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Upcoming Events
Godzilla & Friends VII: The End of Godzilla!
Friday & Saturday, May 4–5
Washburn University, Henderson Center, Rm 112 (Topeka)
That big, green monster, Godzilla, will be returning to Washburn University for the 7th annual and final Godzilla & Friends Festival. This free event celebrates the cultural history behind the giant creature in all of its bizarre diversity. For a schedule of screenings and events, visit http://www.godzilla-friends.org/
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Past Events (Academic Year 2011-2012)
Lecture: Luo Lianggong, “Langston Hughes in China”
Monday, April 30 || 12 noon
Watson Library, Room 503
Luo Lianggong will discuss Langston Hughes’s 1933 trip to China and the scholarship surrounding that visit. Luo Lianggong is Professor of English and Director of the Centre for English Literatures, Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, Central China Normal University. Co-sponsored by the Project on the History of Black Writing, CEAS, the Langston Hughes Center, and the Dept. of English.
“Afghanistan 2014 and Impacts on Global Security Identities”
Third Annual KU-Ft. Leavenworth Security Conference
Wednesday, April 25
8 am-5 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
The subject of this year’s conference assumes the reduction of the United States and international military presence in Afghanistan after 2014, and that this will result in significant changes in the global security environment. The United States and its partners consider that Afghanistan will have adequate means of security, albeit with long-term assistance. However, the specific security perspectives and concerns of other regional and global actors have not been as well articulated. Who are the key regional and global players? What do neighboring states think are critical concerns in the post-Afghan-war environment? How do other, more distant countries and global actors view anticipated changes in the global security environment? Keynote speakers include Graeme Herd (Geneva Centre for Security Policy), Roger Kangas (Dean, Near East and South Asia Center), and Marlene Laruelle (Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), George Washington University). The conference is free and open to the public, but participants must register by 5pm on Friday, April 20. It is made possible by Title VI Department of Education National Resource Center grants and a KU-Ft. Leavenworth Army Research Labs Grant. For more information and to register: www.crees.ku.edu and follow the conference link in the announcements section.
Lecture: Hitomi Tonomura, "Samurai Beyond Tom Cruise: Letters of a Family Man in the Fourteenth-century War"
Thursday, April 12 || 7 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
The samurai are one of the most enduring cultural species the world has ever known. For more than a millennium, they and their choreographers have worked hard to trumpet their heroic virtues and legitimize their existence by constructing stories, images, and slogans. “Samurai Blue,” which hopes to play in FIFA World Cup, and my student who showed up in a samurai garb on Halloween illustrate the perennial success of samurai image-production. But who were the samurai? We take a small slice of their long and complex history by focusing on a major and violent fourteenth century war, depicted graphically in the Tale of Grand Peace (Taiheiki). While this famous Tale offers us an unforgettable vision of courage to kill and die, another set of writings tells us a different story. In the 1990s, priests at a temple near Tokyo came upon old letters sunk in the neck crevice of a Boddhisatva statue. The letters, numbering more than fifty, bear the signature of an undistinguished conscript, Yamanouchi, who apparently sent them from his camp to his son and wife back home. Unlike the Tale, which came to be recited throughout the centuries, Yamanouchi’s voice would have vanished into oblivion, had it not been for this extraordinary discovery. These letters recast the meaning of violence and the samurai's reality, especially viewed against the beloved Tale of Grand Peace (Taiheiki).
Annual Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies: Gregory M. Pflugfelder, “Private Parts and Public Concerns: Erecting the Modern Japanese Penis”
Wednesday, March 28 || 7:30 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
Critical theory, especially of a Freudian-inflected variety, has produced a rich account of the phallus as a cultural symbol. As this lecture demonstrates, however, a history of the body that takes seriously the actual penis can be no less eye-opening. In modern times, penises have been concealed, cleansed, inspected, manipulated, measured, and subjected to other forms of social regulation and medical normalization, in addition to their physiological functions in sexual arousal, urination, and reproduction. In Japan and other places, modernity has also given rise to what might be called a “penis industry”—a complex of urological knowledge, business interests, and advertising media that, by instilling a fear in young males that their genitalia embody a shameful departure from the physical norm, encourage them to part with their cash in order to receive one or another kind of treatment. This lecture traces the emergence of the penis industry in early twentieth-century Japan, focusing on the advertising strategies that its entrepreneurs developed in print to promote a distinctively modern form of psychological anxiety.
Lecture: Carl Minzner (Fordham University), “China's Turn Against Law”
Tuesday, March 13 || 7 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
Chinese authorities are reconsidering legal reforms they enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. These reforms had emphasized law, litigation, and courts as institutions for resolving civil grievances between citizens and administrative grievances against the state. But social stability concerns have led top leaders to question these earlier reforms. Central Party leaders now fault legal reforms for insufficiently responding to (or even generating) surging numbers of petitions and protests.
School of Law Lecture: Carl Minzner (Fordham University), “The Rise and Fall of Chinese Legal Education: 1978-2011”
Wednesday, March 14 || 12:30 pm
Rice Room (5th floor), Green Hall
Celebrating East Asian Studies Scholarship: An Interdisciplinary Showcase
Thursday, February 16 || 5:30 pm / 6:30 pm (see below)
Watson Library, Third Floor West
A reception with food and music celebrating East Asia scholarship on campus will begin at 5:30 pm. A panel discussion will begin at 6:30 pm, when four East Asian faculty will discuss scholarship and the rewards of their research (Megan Greene, CEAS Director, will serve as the moderator).
INSIGHT Artist’s Talk: Hong Chun Zhang
Wednesday, February 8 || 7 pm
Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.
Zhang will discuss her exhibit, Hay Wire, a site-specific project made for the Lawrence Arts Center. The exhibit is inspired by her life experiences both in urban China and rural Kansas, mixing her Chinese heritage, aesthetics, and identity with her new home in the Midwest.
