Language] (B.A., 30h), Dept. of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy; Geography I, M-Z (B.A., 30h), Dept. of Humanities, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy; Didactics of Geography (B.A., 36h), Dept. of Humanities, University of Pavia, Italy.

B.A. Thesis Supervisor: 1 (Dept. of Humanities, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy)

a.y. 2021-2022: Didactics of Geography (B.A., 36h), Dept. of Humanities, University of Pavia, Italy

a.y. 2020-2021: Chinese Language and Translation 1 (B.A., 42h), Dept. of Humanities, University of Catania, Italy (online)

Other: Teaching Assistant Senior, Dept. of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy (Sept 2021–Sept 2023); Adjunct Lecturer of English Language, Chongqing Normal University, PRC (09/2014–06/2015) (volunteering)

• Winter Term 2024 (within the course Political-Economic Geography, Ca’ Foscari): research workshop (3-hour introductory training on creative, collaborative methods for ethnographic fieldwork) and organisation of a half-day ethnographic fieldwork in Treviso (application of scaffolding method; students’ self-organised fieldwork on topics related to heritage space, mobility, and spatialities of political power)
• Winter Term 2024 (within the course Chinese Culture and Society, Ca’ Foscari University): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on creative, collaborative cartography, multimodal critical discourse analysis and storytelling for digital ethnographic fieldwork with China-related data)
• Winter Term 2023 (within the course Political-Economic Geography, Ca’ Foscari): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on multimodal critical discourse analysis for digital ethnographic fieldwork)
• Winter Term 2023 (within the course Chinese Culture and Society, Ca’ Foscari University): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on creative, collaborative cartography, multimodal critical discourse analysis and storytelling for digital ethnographic fieldwork with China-related data)
• Summer Term 2023 (within the course Didactics of Geography, University of Pavia): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on multimodal critical discourse analysis and storytelling for digital ethnographic fieldwork)
• Summer Term 2023 (within the course Geography I, M-Z, Ca’ Foscari University): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on multimodal critical discourse analysis and storytelling for digital ethnographic fieldwork)
• Winter Term 2022 (within the course Cina Oggi, Ca’ Foscari University): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on creative, collaborative cartography, multimodal critical discourse analysis and storytelling for digital ethnographic fieldwork)
• Summer Term 2022 (within the course Didactics of Geography, University of Pavia): research workshop (3-hour introductory training and exploratory exercises on multimodal critical discourse analysis for digital ethnographic fieldwork) and organisation of a half-day excursion in Pavia (application of scaffolding method and students’ self-organised, creative presentations on topics related to heritage space, mobility, and spatialities of political power)

ADDITIONAL (IR-)RELEVANT/IRREVERENT WORKING EXPERIENCE

18–23/07/2022 Panel co-chair at the Online Summer School “EU-China Cooperation - Between Green Transition and Global Energy Competition,” Centro Studi Cina Contemporanea, Reggio Emilia, Italy

07/2021 Panel co-chair at the Online Summer School “EU-China Cooperation: Green Transition and Digital Economy Between National Policies and Multipolarism,” Centro Studi Cina Contemporanea, Reggio Emilia, Italy

01–06/2016 Research Project Design and Implementation: “Information Security Awareness - the Employee Experience” at SAP SE, Walldorf, Germany (advisor: K. Schimmer, Director; qualitative method: 100+ semi-structured interviews via Skype for Business)

2013, 2014 Freelance Interpreter English, Italian at Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, Germany

2012 Internship (press room) at FEFF Far East Film Festival Udine, Italy

2004-2015 advanced experience as a waitress in restaurants, catering service, and ice parlours; swimming instructor; kindergarten support teacher

MOBILITY, RESEARCH EXPEDITIONS AND ADDITIONAL TRAINING

06/2024 Individual mission (ethnographic fieldwork in urban and heritage sites), Uzbekistan 

03/2024 Individual mission (ethnographic fieldwork in urban and heritage sites), PRC 

01/2024 Individual mission (ethnographic fieldwork in urban and heritage sites), Uzbekistan

08/2023 Individual mission (ethnographic fieldwork in urban and heritage sites), PRC

