UBC Department of Asian Studies

Join us for the 2024-25 Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture on April 10-11! The Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture is dedicated to the late Mrs. Wat, and her passion for Chinese literature and culture. This year’s lecture and seminar features Sophie Volpp, Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. In these talks, Professor Sophie Volpp will investigate the delayed shipment of rare books from China to the US in 1941 through archival documents and help us rethink the conceptions of verisimilitude as well as mimetic illusion with literary objects. Learn more and RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3DFMWwI

The 2024-2025 Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture is happening next Thursday on April 10! Join Professor Sophie Volpp (UC Berkeley), as she uncovers the history of 100 crates of rare Chinese books being sent to the U.S. in 1941 for safekeeping. Drawing on archival documents and letters, she reveals the complex negotiations and historical tensions behind the perilous journey. The research seminar in conjunction will be held on Friday, April 11. Through the examination of The Story of the Stone and the scenic illusion paintings, Professor Volpp invites us to reconsider our understanding of verisimilitude and mimetic illusion. Learn more and register now: https://lnkd.in/gYuNUcqq

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Join us for our last lecture in the 2024/25 Alireza Ahmadian Lectures in Iranian and Persianate Studies! Hear from Dr. Abbas Amanat as he discusses Iran’s response to Tipu Sultan’s anti-colonial alliance at the turn of the 19th century and the lasting impacts on Iran’s struggles today. This event is free and open to the public, and will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025 from 6:30 - 9:00 pm PT at UBC Robson Square, Theatre Room (C300). Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gkMj6Yww

In March 2025, the UBC Chinese Film Classics Project published Yuqian Chen and Asian Studies Professor Christopher Rea's translation of the 1952 film "Window to America" (Meiguo zhi chuang). Watch the full film for free on the CFC website (https://lnkd.in/dkq_4gmk) or on YouTube (https://lnkd.in/dHzEGDsm). ABOUT THE FILM Are current conditions in the USA making you want to jump out the window? Not so fast—there’s money to be made…on your death! Window-washer Charlie Kent has finished cleaning the last window of a Wall Street skyscraper, and, now facing indefinite unemployment, plans to jump to his death from that very window. Mr. Butler, a capitalist, persuades Kent to stop—at least long enough to turn the suicide into a live media spectacle and sell advertisements. "Window to America" is also a window to Chinese filmmaking during the early PRC, with China's most famous screen comedian leading an all-whiteface cast in a farcical adaptation of a Soviet play.

The 2025 Capstone Lecture is happening tomorrow on March 6! Join our Professor of Chinese Intellectual History, Dr. Josephine Chiu-Duke, as she explores Taiwan's successful transition to democracy with its preservation of Confucian humanistic values. Walk-ins are accepted! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gmN38ydT

Join us for the 2025 Capstone Lecture on Thursday, March 6! The Capstone Lectures at the Department of Asian Studies recognize the retirement from teaching of professors of the Department. They are an occasion for colleagues, students, former students and the public to hear from faculty members who have, in many cases, taught and researched for decades at UBC. This year's lecture features our Professor of Chinese Intellectual History, Dr. Josephine Chiu-Duke. This talk will explore Taiwan’s preservation of the Confucian humanistic tradition since its transition to a liberal democracy in the early 1990s, and how China should view Taiwan and its democracy as a model for its “global civilization initiative” rather than as a target for annexation. Learn more and RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gmN38ydT

Join FROGBEAR's intensive programs on Buddhist Studies and experience conferences featuring global scholars, seminars and field visits this summer! The Wutai International and Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies (June 17 - 24, 2025) ・Sponsored and organized by The Wutai Shan Institute of Buddhism and Eastern Asian Culture 五臺山東方佛教文化研究院 in Shanxi, China ・Co-organized by the FROGBEAR project based at UBC and Tsinghua Institute for Ethics and Religions Studies (IERS) 清華大學倫理與宗教研究院 ・Hosted by the Great Sage Bamboo Monastery 大聖竹林寺 at Mount Wutai 五臺山 in Shanxi, China ・Includes an international conference (June 18–19) and field visit (June 23) The Eighth Glorisun International Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies (July 5 - 15, 2025) ・Hosted by the Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le bouddhisme (CEIB) and the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco) ・Administrative support from the Glorisun Network at Peking University and UBC, and the FROGBEAR project at UBC ・Composed of two segments (Segment 1 July 5–8, Segment 2 July 12–13), an intersegmental conference (July 9–10), a Youth Forum (July 11), and field visit (July 14) The application deadline for both programs is February 15. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gH8MkBqR

Lunar New Year marks a time of new beginnings, symbolizing the renewal of good health, happiness and prosperity. It’s one of the most significant holidays for many Asian communities both in Canada and globally. Celebrate the Year of the Snake by engaging in a variety of events and programs happening across UBC and within the community: https://bit.ly/3SQCdEr

We're thrilled to share that our Assistant Professor Dr. Colleen Laird and her colleagues were recently featured in an episode of "The Video Essay Podcast"! In it, she discusses the "Ways of Doing" initiative, an ongoing research collaboration invested in developing feminist methodological practices in videographic criticism. Hear more about their conversation here: https://lnkd.in/ghhw3VY9 Learn more about Ways of Doing here: https://waysofdoing.com/