Tea & Talk: A. Townsend Peterson, “Biodiversity Explorations in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia”
Thursday, February 9 || 4 pm
Centennial Room, Kansas Union
A. Townsend Peterson, Curator of Orinthology at the KU Biodiversity Institute, will discuss his research and collaborations in the landscapes and animals of Mongolia.
Lecture: Yomi Braester, “The Architecture of Utopia: From Rem Koolhaas's Scale Models to RMB City”
Thursday, February 9 || 7 pm
The Commons, Spooner Hall
Scale models are the architectural equivalent of science fiction: they seem to relocate the viewer immediately into a better future. Their utopian claims are compounded as Plexiglas-and-Styrene models are giving way to computer-generated 3D simulations, and the digital image is fashioned as a vehicle of social transformation. This talk will look at a pivotal moment in the history of architectural simulation, namely the introduction of Rem Koolhaas's practices and thoughts in the People's Republic of China.
Murphy Lecture in Art History: Julie Nelson Davis, “Reading The Mirror of Yoshiwara Beauties, Compared”
Monday, February 6 || 5:15 pm
Spencer Museum of Art, Room 211
Julie Nelson Davis is Associate Professor of East Asian Art at the University of Pennsylvania.
North Korea NOW
Thursday, Feb. 2 || 4 pm
Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
Roundtable discussion of the history and culture leading up to the current events in North Korea today. Participants will be David Lambertson, U.S. Ambassador (Ret.); Marsha Haufler, Associate Dean of International Studies; Jiso Yoon, Assistant Professor of Political Science; and Kyoim Yun, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages & Cultures.
Lunar New Year Party 2012: Year of the Dragon
Friday, January 27 || 5-7 pm
ECM, 1204 Oread Avenue
Come celebrate the Year of the Dragon with East Asia food tastings, games and activities, music and fun.
All My Sons, directed by Chinese Guest Artist Lei Guo-Hua
November 12–20 ($18/$17/$10)
This tremendously powerful drama by one of America’s greatest playwrights will bring a new perspective to the stage in a unique production directed by Chinese guest artist Lei Guo-Hua. For tickets and showtimes, please visit the KU Theatre website. Lei Guo-Hua's residency is co-sponsored by the KU Dept. of Theater, KU Center for East Asian Studies, and the Undergraduate Asian Studies Initiative, supported by the Freeman Foundation of New York and Stowe, Vermont.
Murphy Lecture in Art History: Kuiyi Shen, "Figure & Body in Modern and Contemporary Art"
Monday, November 21 | 5:15 pm
Room 211, Spencer Museum of Art
Kuiyi Shen is Director of the Chinese Studies Program and Professor of Asian Art History, Theory, & Criticism at the University of California, San Diego.
Gallery Talk: Professor John Kennedy on Irving Norman’s The Race
Wednesday, November 16 | 3 pm
Spencer Museum of Art, 405 Gallery
Come view works for the first time, through a new lens, or in a deeper way, in the new gallery talk series Art in a Global Context: The Museum Collection Across the Curriculum. In the program, KU faculty members from the University's international studies centers are invited to discuss a work of art from the Spencer Museum's collection. Speakers relate themes and ideas to various disciplines across campus. For this session, Professor John Kennedy from the Department of Political Science and the Center for East Asian Studies will speak on The Race, a 1962 oil painting by Polish American artist Irving Norman (1906-1989). Co-sponsored by the KU Center for Global and International Studies, Spencer Museum of Art, and KU Center for East Asian Studies.
CHINA Town Hall
Wednesday, November 16 | 6 pm
Jayhawk Room, Kansas Union
Webcast & Discussion: Join a live national webcast discussion and Q&A with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations featuring Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, who will discuss the current issues in Sino-American relations. In the second component, KU will host Mark Frazier (University of Oklahoma), who will speak about nationalism through the lens of economic activity in China. Co-sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Dole Institute of Politics.
AnDa Union
Saturday, November 5 | 7:30 pm
Lied Center ($21/$5)
Part Mongolian history lesson, part concert hall recital, AnDa Union’s powerful performances are a masterful reimagining of nearly forgotten styles of traditional Mongol music. Harkening back to the days of Genghis Khan, this rich heritage of ancient music is intermingled with the modern influences of the many disparate tribes of both Inner and Outer Mongolia. The musicians expertly play a wide variety of traditional lutes, flutes and mouth harps, singing in traditional and mystical vocal forms. For tickets, click here.
Artists’ Talk: Kwan Wu, Creator of East West—The Same Man
Monday, November 7 | 4 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
Join Chinese sculptor Kwan Wu and his colleagues as they discuss the creation of the Chinese-U.S. Sculpture Park at the Overland Park Arboretum.
National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China
Friday, October 21 | 7:30 pm
Lied Center ($28/$25/$10)
This dramatic 35-member company performs feats of strength, skill, and ability in a balancing act of exhilaration and risk. Taking the audience on an extraordinary journey, the National Acrobats perform high-flying acrobatics, martial arts, gripping illusions, and enchanting traditional Chinese dance and music. For tickets, click here.
Tea & Talk: Virginia Harper Ho (Law School), “Corporate Citizenship & the State: Defining Corporate Social Responsibility in the PRC”
Monday, October 24 | 3 pm
Pine Room, Kansas Union
Since 2008, state agencies at the national and subnational level in China have begun to promote "corporate social responsibility" in various forms, primarily among leading companies. Based on recent fieldwork in China, Harper Ho will discuss how emerging concepts of "corporate citizenship" or "corporate social responsibility" are being defined by the state and the potential impact of these initiatives on legal compliance and business practice in China.
Tea & Talk: Margarita Karnysheva, “Rumors, Gossip, and Fortune-telling: the Lamas' Information War Against the Bolsheviks”
Thursday, October 13 | 4 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
In the 1920s the Bolshevik Government of the Buriat-Mongol Republic alienated the Buddhist Church. Being stripped of the privileges granted them by the Tsars, the Lamas sided the anti-Soviet insurgency movement and launched large-scale information war against the Soviet State.
