Penn Center For East Asian Studies Newsletter

1. University of Pennsylvania East Asia Events
   
2. Regional East Asia Events
   
3. Employment and Internship Opportunities
   
4. Fellowship and Award Opportunities
   
5. East Asia Study Opportunities and Queries
   
6. Conferences and Workshops

Featured Event

Thursday, October 25, 4:30PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Like Donkeys Killed after Grinding the Wheat: War Veterans and the Politics of Martial Citizenship and Patriotism in China, 1949-2006

Neil Diamant, Dickinson College

Even though the Chinese Communist Party captured state power as a result of its superior military organization and leadership, and claims legitimacy on the basis of its wartime nationalism, almost nothing has been written about what happened to the millions of rank and file soldiers and junior officers who returned to villages and cities after the guns of war died down. How were veterans of the Korean War treated upon their return? How did ordinary citizens assess the legitimacy of that conflict? If "patriotism" is said to have been a rising sentiment in the PRC, why would war heroes complain that they felt like "dirty socks that are tossed aside" ? This lecture, which is based on years of archival research in urban and rural China, will address these and other questions

Issues in Contemporary East Asia Lecture Series

Thursday, October 18, 4:30PM, Huntsman Hall G55, Alliances unwound? US Policy in Korea and Asia After Roh Moo Hyun

Victor Cha, Georgetown University

Philip Jaison Distinguished Lecturer

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Friday, October 19, 11AM, Cherpack Lounge (523 Williams )

Numinous Peaks and Moving Mountains: Some Issues and Themes in the Study of Chinese Sacred Geography

James Robson, The University of Michigan

Co-Sponsored with the Religious Studies Department

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Prof. Jean Pfaelzer, who has recently published a major book about the experiences of Chinese Americans and immigrants in the US west during the late 19th and early 20th century, will give a lecture at 3 pm on Oct 24, 2007, at Penn Law School, 3400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia 19104, Gittis Hall Lecture Room 1. The book is called Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans  (Random House 2007). 

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Wednesday, October 24, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Kurosawa, Stray Dog (Nora inu) , 1949

Japanese Cinema Series

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Thursday, October 25, 4:30PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231, Like Donkeys Killed after Grinding the Wheat: War Veterans and the Politics of Martial Citizenship and Patriotism in China , 1949-2006

Neil Diamant, Dickinson College

Even though the Chinese Communist Party captured state power as a result of its superior military organization and leadership, and claims legitimacy
on the basis of its wartime nationalism, almost nothing has been written about what happened to the millions of rank and file soldiers and junior officers who
returned to villages and cities after the guns of war died down.  How were veterans of the Korean War treated upon their return? How did ordinary citizens assess the legitimacy of that conflict? If "patriotism" is said to have been a rising sentiment in the PRC, why would war heroes complain that they felt like "dirty socks that are tossed aside" ?  This lecture, which is based on years of archival research in urban and rural China , will address these and other questions.

Issues in Contemporary East Asia Lecture Series

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My name is Hue Chuyen and I am a monk at Pagoda Phat Hue in Frankfurt, Germany. Venerable Thich Thien Son, the Abbot and Zen Master of the Pagoda, is holding a free talk at the McCleland Conference Room at the Pennsylvania Hospital on October 26 . He is deeply versed in Buddhist philosophy (texts and applications) and psychology from both Eastern and Western standards. Ven. Thich Thien Son, who has been featured in National Geographic and Geo magazines, is the President of the European Buddhist University and was recently awarded the 2007 Spirit of Business Award by The European Community Of Experts in Marketing And Sales for his 'innovative and strategic concepts for spirit in management'.

I would like to extend an invitation  to students and professors of the University's East Asian programs and possibly post the event on the website. Could you guide me in the best way to make this event known to the member of the East Asian Studies program?

