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Indigenous History Month - see what’s happening at UBC
June commemorates Indigenous History Month in Canada. This month encourages people to learn about, appreciate, and acknowledge the rich history, heritage, resilience, contributions, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across the country.
See how you can participate through UBC and community events
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Meet our new Postdoc Fellow, Xiangjun “Sean” Feng
Please join us in welcoming Xiangjun “Sean” Feng as UBC Asian Studies' new SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in early modern and modern Chinese literature! Dr. Feng's dissertation examines a wide range of “secret scrolls” (books claiming the revelation of occult knowledge) produced in China’s early modern and modern periods. His research project at UBC shifts his dissertation’s focus from “knowledge production” to “knowledge destruction.”
Learn more about Dr. Feng
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Asian Studies Class of 2022 Graduates Yearbook
To celebrate this year's graduating class, we composed a “UBC Asian Studies Class of 2022 Graduates Yearbook” page featuring graduates sharing their perspectives on Asian Studies and thanks for those who supported their academic journeys.
View the Yearbook
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“Exploring Premodern Japan” new video releases
Since 2020, Asian Studies graduate students have been collaborating with Dr. Christina Laffin to create a video series capturing aspects of research on premodern Japan.The team recently released three new videos in the series, which are now available on their YouTube channel.
Read more
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The 'can do' attitude that defines Hong Kong
Dr. Helena Wu, Assistant Professor of Hong Kong Studies at UBC, recently had her 2020 book The Hangover after the Handover: Places, Things and Cultural Icons in Hong Kong referenced in this article on the determined "Lion Rock Spirit" of Hong Kong residents.
Read the full article
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What is special about a university language course?
Dr. Qian Wang, Director of the UBC Chinese Language Program and Associate Professor in Chinese Linguistics, explains what makes a university language course unique, how it benefits your Arts degree, and why it adds value to your journey of self-discovery.
Read the full article
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Dr. Christopher Rea receives the 2022 Public Engagement Award
Congratulations to Dr. Christopher Rea, who is one of the 2022 Public Engagement Award winners. These awards are given to individuals who have exhibited outstanding public humanities engagement in the past two years, and whose work has contributed to the expansion of the range of voices in public discourse.
Learn more
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New Japanese Cinema video releases in Open Education Resource series
We are pleased to share that Dr. Colleen Laird’s video series on formal film analysis has two new releases, both of which examine editing in Japanese Cinema. All four videos in the series and more can be found at Dr. Laird's YouTube channel.
Learn more
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| FEATURED SUMMER COURSE |
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Looking for courses this summer? Check out the following course with seats still available!
ONLINE (Term 2): ASIA 323 951 History of Cantonese Worlds
This course traces the evolution and transformation of the multi-faceted Cantonese worlds, both in the context of the history of China and that of the Cantonese diaspora. The goal is to help students understand the worlds forged by those who have come to be identified as “Cantonese” and how such worlds have intersected with other political, commercial, or cultural realms. Learn more on the Hong Kong Studies Initiative website.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Dissing Thay: Socially Engaged Buddhism and the Problem of Nonviolence
Dr. James Mark Shields, Professor of Comparative Humanities and Asian Thought, Bucknell University
June 8, 2pm PT, Hybrid
Non-violence, or non-harming (ahimsa), is the first precept and a core teaching of classical Buddhism. And yet, the concept and ways of practicing non-violence have rarely been elucidated in Buddhist tradition. In this lecture, Professor Shields rethinks the meaning and significance of the theory and practice “violence” and “non-violence” within contemporary Buddhism.
Learn more and register
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[Conversation] Journalism in the Age of Fakes
Chris Yeung, Journalist, Part-time Lecturer, Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Dr. Louisa Lim, Author, Journalist, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne
June 16, 7pm PT, Online
In this year-end Hong Kong Studies Initiative roundtable, guest speakers Chris Yeung and Louisa Lim will reflect on what has been happening in Hong Kong and place the predicament of China’s erstwhile freest city in the broader context of challenges faced by journalists around the world.
Learn more and register
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The Impossible Gift of Sense in Rahnavard Zaryāb’s “The Snakes Under the Silverberry Trees”
Dr. Hessam Dehghani, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Persian Language and Culture, UBC
Mujib Mehrdad, Afghan Poet, Playwright, Translator
June 18, 4pm PT, Online
The last lecture in the Spring 2022 Alireza Ahmadian Lectures in Iranian and Persianate Studies will discuss Mohammad Azam Rahnavard Zaryāb, one of the most influential intellectuals of contemporary Afghanistan. Dr. Dehghani will discuss his use of magical realism and surrealism to liberate readers from superficial understandings of the issues his people and the Persianate world in general are facing.