Peter Hershock (East-West Center, Honolulu), “Democracy and Difference: A Buddhist Path Past Liberal Freedoms and Illiberal Order”
Wednesday, October 12 | 7 pm
Malott Room, Kansas Union
Co-sponsored by the KU Dept. of Philosophy, KU Dept. of Religious Studies, and the Hall Center for the Humanities.
Tea & Talk: Utako Minai (Linguistics), “Japanese and English: Linguistic Similarities and Differences”
Wednesday, October 5 | 3 pm
Pine Room, Kansas Union
Japanese is a language that is quite different from English in many respects, not sharing the same orthography, sound system, or grammar. However, once we compare these two seemingly different languages from a linguistic perspective, we discover surprising similarities. This lecture discusses the similarities and differences between Japanese and English, focusing on some recent comparative research from the fields of linguistics, psycholinguistics, and language acquisition.
INSIGHT Artist’s Talk: Qiao Xiaoguang
Tuesday, September 27 | 7 pm
Lawrence Arts Center (940 New Hampshire St.)
In his Moby-Dick papercuts series, artist Qiao Xiaoguang brings together diverse elements to illuminate Herman Melville’s iconic novel. Qiao, a Beijing-based artist, professor, and director of the Cultural Heritage Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, learned traditional Chinese papercutting techniques from the elderly women who practice it in rural China. Consequently, his very contemporary papercuts reference the plants and animals of China’s countryside and depend on intricate design techniques that were developed in China more than 1500 years ago. The Cutting Edge of Moby Dick is underwritten by the KU Center for East Asian Studies and Dr. Beth Schultz. (Exhibit runs through October 2.)
Film: “Rising Tide”
Thursday, September 22 | 6 pm
Spencer Museum of Art Auditorium
The Rising Tide investigates China’s meteoric march toward the future through the works of some of its most talented emerging artists who capture the social and aesthetic confusion created in a rapidly changing society. FREE and open to the public. Post-film Panel Discussion: Robert Adanto (director), David Cateforis (KU Art History), and Hong Zhang (artist). Sponsored by the KU Center for Global & International Studies; Kansas Consortium for Teaching about Asia; Center for East Asian Studies; KU Dept. of East Asian Languages & Cultures; and the KU Dept. of Film & Media Studies.
Tea & Talk: Dongbin Kim (School of Education), “The Road to World-Class Universities: A Case Study of South Korea”
Wednesday, September 21 | 4 pm
Pine Room, Kansas Union
Dongbin Kim will discuss her research investigating how the emphasis on international rankings influences faculty or administrators’ perceptions of world class universities in South Korea, and if the perceptions and strategies of world-class universities are influenced by their U.S. training.
Brownbag: A Conversation with General Pahol Sanganetra (Thailand)
Monday, September 12 | 12:30 pm
Kansas Room, Kansas Union
General Pahol Sanganetra serves as the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Defense for Thailand. Past appointments have been in the education and policy field of the Royal Thai Army, Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, the Royal Thai Army Command and General Staff College, and other administrative leadership positions. A native of Bangkok, he holds degrees from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok; the University of California, Los Angeles; the Royal Thai Army Command and General Staff College; and a PhD in Physics from the University of Kansas. Co-sponsored by the KU Center for East Asian Studies, KU Center for Global & International Studies, and the KU Office of Professional Military Graduate Education.
Fifth Annual Mid-Autumn Moon Viewing Party
Monday, September 12 | 7:30 pm
Dole Institute of Politics front lawn
Bring your picnic blankets and/or camp chairs and join us for a celebration of the mid-autumn full moon. Enjoy East Asian music, poetry, games, and mooncakes under the stars. Co-sponsored by the KU Chinese Students & Scholars Friendship Association.
Conference: Identity & Community after the Cold War
August 25–27 || Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
International conference investigating the great changes in concepts of identity and community after the end of the Cold War. The last two decades have witnessed the confluence of many different kinds of radical change: the demise of communism as a force in politics, the resurgence of radical religious communities, the emergence of global climate change as a major challenge to traditional economies and communities, and the innovative growth of digital technology. The conference is FREE, but prior registration is required. For more information and to register, please click here. Co-sponsored by the KU Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; Center for East Asian Studies; Kansas African Studies Center; Center for Global & International Studies; and Latin American Studies Center.
Careers in the Foreign Service
August 11 || 12 noon || Alcove B, Kansas Union
David Peterson, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, will explain the importance of the foreign service in international diplomacy, discuss the process of becoming a foreign service officer, and answer questions regarding this exciting career track.
Past Events (Academic Year 2010-2011)
Author Reading: Mariko Nagai
Tuesday, May 17 || 7:00 pm
Raven Bookstore, 6 East 7th Street, Lawrence
Nagai will read from her new book of stories, Georgic, inspired by catastrophic events in Japanese history and folk tales.
Panel Discussion: “Celebrating Tsinghua University’s 100th Anniversary: Higher Education in China”
Saturday, May 7 | 3:00 pm | Edwards Campus Auditorium, 12600 Quivera Rd., Overland Park
A panel of higher education experts and Tsinghua alumni will discuss the history of Tsinghua University and explore the past, present, and future of higher education in China.
Tea & Talk: Masami Tateno, “Traditional Chinese Medicine and Japan”
Wednesday, April 27 | 4 pm | English Room, Kansas Union
Traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo (“Chinese formulae of medicine”) has been much influenced by Chinese medicine, but with its own particular characteristics. In this lecture, Nihon University professor Masami Tateno will clarify Japanese traditional medicine’s own characteristics compared with its Chinese counterpart.