Thank you for your help,
Hue Chuyen


(For more information regarding the event and Pagoda please visit www.phathue.com)

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Wednesday, October 31, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Kurosawa, To Live (Ikiru) , 1952

Japanese Cinema Series

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Thursday, November 1, 4:30PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231, Hunger and History: Mencius, Malthus, and Mao in China

Lillian M. Li, Swarthmore College

The prevention of famine and hunger has been part of Chinese political thinking since ancient times, and hunger and famines helped shape China 's history especially in the twentieth century. Drawing from her recently published book, Fighting Famine in North China : State, Market, and Environmental Decline, 1690s-1990s (Stanford University Press, 2007), Professor Li will speak about how “Polarities such as food vs. population, man vs. nature, [rich vs. poor], or state vs. market drastically oversimplify history. . . . The story of famine, and fighting famine, is a story of human choice and human will, not of historical inevitability or historical determinism.”

Humanities Colloquium

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Wednesday, November 7, 7:00PM, Logan Hall Terrace Room , The History and Music of the Japanese Chikuzen Biwa

Yoko Hiraoka

Yoko Hiraoka will present a lecture/recital of Japanese Biwa music. This 5-stringed lute with a powerful and raw timbre, has a history in Japan of at least 1300 years, and has been used both as a story-telling medium, and sometimes as an accompaniment to chanted religious texts and sutras.

Ms. Hiraoka's biwa repertoire draws mainly upon episodes from the Tale of Heike. This great masterpiece of Japanese literature has continued to retain a hold on the imagination of Japanese audiences throughout the centuries. Yoko brings not only her depth of training in biwa, but also her joy in the old stories to the genre. She explains about the context of the music and the history and importance of biwa in Japanese culture from the Heian period (794-1185) into the 20th Century. Most of all she brings to life with accomplished storytelling, the engaging characters and the supernatural and larger than life events surrounding them, as sung poems accompanied by the biwa.

http://www.japanesestrings.com/

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Wednesday, November 7, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Kurosawa, Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) , 1954

Japanese Cinema Series

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Thursday, November 8, 4:30PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231 , Unfolding Beauty and Beyond: Korean Screen Paintings of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910)

Hyunsoo Woo, Associate Curator of Korean Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art

While a folding screen is one of the popular painting formats in Korea , screen paintings functioned not only as fine art works, but also provided many other practical roles in daily life of Joseon dynasty. Screen paintings sometime became architectural components as a room divider or, a protection against the wind. They were also used as a backdrop at special occasions such as birthdays, weddings and funerals. The subject matter of screen paintings therefore often reflected auspicious wishes associated with a specific event or location. Using examples of the late Joseon dynasty's screen paintings, this lecture will explore meanings and symbolism hidden behind their visual charm.

Korean Lecture Series

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Wednesday, November 14, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Kurosawa, Itami, Tampopo , 1985

Japanese Cinema Series

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Thursday, November 15, 4:30PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231 , Circulated Originality: Reconsidering Literary Connections Between Tao Qian, Ying Qu and the Wei-Jin Tradition of the Recluse

Pauline Lin, Bryn Mawr College

This paper re-evaluates the originality of Tao Qian's (365-427) poetry by exploring Tao's literary connection to the Cao-Wei poet Ying Qu ?? (190-252). While most commentators since the Song Dynasty have dismissed this odd pairing -- first espoused by Zhong Rong (469?-518) in his Shipin -- this paper discovers striking literary similarities between the two while uncovering Ying's less-read but once-famous epistles, which provide a far broader literary range than his extant Baiyi shi . Further evidence from the works of minor Eastern Jin period poets highlights a circulation of linguistic idioms and dictions for the retired-recluse gentleman that critics came to associate strongly and solely with Tao Qian. By considering the transmission and preservation of the Wei-Jin poets' works this paper will investigate why Tao Qian has become a forceful poetic voice, why Ying Qu's works gradually became less known, and why Tao Qian's connection to Ying Qu and the minor poets in the tradition became underplayed, if not forgotten.

