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Meet Our New Asian Studies Faculty Member, Ho Jung Choi
We’re excited to welcome our new Associate Professor of Teaching in Korean Language and Culture, Dr. Ho Jung Choi, to our department! Before coming to UBC, he taught Korean at several institutions and served as the Director of the Korean Language Program at Princeton University. Learn more about his journey and interests!
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Dr. Christina Laffin Appointed as UBC Faculty Research Advisor for Social Sciences and Humanities
We are proud to share that our Associate Professor of Classical Japanese, Christina Laffin, has been appointed as UBC’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Advisor. She has already been serving in an interim capacity since July 2024.
In this position, Dr. Laffin will advise on research funding strategy, work closely with VPRI units, and support UBC researchers pursuing federal funding opportunities.
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Dr. Colleen Laird Awarded Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant
Congratulations to our Assistant Professor of Japanese Film, Colleen Laird, and Dr. Lucy Fife Donaldson (University of St. Andrews) for receiving a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council Catalyst grant for their collaborative project “Ways of Undoing.”
The three-year international initiative positions videographic criticism at the forefront of the digital humanities, asking how audiovisual scholarship can resist entrenched academic and cinematic hierarchies.
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Cantonese Lecturers Zoe Lam and Raymond Pai Receive Pop Pedagogies Award
Congratulations to our Cantonese lecturers Zoe Lam and Raymond Pai, who were among the recipients of the UBC Pop Culture Cluster's Pop Pedagogies Award.
The award supports innovative lesson plans and modules that meaningfully integrate popular media into teaching and learning. Their projects exemplify the cutting-edge pedagogical approaches fostered within our department—read more about their proposed modules!
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From Learner to Leader: A Conversation with Two Teaching Assistants of the UBC Cantonese Language Program
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the UBC Cantonese Language Program!
To celebrate this milestone and reflect on the past decade, Cantonese lecturer Dr. Zoe Lam sat down with two students who have progressed from beginners of Cantonese to outstanding teaching assistants to discuss how learning Cantonese has helped them grow.
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Safety Awareness Week is September 15–19, 2025
Campus Security welcomes all students, faculty, and staff to the start of the new academic school year! September 15–19 is Safety Awareness Week. Let's start the year off right by learning how to keep yourself and the UBC community safe and secure on campus.
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Safety on the go. Download the UBC Safe Vancouver App
UBC Safe is the official safety app of UBC Vancouver Point Grey campus that integrates with UBC's safety and security systems. Receive important safety push notifications, and find safety information, contacts, maps and procedures — all in one place!
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| PUBLICATIONS |
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Dr. Sunera Thobani Publishes New Book: Decolonizing Knowledge: Looking Back, Moving Forward
Congratulations to Asian Studies Professor Sunera Thobani and Radha D'Souza (University of Westminister) on the publication of their new book, Decolonizing Knowledge: Looking Back, Moving Forward.
The book traces the intellectual histories of anti-colonial thinkers, showing how their ideas of decolonization were forged through practical engagement in struggles for freedom from colonialism.
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New Publication by Dr. Don Baker on Religion in Korea
Congratulations to Asian Studies Professor Don Baker on the publication of his new booklet, Korean New Religions, released by Cambridge University Press.
Published as part of the Elements series, this short work explores Korea’s diverse religious landscape, new religious movements, and challenges modernity has posed to traditional beliefs and values.
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| IN THE MEDIA |
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Dr. Ji-yoon An Talks About the K-Pop Demon Hunters on CBC Radio
K-Pop Demon Hunters has become the most-watched film on Netflix of all time. The music in the film has set a record for four simultaneous top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Our Assistant Professor of Modern Korean Popular Culture, Ji-yoon An, recently went on air with CBC's The Early Edition to discuss the phenomenon.
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"More Swindles from the Late Ming" book by Dr. Rusk and Dr. Rea reviewed in Los Angeles Review of Books
On August 30, the Los Angeles Review of Books published a review of Asian Studies professors Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea's co-translated book, More Swindles from the Late Ming: Sex, Scams, and Sorcery (Columbia University Press, 2024).
"In the 40 short stories selected for this new volume," reviewer Mahika Dhar writes, "Murphy’s Law holds supreme: everything that can go wrong absolutely does. Silver is stolen, men are murdered, cheats and crooks abound, and the common man rarely triumphs."
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Crown and Money Market in Seventeenth-Century China
September 11, 2:00pm - 3:30pm PT;
in-person
Gabriel Groz, University of Chicago
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Golden Gate Girls
September 15, 6:00pm - 8:30pm PT;
in-person
Louisa Wei, director
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Comedy Show: Ashwyn Singh and Guests!