Tea & Talk: Short Film & Discussion, In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee
Thursday, April 21 | 4 pm | Pine Room, Kansas Union
Why would an 8-year-old Korean girl be asked to keep her true identity a secret from her new American family? (64 minutes) Discussion to follow led by Kelly Chong, assistant professor of Sociology. Part of the Heartlands & Migration series.
Brownbag Lecture: Li Hong Hai, documentary filmmaker
Wednesday, April 13 || 12 noon || Walnut Room, Kansas Union
Bring your lunch and join us for an informal discussion with Li Honghai, founder of Time Documentary, a documentary film company specializing in environmental themes. His documentary, “The Furthering of 8848,” follows the first Chinese mountain-climbing team to scale Mt. Everest; an earlier documentary, “Time Above the Clouds,” chronicles a Chinese man’s attempt to fly sailplanes. He will discuss his work in conjunction with his visit as a visiting professional in KU’s School of Journalism, supported by the Freeeman Foundation funded Undergraduate Asian Studies Initiative at CEAS.
Symposium: Innovations in Korean and American Social Work through Cross-Cultural Collaborations
Thursday, April 7 || 12:30-3:00 pm || Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
Lessons learned for culturally appropriate social work practice and social welfare policy. Examples from fields of child welfare, community empowerment, family therapy, disability-oriented social policy, and human behavior theory building.
Tea & Talk: Short Film and Discussion, Tokyo: Neon City
Thursday, March 17 | 4 pm | Pine Room, Kansas Union
Tokyo relies increasingly on skilled immigrant labor. This program examines the implications of societal change with insightful commentary about multiculturalism, racism, and interracial marriage (26 minutes). Discussion to follow led by Akiko Takeyama, assistant professor of Anthropology. Part of the Heartlands & Migrations series.
Lecture: Christopher Lupke, “Juvenile Patriarchy and Its Subversive Other in the Early Cinema of Hou Hsiao-Hsien”
Tuesday, March 15 | 2:30 pm | Pine Room, Kansas Union
Bursting on the scene in the early 1980s, Hou Hsiao-hsien revolutionized the face of Taiwanese cinema and has left an indelible mark upon it. His films have long been concerned with family relationships, the development of (gendered) identity, trangression, and conflicts between the city and the countryside. Focusing his discussion in Hou's A Summer at Grandpa's, Lupke analyzes the way language and power are combined in nearly imperceptible ways to shape familial and friendship relations in Hou's films, even as these established and establishing relations are subtlely undermined by visual images and some figures who do not have complete access to language. Co-sponsored by CEAS and the KU Dept of East Asian Languages & Cultures.
Film: Still Life
Thursday, March 10 | 7 pm | Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.
The town of Fengjie and its 2000-year history has been submerged forever during the Three Gorges Dam construction. Still Life is an empathetic portrait of those left behind by a modernizing society. Directed by Jia Zhangke (2006); introduction by Megan Greene, associate professor of History and director, Center for East Asian Studies. Part of the International Heartlands & Migration Film Series. FREE and open to the public.
Film: Summer at Grandpa’s
Friday, March 11 | 1 pm | Alcove F, Kansas Union
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. (This is a pre-screening of the film in conjunction with the March 15 Chris Lupke lecture below.)
Wallace Johnson Memorial Lecture in Medieval Chinese Culture: Victor Mair, “A 9th-Century Shipwreck and Its Implications for the History of Tea”
Wednesday, March 9 | 5:30 pm | Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
The Belitung Shipwreck was found by Indonesian fishermen off the island of Belitung in 1998 and excavated by German explorers in succeeding years. Among the ship's cargo were 60,000 pieces of ceramics, including one unique bowl that is extremely important for the history of tea. The ship also carried many other precious artifacts that have been recovered from the ocean floor. Victor Mair is a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
Film: Tibet in Song with director Ngawang Choephel
Tuesday, March 8 | 7 pm | Spencer Museum of Art
Ngawang Choephel weaves a story of beauty, pain, brutality, and resilience, introducing Tibet through a celebration of traditional Tibetan folk music and a harrowing journey into the past 50 years of cultural repression inside Chinese controlled Tibet. A heartbreaking tale of cultural exploitation and resistance, including Ngawang Choephel’s own imprisonment for recording the very songs at the center of the film. Co-sponsored by CEAS, KU School of the Arts, KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and the KU Depts of History, East Asian Languages & Cultures, and Film & Media Studies. Free & open to the public.
Monday, February 28
Film & Director’s Q&A: The Cats of Mirikitani, with director Linda Hattendorf
Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers of friendship and art, this documentary won the Audience Award at its premiere in the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
Wednesday, February 23
INSIGHT Artist’s Talk: A discussion with Roger Shimomura and Bill Tsutsui
Tuesday, February 22
Demonstration: Katie Baldwin, Visiting Artist, Japanese Woodblock : Mokuhanga
Become acquainted with the secrets of achieving multiple colors in a woodblock image with perfect registration through the traditional techniques of mokuhanga. Learn about the technical aspects of this process. Gain a basic understanding of the tools, materials, kento registration, carving sequence, and printing methods associated with this ancient technique. Participants will be introduced to contemporary artworks that use the mokuhanga technique.
Thursday, February 17
Lecture: Xu Xin, “The Jewish Presence in China: 13th Century to the Present”
Xu Xin, Director of the Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies at Nanjing University, is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Bar Ilan University in Israel and the only Professor of Jewish Studies in China. In addition to his published scholarship, Xu curated China’s first exhibit on the Holocaust, produced the 900-page Chinese edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica, and has translated the works of many Jewish-American and Israeli authors into Chinese.
Friday, February 11
Opening Reception: Shadows of Minidoka: The Art of Roger Shimomura and His Collection of Art and Ephemera from the Japanese Internment Camps (Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.)
Thursday, February 10
Tea & Talk: John Barnett, “Vietnamese Agricultural Policies since 2003”
Barnett is a political science professor at Emporia State University.