31/07–04/08/2023 Summer School Remote Ethnography – a methodological toolkit, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic (partial scholarship funded by summer school organisers)

13–16/06/2023 Campeggio di Geografia Critica [critical geographers’ retreat], Assemblea Permanente Smarginando, Tularù, Rieti, Italy

12/06/2023 Giornata di Studio Geografia Attiva [applied geography workshop], Società Geografica, Rome, Italy

30/03-01/04/2023 Workshop “Worldmaking in a Sinophone context: Conceptions, processes and practices”, Universität Würzburg, Frankfurt (Main), Germany (mobility funded by the organisers)

29–31/08/2022, Sustainable governance of water resources in response to the growing thirst for water and energy Summer School (scholarship), funding body: GecoAgri-LandItaly and University of Foggia, Rieti, Italy

07–12/2021 “Development and International Cooperation” Diploma, Italian Institute for International Political Studies ISPI, Milan, Italy

01–06/2021 Italian Ministry of Education Teacher Training “PF24” (24 ECTS), Ca’ Foscari University, Italy

02–30/11/2020 “WeTell” Summer School: Innovating Storytelling to Address Civic Awareness (final grade 30/30; 6 ECTS), University of Bologna, Italy (online)

21–22/03/2016 China Law Research Workshop, University of Helsinki (mobility funded by the Kurt-Hiehle-Stiftung)

07/2013 ToChina Summer School (full scholarship), University of Turin, Italy

01–30/09/2011 Individual mission (ethnographic fieldwork and archive research), Chongqing, PRC

09/2010–05/2011 Visiting Graduate Student - Erasmus Program at the Institute of Chinese Studies (Ca’ Foscari Erasmus Scholarship), Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany

01–06/2009 Visiting Undergraduate Student (Intensive Chinese Course), Capital Normal University Beijing, PRC

GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND HONORS

2023 DiSSGeA Funds, University of Padua, Italy, to take part in Smarginando – Campeggio di Geografia Critica, Tularù, Rieti, and Giornata di Studio Geografia Attiva, Società Geografica Italiana, Rome

2022 Scholarship, GecoAgri-LandItaly Rieti, Italy, Sustainable governance of water resources in response to the growing thirst for water and energy Summer School

2022 Mention of Merit (Menzione di Merito) to the PhD thesis on Chongqing housing spatial distribution and governance, Premio Lorenzo Bargellini 2021 (national competition), III Edizione (Third Edition), Florence, Italy

2014–2015 China Scholarship Council via the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Southwest University Chongqing, PRC (11 months)

2013–2014 Kurt-Hiehle-Stiftung Travel Grants, Institute of Geography, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany (1,000 EUR)

2013 Full Fellowship, ToChina Summer School, University of Turin, Italy

2010–2011 Erasmus Program Scholarship, Ca’ Foscari University, Italy

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS (selection)

2024 August 27–30 Paper “The role of the Cultural Routes in the making of a digital Europe: a geopolitical-material assemblage”, RGS-IGB Annual Conference, London, Great Britain

2024 August 22–24 Paper “Deframing the European Cultural Routes as Cultural Infrastructure: Geopolitical Entanglements”, IGU Commission on Political Geography pre-conference, Belfast, Great Britain

2024 July 28–August 1 Paper “Peripheral Urban Gardening or Rural Heritage: Crop and Vegetables Fields as Liminal Spaces of Economic and Cultural Negotiation in a Chinese Megacity”; Poster “Urban Waterscapes and Modern Citizenship: Green Narratives and Performative Diversions in The Chinese Ecological Society”, ICAS 13, Surabaya, Indonesia

2024 July 9–11 Paper “Chinese tourist digital ecosystem and Europeanisation spatialities: a multi-modal discourse analysis of storytelling practices”, 10th International Conference EATSA, Karlsruhe, Germany

2024 June 27–28 Paper “Gli Itinerari Culturali del Consiglio d’Europa: infrastruttura culturale e soft power geopolitico”, session “Patrimonio e Memoria: forme e fini della (ri)produzione politica del passato per il presente,” co-organised session with Giuseppe Muti, Giornate di studio interdisciplinare “Geografia e Patrimonio,” Società di Studi Geografici, University of East Piedmont, Vercelli, Italy

