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2019 Asian Studies Welcome Event
Tuesday, September 17 | 4:30 p.m.
Join us to kick off the 2019 academic year! From sake tastings to dance performances, mingle with your fellow students and enjoy free drinks, nibbles, guest speakers and activities. We’ll also have some funky Asian Studies merch for sale – bring your cash and we guarantee you’ll start the new academic year off in style!
This event is free but registration is required by September 10th, 2019.
Read more and RSVP
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How to draw lines in a Maṇḍala? What could secularity mean in the case of Bhutan?
Dagmar Schwerk, Khyentse Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Tibetan Studies, explores the relationship between religion and politics in pre-modern and modern Bhutan from a text-critical and sociological perspective, in her newest article, titled Drawing Lines in a Maṇḍala: A Sketch of Boundaries Between Religion and Politics in Bhutan. Check out her research project at the Kolleg-Forschergruppe “Multiple Secularities - Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” an interdisciplinary and international research group at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
Read the article here
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The Winter 2019/20 course schedule is now available. Check out these featured courses we will be offering!
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Contemporary South Asian Gender and Sexuality Studies |
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Pre-Modern Chinese Poetry (Pre-Qin to Tang) |
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Pre-Modern Chinese Poetry (Tang to Qing) |
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Tibetan Literature, Genres, and Book Culture |
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The Cinematic Lives of Muslims in South Asia |
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Introductory Sanskrit |
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See the full list of 2019W Asian Studies courses offered.
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DEPARTMENT EVENTS |
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The First UBC Language Day
Thursday, September 5 | 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Drop-in)
Drop by the front of Koerner Library and come learn about all about the languages offered by Asian Studies! We will be around to answer any of your questions regarding our courses, plus you can try your hand at some fun cultural activities! There might even be candy…
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A Place for Doubt: The Theory and Practice of “Questioning Meditation” (Kanhwa Sŏn 看話禪) in Korean Zen Buddhism
Thursday, September 12 | 5:00 p.m.
With Professor Robert E. Buswell Jr.
By the time doubt has been fully appraised by Sŏn Buddhist adepts, this debilitating mental concomitant has been transformed into the principal force driving one toward enlightenment. This lecture seeks to tell the story of this transformation.
Entry is free via RSVP at the link below.
Read more and RSVP
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''The Force is No Longer With You'': The Police and Hong Kong Protests
Friday, September 20 | 3:30 p.m.
With Randy Shek (Barrister-at-law)
The Hong Kong Police Force has, for a long time, been deemed by the city’s residents as “Asia’s Finest.” But this reputation on the part of the Hong Kong Police as an efficient, disciplined, and impartial force has clearly taken a deep dive since the Umbrella Movement of 2014. A practising lawyer with a particular focus on criminal law, human rights, and civil liberties, Randy Shek will examine not only the evolution of this transformation but also its implications for Hong Kong and beyond.
Entry is free via RSVP at the link below.
Read more and RSVP
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Human Rights in Hong Kong?
香港《基本法》還能保障人權嗎?
Sunday, September 22 | 2:00 p.m.
With Randy Shek (Barrister-at-law)
While fundamental human rights and civil liberties are given protection under the region’s constitutional instruments, both the authorities and residents often resort to the law and the courts when issues of great political significance and impact arise. This talk will focus on the experience and observations by a lawyer practising in criminal law, human rights law and civil liberties law who is frequently involved in cases caught at the crossroads between political controversy and human rights challenges. Program in Cantonese.
Entry is free via RSVP at the link below.
Read more and RSVP
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Chinese State Capitalism in Hong Kong
Thursday, September 26 | 5:30 p.m.
With Professor Ho-fung Hung
This presentation discusses the role of Hong Kong as China’s offshore financial market amidst the rise and faltering of the China Boom, as well as its implications to the local politics and society of Hong Kong. After China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, mainland China and Hong Kong remain to be two separate members in the organization with different terms of membership. While China continues to maintain a lot of restrictions on foreign financial capital, Hong Kong’s financial sector has been fully open to the world.
Entry is free via RSVP at the link below.
Read more and RSVP
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One Poet Among Many: Hafez and the Transregional Literary Networks of 14th Century Iran
Friday, September 27 | 6:30 p.m. With Dominic Parviz Brookshaw
Hafez of Shiraz is arguably the most famous of medieval Iran’s great poets. This lecture will examine the motivations behind these acts of imitation in order to present a more balanced reading of Hafez, one that stands in opposition to the traditional depiction of the poet, and is, consequently, more faithful to Hafez’s historical reality.
Entry is free via RSVP at the link below.
Read more and RSVP
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EVENT RECAPS |
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UBC Himalaya Program's Summer Nepali and Tibetan Language Courses
Each summer, the UBC Himalaya Program hosts a set of community-engaged Nepali and Tibetan language courses. These courses blended classroom instruction with experiential learning off-campus at various Nepali and Tibetan community sites. This year, with support from the Department of Asian Studies, and as of next summer, these intensive language courses will be hosted under ASIA 400-level course codes. Catch a glimpse at what these innovative courses are like in these recap videos put together by the UBC Himalaya Program!
