The Department of Asian Studies stands in solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) on the UBC campus, in Canada, on this continent, and around the world in their demands for an end to systemic racism and racialized violence. At this watershed moment when the deaths of Black and Indigenous people like Eishia Hudson, Breonna Taylor, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, and Jason Collins at the hands of police in Canada and the U.S. have brought renewed calls for justice, we commit to undertaking new initiatives to reflect on our particular connections to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and, on the basis of that reflection, make necessary changes. Click here to read the full statement on our website with a short list of resources at UBC and beyond.

The first step in the process of transformation is to listen and learn. Accordingly, we here offer a short list of resources at UBC and beyond. We are also constructing a list of resources, articles, and scholarship that specifically address Black and Indigenous issues in Asia, racial injustice issues specific to Asia, or the triangulations of Black, white, and racialized Asian diasporic communities, which can be found here.

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Interested in what you can do with a degree in Asian Studies? In our Alumni Spotlight Interview Series, we ask our alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in Asian Studies and for any advice they would give to current students.

Tell us a little about yourself, your background and how you became interested in Asian Studies?

I was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada in the 70s. Went through high school in Vancouver and then headed straight into UBC. I quickly discovered that I was not made for Science and switched to Arts in 2nd year. I took Chinese 100/101 and rediscovered my own culture. My mentor Dr. John Howes convinced me to major in Asian Studies. A friend then encouraged me to explore Japanese as at that time in the 80s, Japan was quickly on the rise. Toyotas and Hondas were becoming popular; Tokyo fashion was at par with that of Paris, London and New York; and JPop culture was gaining a large fan base in Asia. I struggled with Japanese 100 in the first month but once I grasped the basics with the help of my prof Dr. Soga, I found my new love. By the time I graduated, I have taken every Japanese language course there was at UBC. I then wrote the Mombusho Scholarship exam and was accepted into Hokkaido University in Sapporo in 1985. That ended up being one of the best years in my life.

Has learning an Asian language helped you in your personal or professional life? What tips do you have for students who are keen to play the ‘language card’ in their career development?

Absolutely! Japanese has opened so many doors for me, and I am still able to use Mandarin on my field studies trips nowadays. With language, there is no shortcut. You must practise and practise. Speaking, reading, writing, and listening. All of it. Watch shows without caption to reinforce your listening skills (that’s how I learned English). Have fun doing it. Learn phrases of interest to you. I learned wo ai ni, aishite iru, and saranghae pretty quickly. But seriously, as you probably know this already, language is made up of more than just words. There’s also tone and body language. That was the missing element for me until I spent a year in Japan. And know this. You may always have an accent, but you can become fluent. After one year in Japan, a taxi driver thought I was native, and when I said I must have an accent, he said I did, but thought it was a southern Japanese dialect. Go find opportunities to really use your new language skills. After returning to Vancouver, I entered the first-ever Japanese Speech Contest at UBC in 1989 and came in first place.

Knowing that I am a foodie, Fairchild TV invited me to audition for a cooking show host in 1999. They were looking for a Cantonese-speaking host who also shares a passion for cooking. I had no acting experience and I sure didn’t know how to prepare proper meals. Fortunately, I didn’t have to cook. There was a chef. I just needed to speak in Cantonese. So, you never know. When opportunity knocks, grab it and you’ll figure it out along the way.

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In this new series, Asian Studies faculty, staff, students and alumni are sharing their challenges and experiences in the transition to working online and teaching from home. We're adding new stories all the time!

Click the link below to find out the new skills, old habits, technological challenges and words of ancient wisdom that they've come to live by. If you would like to take part, please email sophie.gardner@ubc.ca

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Program for Open Scholarship and Education (POSE)

The Program for Open Scholarship and Education (POSE) is a new one-year flexible and blended program jointly presented by the UBC Open Working Group, the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology and UBC Library. The program will help you develop foundational knowledge of Open Scholarship, Open Education and Open Research. 

By completing this program you will gain the tools and strategies to become proficient in supporting and advocating for open practices. The program is intended for faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students with an interest in open research, open access, open data and open education.

Learn more about POSE