Learn more and register
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Maliglutit film screening and panel talk
Dr. William Brown, Filmmaker, Assistant Professor in Film Studies, UBC
Jonathan Frantz, cinematographer and co-producer on Maliglutit
Dr. Ilinca Iurascu, Associate Professor in German Studies, UBC
Dr. Christopher Rea, Professor in Modern Chinese Literature, Associate Head, External of the Department of Asian Studies, UBC
June 21, 7pm PT; In-person
The film Maliglutit will be featured as part of an inaugural series "Cinema Thinks the World," sponsored by the UBC Public Humanities Hub. This captivating, crystalline rescue-revenge story, set across the Arctic tundra of 1913 Nunavut, has an Inuk caribou hunter (Benjamin Kunuk) in pursuit of marauders who ravaged his home and abducted his wife. Following the screening will be a panel talk.
Learn more and register
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“The Guard of the Tulip”: Reading Afghanistan Reading Rahnavard-e Zaryab
Dr. Nasir Arian, Lecturer, Penn State University
June 24, 6:30pm PT, Online
The first session of the Summer 2022 series of events analyzing migration and exile in Modern Persian Literature features guest speaker Dr. Nasir Arian. Moderated by UBC Asian Studies professor Hessam Dehghani, this panel will discuss the legacy and work of renowned Afghan writer, journalist and activist Rahnavard Zaryab, who passed away in 2020 due to Covid-19.
Learn more and register
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| EVENT RECAPS |
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Cantonese Language Program hosts world premiere of the Cantonese version of Annie Cheung’s Self-Revelatory performance “DOTS”
Annie Cheung, Associate Professor of Practice of Hong Kong Baptist University, recently performed her first solo Self-Revelatory show DOTS 《想·點》at the Asian Centre Auditorium. Hosted by the Cantonese Language Program, these showings were performed in English and Cantonese on May 18 and 20, respectively, the latter of which was the world premiere of the Cantonese version of DOTS.
Read more
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First scholar visit from Hong Kong in three years
On May 16, the Department of Asian Studies was graced with a much anticipated scholar visit from Hong Kong - the first in three years - when Professor Eva Kit Wah Man of Hong Kong Baptist University shared her reflections on Confucian living framework and comparative philosophy through large-scale research and her many lived experiences.
Read more
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Cantonese Language Program promotes Hong Kong culture at inaugural Vancouver Hong Kong Fair
On May 14, the first-ever Vancouver Hong Kong Fair was hosted by HK House at SFU Harbour Centre in Downtown Vancouver. As a part of their ongoing community outreach efforts, the UBC Cantonese Language Program hosted a booth with games and prizes to showcase Cantonese language learning to community members.
Read more
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In case you missed our previous events, a recording of the following event is now available on our YouTube channel:
May 14: Weaving Femininity into Mysticism: Rereading Parvīn Iʿtiṣāmī’s “God’s Weaver”
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| SUSTAINABILITY NEWS |
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Asian Studies Eco-Challenge Conclusion
In May, the Asian Studies Sustainability Initiative Committee offered the very first Asian Studies Eco Challenge! Congratulations to the three top-scorers:
1. Carol Lee – Communications Officer for the From the Ground Up Project
2. Eurie Shin – Lecturer of Korean Language
3. Lilian Higashikata – Graduate student
A huge thank-you for everyone’s participation. A photo highlight of some of the weekly activities can be viewed here. Keep your eyes peeled this fall for the next challenge!
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| ASIAN LIBRARY NEWS |
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New graduate student staff support for Chinese Studies at Asian Library
Zijing Liu (she/her) has joined the Asian Library as a Chinese Studies Co-op Student from May to December 2022. Zijing earned a Bachelor’s degree in urban planning and is entering her second year of UBC iSchool’s Master of Library and Information Studies program. She enjoys providing support for students, faculty, and community members to achieve their learning and research goals in the field of Chinese studies. She is also dedicated to supporting student learning through classroom visits and one-on-one consulting. When not working or studying, she indulges in cooking experiments in her kitchen.
Contact Zijing Liu
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New graduate student staff support for Korean Studies at Asian Library
The Asian Library is pleased to have Kisun Kim working with the branch again this summer as a Graduate Academic Assistant support for our Korean Studies collections and services. Kisun Kim (she/her) is currently pursuing her Master of Library and Information Studies and Master of Archival Studies at the UBC iSchool. She also holds an MA in history from Western University and is passionate about Asian and Asian Canadian history. She believes information has the power to help people better understand society and themselves. She is excited to continue working with the Asian Library and is looking forward to making connections with UBC students, faculty and community members.
Contact Kisun Kim
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