September 16, 6:30pm - 9:00pm PT;
in-person
Ashwyn Singh, comedian
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Asian Studies Welcome Back Night 2025
September 18, 5:30pm - 7:30pm PT;
in-person
Open to all UBC students!
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Kyojin, Taihō…and Repatriation?: On the Legacies of Repatriation in Postwar Japan
September 19, 12:00pm - 1:30pm PT;
in-person
Christina Yi, UBC Asian Studies
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Film Screening of I’ve Got the Blues 水底行走的人 and Conversation with Director Angie Chen
September 20, 2:00pm - 4:00pm PT;
in-person
Angie Chen, director
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Indigenous-Asian Relationship Building: A Multi-Generational Conversation
September 20, 5:30pm - 7:00pm PT;
in-person
Dorothy Cucw-la7 Christian, Simon Fraser University and Kirsten Emiko McAllister, Simon Fraser University
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INDIANS ON INDIAN LANDS: No Past to Long For
September 23, 5:30pm - 8:30pm PT;
in-person
Nishant Upadhyay, University of Colorado Boulder; Monica Chema, filmmaker
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UBC Language Sciences 10th Anniversary Celebration and Research Showcase
September 25, 12:00pm - 2:00pm PT;
in-person
Featuring Cantonese language program instructors: Raymond Pai, Smily Kwok, Liam Doherty, and Lily Chan
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Decolonizing Museums: The Indonesian Experience
September 26, 2:00pm - 3:30pm PT;
in-person
Hilmar Farid, Jakarta Institute of Arts
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| ASIAN LIBRARY NEWS |
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New books at the Asian Library
Explore all the new tles that were added to the Asian Library collec ons in August.
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Discover the Oversize Book Collec on at UBC Asian Library
The UBC Asian Library’s foyer space is currently showcasing a few titles from the Oversize Book Collection, which brings together a wide range of large-format materials that showcase art, history, literature and culture across Asia. Due to their size and separate location, these titles often get missed by patrons browsing the regular stacks, but you won’t want to miss these quirky marvels.
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Stories in Panels: Graphic Novels at UBC Asian Library
UBC Asian Library invites you to explore the newly launched collection of graphic novels in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
The language librarians have been focusing on acquiring a diverse range of tles that span genres and themes. Whether you’re reading for leisure, practicing a heritage language, or exploring something new, graphic novels are a compelling way to experience storytelling through both words and images.
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Temporary change in branch opening hours
Starting September 2, 2025, the Asian Library will temporarily operate with new hours:
Monday to Friday 9 am – 5 pm
Saturday 11 am – 4 pm
Please check the website before your visit.
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| OPPORTUNITIES |
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Arts Co-op Program Accepting Applications for the 2025/2026 Academic Year
The Arts Co-op Program offers undergraduate students meaningful, paid work experiences that build career skills and professional networks. We work with a diverse range of community partners and sectors to provide transformative workplace learning for students. Attend information sessions and apply for the 2025/2026 academic year by September 18.
Call for Applications: 2025/26 Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund
The Community-University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund prioritizes reciprocal, inclusive engagement so all communities can benefit. Get up to $25K to support your community-university projects. Open to BC-based community partners and UBC students, faculty & staff. Submit a Notice of Interest (NOI) by September 25.
Editor Applications for the 2025-26 UBC Journal of Historical Studies is open
The UBC Journal of Historical Studies' editors contribute to selecting articles for publication, engage in the peer-review process, and work closely with authors and co-editors throughout the publishing process. This is an opportunity for students to gain experience in academic editing by playing an active role in advancing and sharing cutting-edge historical research. The application deadline is 11:59 PM on September 26.
Campus as a Living Lab Fund Competition
Small Project funding of $10,000–$30,000 and large project funding of $50,000–$100,000 is available for UBC Vancouver staff and faculty to co-develop interdisciplinary living lab projects that respond to global sustainability challenges grounded in research, real-world application, and institutional learning through the Campus as a Living Lab Fund competition. Learn more at an information session on September 16 and submit your Notice of Intent by September 30.
Call for Papers: 2025-26 UBC Journal of Historical Studies
The History Department’s student-run publication produces an annual journal that showcases the finest historical research from undergraduates, contributing to a thriving and more inclusive academic community at UBC. If you have a paper demonstrating your argumentative ability or a novel historical angle, please submit it for consideration! The submission deadline for papers is 11:59 PM on October 3.
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