Tuesday, February 8
Lecture: Christina Lux and Hee-Jung Serenity Joo, “Dismantling Bellicose Identities: Strategic Language Games in Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s DICTEE”
Christina Lux is Assistant Director of the Kansas African Studies Center, and Hee-Jung Serenity Joo is an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba. Part of the Identities, Cultures, Nations lecture series sponsored by the KU Dept. of French & Italian, co-sponsored by CEAS.
Wednesday, February 9
Reception: Welcoming Tibetan Students
Please join us in welcoming five Tibetan students from China who are studying at KU this semester as part of the Mayul School Project. For more information, visit the Mayul School Project blog.
Friday, December 3
Lecture: Jonathan Lipman, “Authentically Confucian, Authentically Muslim: Personal and Community Identities in Yunnan since the Qing Conquest”
Jonathan Lipman, professor of history at Mount Holyoke University, will discuss the Han Kitab and issues of identity for people who are authentically Chinese and authentically Muslim simultaneously.
Thursday, November 11
Heartlands & Migrations Lecture Series: Pok-Chi Lau, “New Work”
Design/Photo Media professor Pok-Chi Lau will discuss his recent multimedia work exploring the Chinese diaspora and recent work in Cuba.
Friday, November 5
Brown-bag Talk: Barbara Hayford, “Relationship Between Grazing Riparian Range Condition and Stream Water Quality in Mongolia”
Hayford’s (Biology, Wayne State College) research involves ecological and biodiversity research in Mongolia, and how aquatic ecosystems in Mongolia are impacted by climate change, gold mining, and grazing. She also has experience working with community-engaged research funded by the Asian Development Bank. Part of the new KU-Mongolia Initiative.
Friday, November 5
Tea & Talk: Chia Ning, “The Institutional Renovation of the Manchu Dynasty: Lifanyuan and Libu in the Qing Empire Building”
Chia Ning is Professor of History at Central College in Pella, Iowa, and the 2011 KU East Asian Library Visiting Scholar. She will discuss her research on why the Qing dynasty needed both Libu and Lifanyuan boards among their eight key institutions. She will examine the process in which the Manchu court finalized these two key-role offices from the Shunzhi, through Kangxi and Yongzheng to the Qianlong four reigns. The institutional comparison of the Lifanyuan and Libu demonstrates how the Manchu court built and defined the Qing as a unique empire during the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries.
Friday, November 5
KU-Mongolia Initiative Meeting with Dr. Barbara Hayford
Dr. Barbara Hayford, Associate Professor of Biology, Wayne State College, Nebraska, will be meeting with faculty interested in the KU-Mongolia Initiative to talk about her experience doing ecological and biodiversity research in Mongolia, in addition to her views on how aquatic ecosystems in Mongolia are impacted by climate change, gold mining, and grazing. She also has experience working with community-engaged research funded by the Asian Development Bank. The event is co-sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program, the Center for Global and International Studies, and the Center for East Asian Studies. For more information about Prof. Hayford, please visit http://academic.wsc.edu/faculty/bahayfo1/MAIS.html.
Friday, November 5
Lecture: Eric Rath & Yoonmi Nam, “Wrathful Deities and Peaceful Buddhas: Studying Tibetan Art in China”
Associate professors Rath (History) and Nam (Art) will discuss a two-year project between KU faculty and the Mayul School, a school for Tibetans in China, to develop a program in traditional arts. An overview of the creation of a traditional Tibetan painting (tangkha) and its cultural meaning will be included.
Thursday, October 28
Heartlands & Migrations Lecture Series: Sang Jo Kim, “The New Korean Diaspora: Koreans in Kansas”
Korean military brides are the backbone of Korean immigration to Kansas. Despite their significant contribution to the construction of Korean American communities in Kansas, they were often regarded as “not Korean or American enough.” To some Koreans, those women were “bad examples” against Korean immigrants’ pursuit of being “a Model Minority.” To a lot of Americans, they were permanent “others” evidenced by their looks, language and a way of life in the place where almost everything is white, and sometimes black. What have they become in terms of their Korean and new American identity over time? What strategies have they used to survive in a completely new place? Where is their place in the history of Korean immigration to Kansas?
Thursday, October 21
Tea & Talk: Michael Taylor, “The Tibetan Plateau: From the Perspective of a Mountain Builder”
Geology assistant professor Michael Taylor will discuss the effects of tectonics on the geography and culture of Tibet.
Monday, October 18
CHINA Town Hall Webcast: “Issues in U.S.-China Relations”
John Huntsman, U.S. Ambassador to China, will speak briefly and answer emailed questions via webcast, moderated by Steve Orlins, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations president. An on-site specialist, Daniel C. Lynch, associate professor of international relations, University of Southern California, will be present to lead a discussion of particular interest to the Lawrence community. More details to come. CHINA Town Hall is a national day of programming on China involving 50 cities throughout the United States. The event is free and open to the public.
Thursday, October 7
Tea & Talk: David Lambertson & Takao Shibata, “North Korea.”
Having lived in North Korea in various diplomatic roles, U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Lambertson and former Consul General of Japan Shibata have rare first-hand experience with today’s “Hermit Kingdom.” In this lecture, they will discuss observations and reflect upon North Korea in a global context.
Thursday, September 23
Heartlands & Migrations Lecture Series: Hai Cao, “The Image of Vietnamese Women Over Time.” American Studies PhD candidate Hai Cao will discuss her research on identity issues facing Vietnamese women.
Wednesday, September 22
Annual Mid-Autumn Moon-Viewing Festival. Join us for East Asian music, poetry, and moon cakes as we celebrate the full harvest moon. Music provided by the Kansas City Chinese Music Ensemble. Free & open to the public.
