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Celebrate Diwali with the Asian Library and Hindi-Urdu & Punjabi Programs
Diwali or Deepavali, which means “a row of lights,” is the most widely celebrated festival in India and throughout the Indian diaspora. It marks the victory of good over evil and the beginning of the New Year in India.
Experience the diversity of South Asian culture through presentations, cultural dance performances and music on Thursday, October 16 from 12:00pm at the Asian Centre Auditorium!
Attendance is free and no registration is required.
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Mistresses of Deception: Professors Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea on Female Swindlers in Ming-Dynasty China
"More Swindles from the Late Ming" (2025), translated by UBC Asian Studies professors Dr. Christopher Rea and Dr. Bruce Rusk, presents sensational, absurd, and sometimes lurid stories of scams. Despite the rigid gender expectations of the late Ming, these female swindlers find ingenious ways to exploit social roles and manipulate the norms meant to confine them.
In this Q&A with Columbia University Press, Drs. Rusk and Rea discuss how women both perpetrated and subverted the elaborate cons that flourished in Zhang Yingyu’s criminal underworld.
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Graduate Student Siyun Pan Selected for Critical Play Fellowship
Congratulations to our PhD student, Siyun Pan, on getting accepted into the Pop Culture Cluster's first cohort of Critical Play Fellows!
The Critical Play Fellows comprise an interdisciplinary community of graduate students, faculty members, industry professionals, and independent designers for monthly programming that explores the intersections of digital and analog gaming cultures, pedagogy and critical theory.
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Launching UBC’s Strategic Directions 2025–2030
The refreshed plan is now live — and it’s all about shaping the future of UBC together. While we reaffirm our commitment to ongoing priorities and plans, we’re building on these foundations with seven new strategic directions to help UBC move forward.
These directions are: Discover and Innovate for Impact, Create Flexibility for Learners, Enhance Experiential Education, Partner for Purpose, Maximize UBC System Strengths, Excel in the Development and Application of Emerging Technologies, and Nurture a Strong and Vibrant UBC Community.
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Get Ready to ShakeOut
On October 16, 2025, practice how to DROP, COVER and HOLD ON at 10:16 a.m. during the annual Great BC ShakeOut.
As part of ShakeOut, UBC Vancouver will be testing its emergency notification system, UBC Alert. Students, faculty and staff will receive a test notification by text and voice message on October 16, 2025.
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| Featured Winter Courses |
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ASIA 379 and 9 Other Courses You Should Consider Taking in Term 2!
Explore Asian Studies courses in Winter Term 2! From Japanese religion to Indian poetry, our courses offer insight into Asia from diverse perspectives. These courses are open to all students—no pre-requisites needed.
Don’t miss the debut of ASIA 379 – The Persian Book of Kings, a new online course diving into one of the world’s longest epic poems.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Beauty Matters: Modern Japanese Literature and the Question of Aesthetics, 1890-1930
October 10, 4:00pm - 5:30pm PT;
online
Anri Yasuda, University of Virginia
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Cantonese Comedy Festival
October 16 - 18
Joanna Sio, comedian; Vivek Mahbubani, comedian
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Stakeholder Perspectives on Language Support for Ethnic Minority Children in Japan: Centering Voices That Matter
October 17, 12:00pm - 1:30pm PT;
in-person
Michi Ann Saki, Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts
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Nepal in Conversation: Protest and Pathways Forward
October 17, 5:00pm - 7:30pm PT;
in-person
See all speakers here
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Out of Time, Out of Space, Out of Place: The Many Visual Incarnations of Qissa Sohni Mahiwal
October 23, 4:00pm - 5:00pm PT;
in-person
Kiran K. Sunar, UBC Asian Studies
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Layers of Fear: Arabic in a Monolingual University
October 29, 9:30am - 10:20am PT;
in-person
Nesrine Basheer, UBC Asian Studies
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Breaking the Silence: Caste, Policy, and Liberation
October 30, 6:00pm - 8:30pm PT;
in-person
See all speakers here
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Paracolonial Thought in Afghan North India 1774-1857
November 19, 10:00am - 11:30am PT;
in-person
Naveena Naqvi, UBC Asian Studies
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| ASIAN LIBRARY NEWS |
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New books at the Asian Library
Explore all the new titles that were added to the Asian Library collections in September.
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UBC Library expands collection of influential art periodical Bijutsu Techō
UBC Library has significantly expanded its collection of Bijutsu Techō, one of the most influential, independently published periodicals on visual art in Japan. Funding for this expansion was provided through a grant from the Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, based in Kyoto, Japan.
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Science Literacy Week 2025: From Sea to Space with the Asian Library Collection
From October 6 to 12, Asian Library will participate in the annual celebration of Science Literacy Week in Canada! This year’s theme, “From Sea to Space,” invites everyone to reflect on science’s role in shaping our understanding of the world. Guided by the theme, this selection of books explores the vastness between sea and space, highlighting diverse environmental activities and living things with a glimpse into different cultural lives.
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Multilingual Library Materials: Finding Resources in Other Languages
Monday, October 27 | 1 - 2 PM PT;
Koerner Library, 1958 Main Mall
In this workshop, participants will dive into finding UBC Library materials in languages other than English. Librarians from Koerner Library and Asian Library will walk you through search tips and tricks and highlight many kinds of materials available through UBC Library, including books, graphic novels, films, and international newspapers in their original languages. There will be time for questions and searching together at the end of the session.
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| OPPORTUNITIES |
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Applications open for the StEAR Enhancement Fund
UBC faculty and staff are invited to apply for the Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Enhancement Fund. Get up to $10,000 to catalyze projects that advance equity and anti-racism. The first call for faculty- and staff-led applications closes October 15, with another application window available in January.
Sign up to volunteer for UBC Arts Multilingual Week: Fall 2025 (AMW)
Are you passionate about languages and looking for UBC volunteer opportunities? Volunteer for the Arts Multilingual Week this fall to support promotion and events. Get your applications in as soon as possible!
Applications Now Open for the 2026 UBC Farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture
Running from April through October 2026 (with a shorter option for summer students), the UBC Farm Practicum is an experiential program that introduces small-scale organic mixed vegetable farming for sale through direct markets. It is designed for aspiring farmers and community food growers, as well as those seeking to deepen their understanding of the food system and the pursuit of food sovereignty. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis. Spots are limited, so apply as soon as possible.
The JET application for the 2025-2026 Cycle is now open!
The JET Programme offers a minimum one-year opportunity to experience Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) or Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) through an official Government of Japan program. Participants gain valuable overseas work experience, learn about Japanese culture, and meet participants from around the world, while contributing to language education and international understanding. The deadline to apply for the 2026 JET Programme is November 14.
Call for paper: 8th Annual HEX Conference
The History of Experience conference, “Histories of Experience in Society: Frictions, Margins, Ruptures”, will take place at Tampere University, Finland, on March 9-11, 2026. Contributions that explore how experiences relate to frictions, marginalzations, and disruptions in history of society are welcomed. Submissions end on November 30.
Book your graduation photography appointment
Students graduating in 2026 can now book photography appointments. The photo will be displayed on the official 2026 graduating class composite, and you are encouraged to book early as these dates are open to all graduating students; weekends and evenings sell out fast. To be included on the graduating class composite, you must be photographed by March 30, 2026.
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