Celebrating Diversity and Heritage: Highlights from the 2024 Lunar New Year Festivities

To commemorate the Lunar New Year, the Department of Asian Studies and the UBC Alma Mater Society joined forces to orchestrate a memorable event celebrating the Year of the Dragon. Through a rich tapestry of cultural diversity, attendees were able to partake in Mahjong, dumpling folding, calligraphy, sugar painting, watch dance performances, and more. As the Year of the Dragon unfolds, this gathering fostered inclusivity and embraced cultural diversity within the UBC community.

Taking Action at UBC: Alternative Waste Stream Recycling at Asian Studies

The Asian Studies Sustainability Initiative Committee is pleased to launch department-wide alternative waste stream recycling! In addition to the standard waste streams that is managed by UBC, recycling is now available for soft and flexible plastics, styrofoam, cardboard, writing utensils, batteries, and e-waste! Look for signs in the Asian Centre, or ask the main office staff for information about where alternative waste bins are located.

Feel free to contact asia.eco@ubc.ca if you have questions or suggestions!

Call for Abstracts: Language Sciences Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research Day

Language Sciences Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research Day is coming up on May 10, and the Language Sciences Institute is calling for submissions from UBCV, UBCO, and institutions across the Lower Mainland. They are seeking proposals for individual paper presentations (approx. 20 minutes) and poster presentations. Research may be in progress, complete, or previously presented work. It must relate to language in some way, from any disciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective. Submissions are due March 15.

2024 Taiwan Scholarship & Huayu Enrichment Scholarship

The Taiwan Scholarship Program was established by the Ministry of Education to encourage outstanding international students to undertake degree programs in Taiwan, this allows tuition coverage for a whole academic year for studies at any ROC University. The 2024 Huayu Enrichment Scholarship opportunity allows successful applicants to receive a monthly stipend of TWD 25,000 for up to 1 year. Both are open for applications until March 31.

alumni UBC Student Tuition Contest

Enter the UBC Student Tuition Contest today! Studying is hard work but entering this contest doesn’t have to be! Win $1,000 towards your UBC tuition to make your academic life a little easier. Enter for your chance to win! Open to all currently registered UBC students. Contest closes March 31.

Call for Applications: 2024 Wutai International and Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies

This intensive program is sponsored by the Wutai Research Institute for Eastern Buddhist Culture in Shanxi, China and hosted by the Great Sage Bamboo Monastery at Mount Wutai in Shanxi, China, with administrative support from the From the Ground Up project based at UBC. Lasting from August 7, 2024 to August 15, 2024, this program includes an international conference on Aug 12-13, and a field visit on Aug 14. Application deadline is April 6.

Call for Applications: 2024 Glorisun International and Intensive Program on Buddhist Studies with Peking University

This year’s intensive program is hosted by the Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at the Buddhist College of Minnan, with administrative support from the Glorisun Network at Peking University and UBC, and the FROGBEAR project at UBC. This program has two segments (Segment 1: Aug 15-18, and Segment 2: Aug 22-26), an intersegmental conference (Aug 19-20) and a student forum (Aug 21). Application deadline is April 6.

Call for Proposals: Canonical, Non-Canonical and Extra-canonical: Interdisciplinary and Multi-media Studies of the Formation, Translation and Transmission of Buddhist Texts

The organizing committee for the international conference on “Canonical, Non-Canonical and Extra-canonical” invites the submission of papers related to the theme of the formation, translation, and transmission of Buddhist texts. The conference is organized by the Wutai Research Institute for Eastern Buddhist Culture in Shanxi, China, co-organized by the FROGBEAR project at UBC. The conference will be held between August 11 (arrival) and August 14 (departure) at the Great Bamboo Grove Monastery on Mount Wutai. Submissions are due by April 15.

Call for Proposals: Cross-Regional and Cross-Cultural Interaction and Integration between Buddhism and Other Asian Religions

This conference is hosted by the Center for Buddhist Studies at Zhejiang University, in collaboration with the Glorisun Global Network of Buddhist Studies, with administration support from the FROGBEAR project at UBC. The conference will be held between August 16 (arrival) and August 19 (departure). The organizing committee welcomes submissions related to the study of Buddhism and the interregional, cross-cultural themes of Asian religions. Submissions are due by April 15.

Call for Proposals: Microcosm Holds Mountains and Seas: The Sinicization of Buddhism in the ‘Multi-layered Contextualization’ from Local to Global History

This conference is hosted by the South Putuo Monastery and the Buddhist College of Minnan, in Xiamen, Fujian, sponsored jointly by the South Putuo Monastery and the Research Center for Buddhist Texts and Art at Peking University, and administered the FROGBEAR project at UBC. The conference will be held between August 18 (arrival) and August 21 (departure), and aims to examine a range of issues related to both the global and local histories of Buddhism. Submissions are due by April 15.

Call for Proposals: International Conference on Chinese Buddhist Rituals and Spiritual Life in Asia

The 2024 Annual International Academic Conference on Chinese Buddhism will take place in Singapore between August 24-25 with the theme “Chinese Buddhist Rituals and Spiritual Life in Asia.” The event is jointly organized by Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery in Singapore, the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, the Institute of Ethics and Religious Studies at Tsinghua University in China, and the FROGBEAR project at UBC. Submissions are due by April 24.