Humanities Colloquium

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Wednesday, November 28, 12:00PM, The Forum in Stiteler Hall , The Welfare State or Faith? Explaining Weak Islamist Mobilization in Malaysia

Kikue Hamayotsu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University

Issues in Contemporary East Asia Lecture Series

Co-sponsored with the Penn Comparative Politics Workshop and the Middle East Center

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Wednesday, November 28, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Miyazaki , Princess Mononoke (Mononokehime ), 1997

Japanese Cinema Series

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Wednesday, December 5, 7:00PM, Fisher-Bennett Hall 231

Screening of: Kitano, Fire-works (Hana-bi) , 1997

Japanese Cinema Series

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Japanese Cinema Series

Fisher-Bennett Hall, Room 231

Wednesdays, 7 p.m.

9/12 Kurosawa, Rashômon , 1950
9/19 Mizoguchi, The Life of Oharu (Saikaku ichidai onna) , 1952
9/26 Mizoguchi, Ugetsu (Ugetsu monogatari) , 1953
10/3 Ozu, Late Spring (Banshun) , 1949
10/10 Ozu, Tokyo Story ( Tokyo monogatari) , 1953
10/24 Kurosawa, Stray Dog (Nora inu) , 1949
10/31 Kurosawa, To Live (Ikiru) , 1952
11/7 Kurosawa, Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai), 1954
11/14 Itami, Tampopo , 1985
11/28 Miyazaki , Princess Mononoke (Mononokehime), 1997
12/5 Kitano, Fire-works (Hana-bi) , 1997

Offered in conjunction with Art History 210 and Film 223: Postwar Japanese Cinema and Visual Culture

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A Harmonious Information Society? Social Stratification, ICT & Media in China

A one-day symposium to be held on January 25, 2008 generously supported and hosted by the Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. 
Economic development and ‘informatization' in China have gone hand in hand. While the growth of the economy over the years has been and still is at an incredible rate, the adoption rate of information technology, such as that of mobile phones and the internet, has been just as, if not even more impressive. However, with recent discussions about the construction of a ‘harmonious society' appearing on the political agenda, the focus has started to shift from economic growth to the problem of achieving more overall societal balance. This shift in official discourse acknowledges the need to address social problems, including the tensions between state and market forces, a growing gap between the rich and the poor and widening disparities between the urban and rural population. While there has been research on social stratification in China, little attention so far has been paid to the role information technologies and the media play in this process.
First, what are the social consequences of an increasing informatization of the Chinese society? Who are the main users of new technologies and what are they using them for? And what happens to those who are left out, who do not have the access, or the education to develop the skills and literacy necessary to work with digital media? A deeper underlying question perhaps is, where did these technologies come from and why were they so generously supported? What roles do economic and political considerations play in shaping the diffusion of technology that can be adopted for either repressive or emancipatory purposes?
Second, what is the role of the media in addressing social inequality? In the light of an increasing stratified society, how do the media, both the traditional and the new media, represent competing voices and interests and how do they communicate these disagreements to the public? How do members of the public make sense or fail to make sense of these media representations?

On Friday January 25, 2008, we will bring together an impressive group of scholars for a one-day symposium to address these contentious questions. Our panels include renowned scholars coming from a wide range of disciplines, such as, communication, political science, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies and China studies. Participation among all those attending will be enthusiastically encouraged.
For more information about the symposium, please contact Lokman Tsui <ltsui@asc.upenn.edu>

*Institute for Corean-American Studies, Inc.

Chung In Moon Professor, Yonsei University Ambassador for International Security Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Republic of Korea to addressThe Korean Summit: Comparing 2000 and 2007

ICAS Fall Symposium Addendum: Humanity, Peace and Security October 26, 2007 Friday 2: 00 PM - 5: 00 PM Presentation 2: 00 PM Reception 3: 30 PM

Rayburn Office Building 2168 Gold Room United States House of Representatives The Capitol Hill Washington DC

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*The Fall 2007 schedule of Oriental Club of Philadelphia is as follows:

October 18, Frank J. Hoffman, "Process Concepts of Text, Practice, and No Self in Buddhism"
November 8, Paula Sabloff, "Mongolian Herders Talk about Democracy"
December 6, Annette Yoshiko Reed, "Beyond the Land of Nod: Images of India and China in Syriac Literature"
All meetings are on Thursdays at 6 p.m. Dinners follow at area restaurants as announced. The dinner meeting
of the October 18 event will be in Han-Wool Restaurant. The Spring schedule
will be announced when available. The annual banquet speaker for 2008 will be Gernot Bohme.
Members should RSVP to fhoffman@sas.upenn.edu about dinner before next week
Tuesday at noon.