2023 November 7–9 Paper “Assemblaggi discorsivi per touristscapes europei: il caso degli itinerari culturali”, Seminar “Crossing disciplinary gazes on landscape: a cultural approach”, DiSSGeA and University of Geneva, Padua, Italy

2023 June 7–10 Paper “Re-making Europe(s) through touristscapes: questioning the EU projects by following the tourist place/digital performances”; Poster “The uncertainty of nature in Chongqing: environmental crisis discourses and housing practices re-shaping the local urban space(s)”, SIEF, Brno, Czech Republic

2023 May 16–19 Paper “Place names and gentrification in Southwest China”; GLOCAL CALA 2022, University of The Philippines Diliman, The Philippines

2023 May 5–6 Paper “Integrated urban-rural planning in southwest China: ambiguous narratives and practices of urban sustainability”; International Workshop “East and West in Korean Studies” Project – “Re-thinking the Cityscape in South Korea, East Asia and beyond: Ecological and Cultural Entanglements in a Post-Pandemic World”, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy (invited)

2023 March 31–April 1 Paper “Place names and new social worlds in Southwest China”; Workshop “Worldmaking in a Sinophone context: Conceptions, processes and practices”, Universität Würzburg, Frankfurt (Main), Germany

2023 February 09–10 Paper “Digital ethnographer as a (perhaps) forgotten guest: the case of a teacher-student chat during Covid-19 lockdown in China”, Workshop “WeChat Ethnography: New Practices and Limits of an Emerging Research Method”, University of Geneva, Switzerland (Online)

2022 December 19–21 Paper “From Beverly Hills to Shangri-La and beyond: a conjunctural analysis of Southwest China politicized residential spaces,” The SOAS GLOCAL CALA 2022 Webinar, University of The Philippines Diliman, The Philippines (Online)

2022 December 09 Paper “Paesaggi d’acqua diffusi e il plasmarsi di una nuova cittadinanza: pratiche sociali negate, riscritte, inscritte nel territorio urbano di Chongqing”, Giornata di Studio “Oltre la globalizzazione – Narrazioni / Narratives”, Società di Studi Geografici, University of Insubria, Como, Italy

2022 September 12–17 Paper “Alternative citizenship practices: liminal spaces and disruptive urban transformation in Chongqing,” DOT, FU Berlin, Germany

2022 July 18–22 Paper “Chongqing as a cultural hub in Southwest China: heritage manipulation and the quest for differentiation,” UGI-IGU Centennial Congress, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Online)

2022 May 18–20 Paper “From street display to online discourse: the spatial trajectories of heritage as a resource for Chinese politics,” Crisis and Cultural Heritage Conference, CHAIN, University of Catania, Italy (Online)

2022 May 15–17 Paper “The making of a ‘gentry-focused district’ in Chongqing, China: political and advertising discourses,” Symposium “Neighborhood Transformation in East Asian Cities: Is ‘Gentrification’ the Right Frame of Reference?”, UKNA, Chiba, Japan (Online)

2021 August 24–27 E-Poster “Narratives of Forest Conservation: Insights from Chongqing, China,” ICAS 12, Kyoto Seika University, Japan (Online)

2021 August 24–27 Paper “Rationalities of Green Urbanization in Chongqing: Local Environment at the Service of Eco-Capitalist Logics?” ICAS 12, Kyoto Seika University, Japan (Online)

2021 February 11–12 Paper “New spatiality for the elderly: upscale housing market and landscape management in Chongqing,” Well-Being and Cultural Heritage Conference, CHAIN, University of Catania (Online) 

2019 July 16–19 Paper “Shaping historical memories in Chongqing: Local urban politics and the legacy of the Republican Period,” ICAS 11, Leiden, The Netherlands

INVITED LECTURES AND TALKS

2025 “Una concezione geografica di heritage?”, B.A. Course Cultural Geography, DFBC, Ca’ Foscari University (1.5-hour seminar, April 14)

2025 “‘Scoprire il mondo:’ geografia, esplorazioni e colonialismo”, B.A. Course Cultural Geography, DFBC, Ca’ Foscari University (1.5-hour seminar, March 28)