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Meet our Students - Parboti Roy |
Interested in pursuing a PhD in Asian Studies? In this interview series, we ask our graduate students about their research, their experience in our program and their future academic and professional goals.
This interview features PhD student Parboti Roy.
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Tell us a little about yourself, your background and how you became interested in Asian languages and cultures?
I come from an Indigenous community called ‘Chakma’ from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. After completion of my Bachelors degree and two Masters in Women and Gender Studies, and as I started shifting my career from social development to teaching, I decided to pursue a PhD. Furthermore, it is my mother’s, my aunties’, my grandmother's as well as my own dream to become one of the very few Chakma women scholars by earning a PhD degree.
My work experience in women and gender issues has always inspired me to work for human rights, particularly for women in marginalized communities. While I used to look for scholarly papers on gendered violence against Indigenous women in Asia, I could not find any significant literature. This made me think about the lack of Indigenous academic scholars on this concern in Asia and inspired me to apply to Asian Studies at UBC, which is one of the leading programs in the world.
Could you explain to a non-expert what you are researching and why it is significant?
My research concentrates on Indigenous women's resistance to gender-based violence in Bangladesh. Indigenous women encounter more gendered and sexual violence compared to non-Indigenous women in Bangladesh and there has been no research on this concern. My study aims to explore how Indigenous women develop mechanisms to counter such violence at different structures of the state that violate Indigenous women’s human rights. The study is very significant to understanding the intricate power relationship between the patriarchal state, colonialism, gender, class and Indigeneity and to understand Indigenous women’s self-determination rights over their identities and bodies in the context of Asia which has been so far an unexplored area in the domain of research.
Has there been an aspect of your graduate experience that was unexpected?
As a new international student in Canada, I faced some challenges in the beginning. However, the Department of Asian Studies supported me a lot and I am grateful to them for their cordiality. Apart from that, being a non-native English speaker whose third language is English, I was less confident about myself in a new academic environment. My teachers have encouraged me to rebuild my self-confidence.
Can you give any advice to new students in our program or for students considering applying to it?
My advice for prospective students is to not think twice while applying to this department. This is a great opportunity to be a part of a dynamic department that is filled with excellent faculty and students and of course very beautiful and peaceful natural surroundings. For the new students, I would tell them to not hesitate to seek help and advice from the department. Furthermore, there are a lot of extracurricular activities for students to explore on-and-off campus. Finally, take a deep breath to re-energize yourself for the new voyage as a graduate student!
Read more
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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Calling All Artists: Submissions for Welcome Event Art Installation
This year we are excited to include a mini art installation for student work at our Welcome Event! If you are an Asian Studies student or alumni and you have any paintings, drawings or photography you are willing to display, please email our Communications & Events Coordinator at sophie.gardner@ubc.ca.
Asian Library Wednesday Drop-in Tours of the Chung Collection
The Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection, one of the Asian Library's most well-known and beloved special collections, contains material related to three broad and interrelated themes: early British Columbia history, immigration and settlement and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The Chung Collection contains more than 25,000 rare and unique items (documents, books, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, silver, glass, ceramic ware and other artifacts), and selections from the collection are on display in RBSC, organized to show some of the most compelling stories of Canada’s past.
UBC Sustainability Initiative seeking students to join the 2019-2020 Student Sustainability Council
The Student Sustainability Council provides feedback to USI and affiliated groups on sustainability-related issues and concerns, and presents an opportunity for student leaders to have a voice on university and campus projects. In previous years, the council has attracted a diverse range of student leaders to create a space for inclusive discussions that extends beyond the environmental impact to include the social and economic aspects of sustainability. The council also provides a space for student groups to connect and collaborate with others to enrich their own initiatives. If you are interested, please complete the application here by September 15th, 2019.
Call for Submissions: Young Scholars Visiting Scheme
Gain academic recognition and connections in a one-of-a-kind abroad experience! The Young Scholars Visiting Scheme supports young scholars visiting The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on research in Chinese Studies. The successful applicant is also given the chance to interact with CUHK scholars and students, by spending a term in residence at CUHK and actively engage in academic activities related to Chinese Studies. The deadline for applications is September 30th, 2019.
Featured Elective: ANTH 307 (Ethnography of Korea)
The Department of Anthropology is offering a Korean Studies course for Winter 2019. In the course ANTH 307 (Ethnography of Korea), students get to explore Korea's ethnographic, topical, and theoretical issues. This course is open to all students, and makes a great elective for an Asian Studies major.
Explore China for Free with Gotoco
Interested in traveling abroad this year? Join Gotoco in China to gain a TEFL certificate and useful work experience in teaching, education and activity leadership. No prior experience in China, Chinese or teaching is required—just a passion for education and travel.
Call for Submissions: Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference
The Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC) is a conference for UBC undergraduate students to showcase their research to the UBC community through oral or poster presentations. MURC not only provides an opportunity for students to present their research, but it also allows them to expand their network and develop their presentation skills. This academic year, MURC will take place on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Applications to present at MURC will be accepted from November 26, 2019 to January 20, 2020.
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