Aydin Quach (he/him/his)
Aydin is a first-year MA student in the Department of History at UBC. He received his BA from UBC in Honours History with International Relations as well as Chinese Language and Culture. His specialization and research are in sex, gender, and sexuality in Post-WW2 Malaysia and Singapore. Specifically, he is interested in dynamics of sex work in the late 19th and early 20th Century of Southeast Asia as well as the construction of masculinity as a tool for nationalism and national security as Southeast Asian countries developed independence after WW2. Guiding his research is the question: “How are military service and culture notions of manhood used as a way to “harden” men for the sake of security?”
Outside of his formal research as a historian, Aydin is also a researcher with the UBC School or Journalism with a focus on musicology and sociology of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and raves. He is interested in how raves act as a space where sex, gender, and sexuality are in flux and allow for the creation of a space for gay Asian (gaysian) men to affirm their queer identities. His approaches are informed by sensory studies, ethnography, and autoethnography. As a “gaysian” himself, he is interested in how club cultures and a global queer Asian network develops through raves and rave subcultures.
If not teaching a class or in class, you can find Aydin on the dance floor or dragon boating out on False Creek!