February 05, 2026 The Update is a regular roundup of news in the Department of Asian Studies for our students, faculty and staff. |
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Top Stories • Featured Summer Courses • In The Media • Upcoming Events • Event Recap • Asian Library News • Opportunities • On & Off-Campus Events |
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Meet our 2024/25 Lecturers of the Year Each year, the Department of Asian Studies selects two Lecturers to recognize and celebrate excellence in teaching and service to the Department. It is with great pleasure that we announce Zheng (Tim) Cai and Jeonghye Son as our 2024/2025 Lecturers of the Year. Dr. Cai brings his extensive knowledge, research, and pedagogical passion to all of the courses he teaches; Dr. Son has played a central role in renewing the Korean language curriculum and has been a leader in pedagogical innovation. |
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2026 Summer session course schedule is now available The course schedule for the 2026 Summer session has been released—check out what Asian Studies courses are being offered! Registration dates vary for different groups of students. Find your date here. Back to top |
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Dr. Don Baker dismisses false claims regarding the Gwangju Uprising False claims have recently been circulating online in South Korea on the US government's stance on North Korean involvement during the Gwangju Uprising in the 1980s. Our Professor in Korean History and Civilization, Dr. Don Baker—who witnessed the uprising firsthand—commented that declassified US intelligence documents showed no evidence of North Korean involvement and that it was never the official position of the U.S. government that the uprising was a North Korean plot. Back to top |
| UPCOMING EVENTS | ||||||
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UBC Students Take the Director’s Chair at the Film Festival On the evening of December 5, 2025, the UBC Youth Short Film Festival unfolded as both a celebration of student creativity and a quiet portrait of campus life rendered through the lens of film. Held at the University of British Columbia, the festival brought together student filmmakers, performers, and audiences for a night that balanced artistic ambition with communal warmth. |
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Cantopop in Canada: Songwriting and Performing Identity On January 24, 2026, the Cantonese Language Program partnered with the Chinese Canadian Museum to present Cantopop in Canada: Songwriting and Performing Identity, a public fireside-style panel that brought together musicians, students, scholars, and community members for an evening of conversation about language, music, and diasporic experience. The event featured two Vancouver-based Cantonese-language musicians, Ching Choi (蔡紫晴) and handwash (手洗), and was moderated by Dr. Zoe Lam from UBC Asian Studies. Back to top |
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New books at Asian Library Explore new items added to the UBC Asian Library collections. Browse new titles online or in-person at the Asian Library branch on the Vancouver campus. |
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Kids Take Over UBC Asian Library is excited to participate in Kids Take Over UBC 2026 on February 15. This year’s theme, Pop of Light – Seasons in Asia, is presented in collaboration with the Nitobe Memorial Garden. Visitors can enjoy a variety of crafts and games, as well as experience henna application. We are also excited to host a live performance by UBC K-Wave, who will be leading K-Pop dance workshops, as well as a KPop Demon Hunters-inspired open dance party. Participants can also enjoy activities hosted by neighbouring Nitobe Memorial Garden, including a taiko drumming performance. Date and time: Sunday, February 15 | 10:00am to 4:00pm |
| OPPORTUNITIES |
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Call for Participants: Share Your International Student Experience (5-10 min survey) Do I Belong Here? International Students on Language, Culture, and Campus Life is a project that aims to understand the experiences of international students as they navigate academic, social, and cultural aspects of university life. This survey is open to international students and takes approximately 5–10 minutes to complete. Please cotact Dr. Claudia Helena Sanchez-Gutierrez or Dr. Pablo Robles-García if you have any questions. Apply to become a Sustainability Ambassador The Sustainability Ambassadors program is a unique learning and leadership experience for students interested in community-engaged learning and sustainability. The program connects students with community partners to work collaboratively to drive engagement and increase awareness in sustainability, wellbeing and climate justice issues. This volunteer opportunity is open to UBC undergraduate and graduate students in all programs (no previous experience in sustainability is required). Apply by February 9. Call for Abstracts: The Interdisciplinary Studies (ISGP) Nexus Conference The Interdisciplinary Studies (ISGP) Nexus Conference 2026 focuses on how today’s challenges spill across disciplines, sectors, and systems, demanding approaches that integrate expertise rather than confine it. Poster abstracts from graduate students across all programs and disciplines at UBC are welcomed. Submit by February 15. Call for Submissions: The International Art Competition 2025-26 The Centre for Migration Studies International Art Competition 2025-26 invites emerging and established visual artists to submit artworks for this year’s competition, with two prizes to be awarded by the jury. This year’s theme is Borders and Crossings, broadly defined. We invite submissions that highlight how migrants cross not only physical borders but also identity, political, and other social borders. Submit by 5:00pm PT on February 16. Call for abstracts: LangSci's Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research Day The Language Sciences Institute invites abstract submissions for the Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research Day, taking place on April 30th, at UBC Vancouver. Scholarly work related to language from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective is welcomed! Applicants must be graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. The submission deadline is February 26. Call for Applications: Videographic Venice Co-organized by Colleen Laird and her colleagues, Videographic Venice invites participants to explore Venice as both subject and medium through videographic criticism. Participants will complete a series of specially designed videographic exercises that build a transferable methodological toolkit, applicable to future research in other cities and contexts. Applications are due March 31. Back to top |
| ON & OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS |
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Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusion February 10 "Heaven Has Eyes": Canadian Book Launch February 10 February 11 February 15 AI and Academic Literacy: A Multimodal Linguistic Ethnographic Approach February 23 February 23–26 Back to top |
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