2024 “Itinerari culturali del Consiglio d’Europa tra sguardi ‘interni’ e ‘sguardi esterni’”, B.A. Course Valorizzazione Turistica e Promozione del Paesaggio, DiSSGeA, University of Padua, Italy (1,5-hour seminar, November 20)

2023 “Itinerari culturali del Consiglio d’Europa e europeizzazione”, B.A. Course Valorizzazione Turistica e Promozione del Paesaggio, DiSSGeA, University of Padua, Italy (1,5-hour seminar, November 29)

2022 “Happiness and Housing Conditions in Chongqing: spatial distribution and symbolism of green gentrification,” Premio Lorenzo Bargellini Third Edition, Circolo di Castello, Florence, Italy (presentation and round table, June 4)

2021 “Landscape Representations: A historical overview (1949-2000),” B.A. Course History of China 2, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (1,5-hour seminar, December 16)

2021 “Environment and Economy: Spatio-temporal entanglements (1949-2000),” B.A. Course History of China 2, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (1,5-hour seminar, November 25)

2021 “Territory and Resource Fragmentation: The cases of Manchuria and Sichuan areas (1920-1945),” B.A. Course History of China 2, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (1,5-hour seminar, November 18)

2021 “Chinese Modernity After the Opium Wars: economic and knowledge networks, infrastructure and identity,” B.A. Course History of China 2, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (1,5-hour seminar, November 4)

2020 “Chongqing urban projects: power narratives between heritage and memory,” M.A. Course History of Modern and Contemporary China, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (1,5-hour seminar, December 15)

2020 “Metaphors and Language: Into the Reception of Coronavirus Crisis in China, Germany and France” (with M. Mileto and M.G. Manduzio), WeTell Summer School: Innovating Storytelling to Address Civic Awareness, University of Bologna (November 27)

2016 “Information Security Awareness - the Employee Experience” Internal Report Presentation and round table with the Information Security team at SAP SE, Walldorf, Germany

2015 “意大利经济地理：本地经济网络系统之发展的比较分析” [Italy’s economic geography: evaluating the development of local economic networks], Course Economic Geography, Southwest University Chongqing, PRC (1,5 hours M.A. seminar, April 16)

RELEVANT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

2021 External collaborator at Sinosfere (academic journal); 2020-2023 Freelance at the Centro Studi sulla Cina Contemporanea, Reggio Emilia, Italy [writing of reports on Chinese urban and environmental policies] 2016 Short movie production: “The Shore/Bi an” (with Huang, L., Meng, M., Rachel, L., Shao, T., Wang, Y., Wu, J., Zeng, G., Zhang, Y., Zhou, H.). (responsible for script co-writing; poster; b/w captions). https://katalog.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/cgi-bin/titel.cgi?katkey=68024623 [public screening at DAI Heidelberg and online dissemination] 2015 participant at the Photo Exhibition “Wasser ist Leben” (ZASS Stiftung, Köln) [on water and environmental issues]; 2015 AIMUN Delegate (Peking University Asian International Model United Nations); 2014 participant at the Photo Exhibition “¿fremd_bilder?” (Schwarzweiss e.V., Heidelberg) [on framing (de)coloniality]; 2014 Logo design for the Green City Academic Association 绿色城市学会; 2012–2015 member of the Collective “Zaijietou - On the street” (group of Chinese street photographers); 2012 Group leader at the Training Course “Youth Environment Strategy” funded by the Youth in Action Program (LLP), EU. Youth Pass 4.3. Targu Jiu, Romania

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Italian (native). English, Chinese HSK6, German DSH2 (advanced); Spanish (intermediate/advanced).

DIGITAL SKILLS

Office Suite; Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator); blogging (WordPress); social media (Facebook; Instagram; WeChat); video conferencing (Zoom; Teams); QDA Miner Lite (qualitative coding); QGIS (basic)

MEMBERSHIPS

• 2016 EASA European Association of Social Anthropologists
• 2020 Società di Studi Geografici (Society for Geographical Studies)
• 2020 AAS Association for Asian Studies
• 2021 AISC Italian Association for Chinese Studies
• 2021 EACS European Association for Chinese Studies