Friday, September 24
Career Talk: Michael Rizzi (University of Pittsburgh), “Graduate Programs in Public Administration and International Affairs.” Rizzi will meet with students who are interested in learning more about masters degrees in Public & International Affairs, Public Administration, and International Development. This is an ideal session for anyone who has ever thought about a career in the government or the nonprofit sector, including the CIA, State Department, city management, and charitable agencies, among others. GSPIA offers study abroad opportunities in China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Switzerland, and Belgium. (www.gspia.pitt.edu)
Past Events (Spring & Summer 2010)
Thursday, January 28
Tea & Talk: Nancy Abelman, “Maternal Excess: Rendering Kinship, Care, and Family in Contemporary South Korean Film.”
Abelman (University of Illinois, Urbana) will introduce three films—Mother, My Mother the Mermaid, and Family Ties—to travel in the anatomy of the maternal. She argues that in these films maternal excessive (of affect and instrument) is revisited/absolved. More largely, Abelman is interested in how “family” or care work and net/works are re-imagined or restructured in contemporary South Korea.
Wednesday, February 3
Tea & Talk: Kris Ercums, “Community 2009: Asian Art Worlds.”
Returning from a two-month intensive research trip, Ercums (Asian Art Curator, Spencer Museum of Art) will discuss the multiple communities emerging in cities across Asia including Seoul, Beijing, Hangzhou, the Pearl River Delta, Mumbai, and Delhi.
Wednesday, February 3
Japanese Film Festival: “I Just Didn’t Do It”
“I fought the law, and the law won…” A confused Teppei Kaneko is detained and accused of being a shikan (groper) in Masayuki Suo’s thought-provoking film. Free & open to the public.
Wednesday, February 10
Japanese Film Festival: “Always: Sunset on Third Street”
Wednesday, February 17
Japanese Film Festival: “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”
Friday, February 19
CEAS Annual Lunar New Year Party
Celebrate the Year of the Tiger with activities for everyone, including performances and East Asian food tastings.
Tuesday, February 23
Conference: “East Asia Leading the World Recovery”
The emerging economies of East Asia are expected to lead the global economy out of its doldrums. Economic integration and intra-Asia cooperation are crucial to realize the potential for local market development and the resurgence of global trade. This seminar aims to discuss economic integration and industrial development strategies in East Asia and exchange views on the potential involvement of the United States in the regional development of East Asia. The conference is free, but registration is required. Contact Suzanne Scales (864-3125, sscales@ku.edu). Co-hosted by CEAS, KU CIBER, and the Institute of Developing Countries (IDE JETRO).
Time: 8:30 am–2:00 pm
Location: Adams Alumni Center, 1266 Oread Ave.
Thursday, February 25
Tea & Talk: Seungsook Moon, “Cultural Politics of Commemorating Roh Moo Hyun”
Moon (Vassar College) will examine the cultural politics of commemorating Roh Moo Hyun, the 16th President of South Korea who committed suicide in May 2009.
Time: 4 pm
Location: Pine Room, Kansas Union
Thursday, February 25
Artist’s Talk and Opening Reception: Kim Jongku
Korean artist Kim Jongku will create a site-specific installation in the Spencer Museum of Art’s Electronic Art Space as part of a two-week residency funded by the William T. Kemper Foundation. Working at the juncture of tradition and technology, Kim uses industrial steel filings and closed circuit television to create constructed landscapes that explore the transient, shifting place of humans within the natural world.
Time: 6-6:45 (Artist’s Talk), 7pm (Opening Reception)
Location: Auditorium, Spencer Museum of Art
Saturday, February 27
Kansas City Chinese Film Festival: “Getting Home” (2007, directed by Zhang Yang)
A migrant worker from the country promises to take a friend’s body home for burial. The protagonist’s journey home is a series of encounters with eccentric characters in rural China. Discussant: John Kennedy, associate professor of Political Science. Sponsored by the KU Confucius Institute and the Kansas Humanities Council. For more information, www.confucius.ku.edu/film_festival.shtml
Monday, March 1
Lecture: Sachi Nakachi, “Surviving Hiroshima: A Daughter’s Story.”
Sachi Nakachi is associate professor of English at Tsuru University, Tsuru, Yamanashi, Japan. Sponsored by CEAS and the Project on the History of Black Writing.
Wednesday, March 3
Japanese Film Festival: “Memories of Matsuko”
Thursday, March 4
Tea & Talk: Elena Kim, “From Third World Orphans to First World Adoptees: Fifty Years of Transnational Korean Adoption.”
Kim (University of Rochester) will examine the history of overseas adoption from South Korea and discuss how Korean-born adoptees are actively negotiating their relationships to Korea and the South Korean state.
Thursday, March 4
Murphy Lecture: J. Michael Farmer, “A Jade Pure, Frosty, & Clear: Redefining Female Chastity in Early Medieval Sichuan.”
J. Michael Farmer is an associate professor of Chinese history at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Saturday, March 6
Kansas City Chinese Film Festival: “24 City” (2008, directed by Jia Zhangke)
A factory is demolished in Chengdu, to make way for an apartment complex called 24 City. Director Jia Zhangke’s critically acclaimed interweaving of documentary and scripted drama explores the transition in the lives of the residents and workers of this block. Discussant: Jia Zhang, associate professor of Linguistics. Sponsored by the KU Confucius Institute and the Kansas Humanities Council. For more information, www.confucius.ku.edu/film_festival.shtml
RESCHEDULED: Monday, March 8
Wallace Johnson Memorial Lecture in Medieval Chinese Culture: Valerie Hansen, “A New History of the Silk Road.”
Hansen will discuss the various archeological sites on both the southern Silk Road (Niya, Endere, Loulan, Kroraina/Shanshan), northern Silk Road (Kucha and Turfan), and where the two routes converged at Dunhuang to explore what political, economic, and cultural conditions made the Silk Road flourish.
Saturday, March 13
Kansas City Chinese Film Festival: “Life Show” (2002, directed by Huo Jianqi)
Saturday, March 20
Kansas City Chinese Film Festival: “Luxury Car” (2006, directed by Wang Chao)
Saturday, March 27
Kansas City Chinese Film Festival: “One Foot Off the Ground” (2006, directed by Chen Daming)
Thursday, April 1
2010 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Toshio Watanabe (University of the Arts, London), “Modernity and Censorship: Nude Painting Controversy in Meiji Japan (1868-1912).”
Thursday, April 8
2010 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Toshio Watanabe (University of the Arts, London), “Modern Japanese Gardens in a Transnational Context”
Monday, April 12
Annual Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies: Edward Drea, “From Samurai to Soldiers.”
Creating a new Japanese imperial army amidst samurai insurrections, peasant uprisings, and sweeping social change was a revolutionary achievement. Drea will narrate that success and describes how the army was built, who became soldiers, and the lasting consequences for Japan. About the speaker: After military service in Japan and Vietnam, Ed Drea received his MA in international relations from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and his Ph.D. in Modern Japanese History from the University of Kansas. He has taught at the US Army Command & General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and was Chief, Research and Analysis Division at the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. Following the lecture, there will be a book signing of his latest work, Japan’s Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall, 1853-1945, published by the University Press of Kansas. Drea is the recipient of the Society for Military History's award for Best Book on Non-US Military History.
Thursday, April 15
Lecture: Valerie M. Hudson, “The Heart of the Matter: The Security of Women and the Security of States.”
It is clear that war and peace, stability and instability, affect the lives of women in the nation-states of the world. But what of the converse? Does the situation and security of women affect the stability and peacefulness of their nations? This talk will explore this proposition using a variety of methods, including large N statistical studies and in-depth case studies. The topics will be wide-ranging, from sex selective abortion in Asia to obstructed marriage markets in the Middle East, always with an eye to how phenomena related to the security of women impact their nation-states’ prospects for peacefulness and stability. The talk will conclude with the ramifications of this research for both the world of academia and the world of policymaking. Co-sponsored by the KU Centers for East Asian Studies, Global & International Studies, KU International Programs, Student Senate, PSGA, and Coca-Cola.
Thursday, April 15
2009 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Christopher M. S. Johns (Vanderbilt University), “China and the Church: Chinoiserie and the Roman Connection”
Friday, April 16
Film screening: “Chi-Hwa-seon (Painted Fire)”
South Korean film. “Painted Fire: The Life of Painter Jang Seung-up.” In a time of political and social unrest in 19th century Korea, an uncouth, self-taught painter explores his natural talent amidst the repressive world around him. (directed by Im Kwon Taek, 116 minutes). Free and open to the public.
Sunday, April 18
2009 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Christopher M. S. Johns (Vanderbilt University), “The Art and Visual Culture of European Chinoiserie”
Tuesday, April 20
Career Talk: Alex Arvizu, “Working As a Foreign Service Officer”
Current Foreign Service hiring is at a level unprecedented in recent years. Arvizu will talk about his role as Director of Entry-Level Career Development and Assignments at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, where he oversees assignments for newly-hired Foreign Service generalist and specialist officers. In 2010, the State Department expects to hire close to 1,400 new Foreign Service officers and assign them to various posts – most of them abroad – to represent the United States and the American people. This is an excellent opportunity for students considering future careers in the Foreign Service or politics.
Thursday, April 22
Artist’s Lecture: Yee Sookyung
Throughout her evolving artistic journey, Seoul-based artist Yee Sookyung has explored various media such as drawing, painting, print, video, and ceramics. Most notable international exhibitions Yee has participated in are the Vancouver Biennale (2009), Liverpool Biennale (2008), and Gwangju Biennale (2006). In her recent works, Yee questions the relationship between god and humans, and religiosity and spiritual practice. During her visit, she will create original limited edition prints with the printmaking students in the Department of Visual Art. Co-sponsored by the Department of Visual Art, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the Spencer Museum of Art. The event is free and open to the public.
Friday, April 23
Symposium: “Culture and Security in Central Asia”
Co-sponsored by the KU Center for East Asian Studies, KU Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the Dole Institute of Politics, and the Foreign Military Studies Office. For more information, including a downloadable .pdf of the program schedule, click here.
Discover Korea: Summer Book Discussion Group. CEAS and the Lawrence Public Library are partnering for a relaxed, bimonthly summer reading group of fiction and nonfiction focused on Korea. Perfect for school teachers and others curious about this fascinating country! June 1: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park; June 15: Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim; June 29: North Korea by Bruce Cumings; July 13: A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church.
Monday, August 2
Concert: The Junkeo Takeo Koto Concert, featuring members of the Wakatake-kai Koto Group of Tokyo
Traditional Japanese music performed on the Koto and Sangen instruments. The concerts will be followed with an opportunity for audience members to try on Japanese katana and kimono and play the koto. A volunteer group will perform a simple Japanese folk song on koto following each concert. Free & open to the public.
Past Events Fall 2009
Tea & Talk: ChangHwan Kim, “Have Asian American Men Reached Labor Market Parity with Whites? Further Evidence on the Over-Education Hypothesis.” (September 10, 2009)
Chinese Music by Li Fengyun and Wang Jianxin. Co-sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. (September 14, 2010)
Tea & Talk: Paul Dunscomb (University of Alaska), “The Lost Decade: Death Agony of the Postwar Consensus in Japan?” (September 24, 2009)
Mid-Autumn Festival Moon-Viewing Party. (October 3, 2009)
Korean Film Festival: North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004) (October 25, 2009)
Tea & Talk: Kapila Silva, “Siheyuan, Tulo, and Dialo: The Architectural Heritage of China beyond the Forbidden City.” (November 5, 2009)
Lecture: Peter Hessler, “Factory Town: Portraits from a Chinese City.” (November 12, 2009)
Korean Film Festival: The Host (2006) (November 15, 2009)
Tea & Talk: Judith Major, “A Tour of Suzhou's Classical Gardens.” (November 19, 2009)
Korean Film Festival: Whisper Princess (2002) (November 22, 2009)
CHINA Town Hall Webcast: Kurt M. Campbell (U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), “Issues in U.S.-China Relations,” and Bonnie S. Glaser (CSIS Senior Fellow and Freeman Chair in China Studies), “Chinese Foreign Policy: Continuity and Change." (December 8, 2009)
Past Events 2008-2009
Artists’ Lecture: Gonkar Gyatso (August 28, 2008)
Meet & Greet: Tibetan artist Gunkar Gyatso (August 29, 2008)
Annual Mid-Autumn Festival Moon-Viewing Party. (September 15, 2008)
Tea & Talk: Terry Weidner, “"China in 2008: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (September 18, 2008)
Tea & Talk: Patricia Graham, “Chinese and Japanese Arts: Antique or Not, Authentic or Fake?” (September 22, 2008)
Panel Discussion: “The Beijing Olympics and the Global Community.” (September 25, 2008)
Revolution in Film: The Last Emperor (China; October 6, 2008)
Tea & Talk: Yong Bai, “Modern Bridges of China” (October 9, 2008)
Revolution in Film: Shiri (Korea; October 20, 2008)
Chancellor's Lecturer Takao Shibata, “Beyond Pyongyang: Life in the North Korean Countryside” (October 30, 2008)
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Takao Shibata, “Title TBA ” (in Japanese; October 31, 2008)
Reception for Hosei University students & faculty. (November 1, 2008)
Revolution in Film: Crossing the Line (North Korea; November 3, 2008)
Tea & Talk: Discuss the film Crossing the Line with producer Nicholas Bonner (November 4, 2008)
Tea & Talk: Akiko Takeyama, “Selling Dreams: The Art of Seduction and Affect Economy in Japan” (November 6, 2008)
Murphy Lecture in Art History: John Szostak (Assistant Professor of Japanese Art, University of Hawaii at Manoa), "Recovering Tradition: The Kokuga Society and Modern Japanese Painting Reform." (November 6, 2008)
CLAS Acts (Family Event): Bill Tsutsui & Randi Hacker, “What Makes a Monster? From Godzilla to Spore.” (November 9, 2008)
Lecture: Hungkar Dorje, “Compassionate Activity: Tibetan Schools in China.” (November 20, 2008)
Art Talk. Exhibition curator Kris Ercums will discuss Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood. (November 20, 2008)
Film: Robot Taekwon V, with an introduction by Associate Professor Michael Baskett, Theatre & Film. In conjunction with the exhibit Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood. (November 20, 2008)
Revolution in Film: KT (Japan; December 1, 2008)Lecture: Marsha Haufler, “Alternate Realities: Perceptions of Pyongyang, Capital of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (North Korea)” (December 4, 2008)
Annual Lunar New Year Party (January 30, 2009)
Chinese Culture Lecture: Qian Kun, “The Imperial-Time Regime: The Resurgence of Empire in Post-Revolutionary Representations.” (February 2, 2009)Chinese Culture Lecture: Chi Ta-wei, “Unoptical Consciousness: The Blind Flaneuse in Contemporary Chinese Visual Culture.” (February 4, 2009)
Chinese Culture Lecture: Xiao Hui, “Love Is a Capacity: The Narrative of Gendered Self-development in ‘Chinese Style Divorce.’” (February 9, 2009)
Pre-performance Lecture: Wu Man & Friends. (February 19, 2009)
Japanese Maintenance Lecture: Akitoshi Sogabe (Konan University), Title TBA. (February 20, 2009)
Roundtable Discussion: “What Does ‘Revolution’ Mean in Our Time? Society, Science, and the Arts.” (February 27, 2009)
Chinese Maintenance Lecture: Join Spencer Museum of Art curator Kris Ercums and SMA intern Ai-lian Liu for a Chinese language tour of A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-Tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000. (March 3, 2009)
Lecture: Chunmiao Zheng (University of Alabama), “Will China Run Out of Water?” (March 12, 2009)
Tea & Talk: “Global Partners for Local Organic Foods: Connecting the U.S. & Japan through Kansas & Saitama.” (March 24, 2009)
Chinese Maintenance Lecture Brownbag: Li Rong, Title TBA (in Chinese; April 7, 2009)
Panel Discussion: “The Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned from Japan and East Asia.” (April 7, 2009)
Lecture: James Miller, “Investments Gone Bad: A Comparative Account of Banking Crises in Japan and the United States.” (April 9, 2009)
Korean Language Maintenance Lecture: Hak Kyun Kim, “Korean Ceramic Surface Design Techniques” (in Korean; April 10, 2009)
Public Event: The Monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery, “Tibetan Spiritual Music and Dance.” (April 15, 2009)
Roundtable Discussion: “Changing the World: Revolutionary Thinking about the Environment” (April 16, 2009)
Lecture: Shuming Bao, “Understanding Demographic and Business Data with GIS.” (April 16, 2009)
Conference: “The Opening of Western China: Problems and Prospects” (April 17, 2009)
Wallace S. Johnson Memorial Lecture in Medieval Chinese Studies: Peter Bol (Harvard University), “In Defense of Translating and Computing: From the Tang Code to Biographical Databases” (April 17, 2009)
Tea & Talk: Yan Li (East Asian Languages & Cultures), “Can English-speaking L2 Chinese Learners say ‘no’ in Chinese?” (April 23, 2009)
Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture on Japanese Studies: Samuel Yamashita (Henry E. Sheffield Professor of History, Pomona College), “Coercion, Compliance, and Resistance in Wartime Japan, 1942-1945” (April 27, 2009)
Panel Discussion: "Revolution and Protest in 20th-century China." (May 4, 2009)
Panel Discussion: Cooking Japanese with Lawrence's Local Foods (Sponsored by Global Partners for Local Organic Foods; Saturday, June 27, 2009)
Public Forum on Local Organic Foods in Japan (Sponsored by Global Partners for Local Organic Foods; Saturday, June 29, 2009)