Those with a career interest in Asia, including faculty, staff, and graduate students, are welcome as guests. First time visitors without a member to introduce them may be guests of the club president.

Sincerely,
Frank Hoffman
OC President (2007-08)

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*The Japan Society Presents:

Kazuo Ohno 101: 3-Week Butoh Parade
Week Two 

In celebration of the 101st birthday of Kazuo Ohno , legendary co-founder of the butoh dance movement, Japanese star pioneers and emerging U.S.-based artists come together for this three-week extravaganza.

For more information visit: www.japansociety.org

The UW-Milwaukee College of Letters and Science invites applicants
for a full-time (12 month) position as Director of the Language
Resource Center (Instructional Program Manager II).

The Director will: 1) collaborate with faculty in applying technology
to language instruction (Arabic, Chinese, ESL, French, German, Greek,
Hebrew, Hmong, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Latin,
Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Yiddish); 2)
administer daily operations, budget, staff, and multiple functions of
the LRC; 3) offer and/or organize workshops in using technology in
language pedagogy and assessment of proficiency, including TA
orientation; 4) evaluate, test, and implement multi-media materials
for language learning; 5) provide training and support to faculty,
staff, and students in computer-based pedagogy; 6) serve as a liaison
with the College's IT group. The Director normally will teach one
language course per year.

The successful candidate must have an M.A. or Ph.D. in a language,
SLA, or related field, native or near-native fluency in a language
other than English, and at least two years experience or training in
instructional technology. Strong administrative, organizational, and
interpersonal skills; experience in a language center; excellence in
classroom teaching; and a commitment to pedagogical innovation and
collaboration are highly desirable.

Review of applications is ongoing until the position is filled. Send
letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and three letters of reference to
Dr. Kathleen Wheatley, Search and Screen Chair-Language Resource
Center Director, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, P.O. Box 413,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413.

UWM is an AA/EEO employer and educator strongly committed to
maintaining a climate supporting equality of opportunity and respect
for difference based on gender, culture, ethnicity, disability,
sexual orientation, marital status, race, color, religion, national
origin or ancestry, age, and lawful activities. We particularly
encourage applications from individuals who would enhance and
diversify our workforce.

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The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is currently soliciting resumes for spring internships (paid) in Washington, D.C., working on Chinese human rights and rule of law issues.  Interns must be U.S. citizens.

Applications for spring internships must be received by November 1, 2007.  Further details are available both in the enclosed attachment and on the Commission's Web site at www.cecc.gov .

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to the CECC via e-mail to Judy.wright@mail.house.gov or via fax at (202) 226-3804, attention:  Judy Wright, Director of Administration.

Please forward the enclosed attachment to interested students (both undergraduate and graduate), particularly those with strong research and Chinese language skills.

Sincerely,


Judy Wright
Director of Administration

*About the BRC Education Fellows Program: The BRC Education Fellows Program honors the educational legacy of global peace activist Daisaku Ikeda, who founded the Boston Research Center (BRC) in 1993. Since 1960, Mr. Ikeda, building upon the Soka (meaning “value-creation”) legacy of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) and Josei Toda (1900-1958), has established a network of Soka schools in Japan as well as Soka educational institutions in the United States and other parts of the world where students receive a humanistic education imbued with Eastern and Western values.

Doctoral dissertations supported by this program might focus on any aspect of the contemporary philosophy and practice of Soka education, including its relation to the philosophy and practice of education more generally. The BRC invites dissertation research that could:

• compare and contrast contemporary Soka education with other systems of education carried out anywhere in the world; or
• focus entirely on the contemporary practice of Soka education at a particular site or sites; or
• examine Soka-influenced educational efforts outside of the Soka schools system.
  

*Institut Monumenta Serica · Collectanea Serica

Contextualization
of Christianity in China
An Evaluation in Modern Perspective

Edited by Peter Chen-main Wang

Institut Monumenta Serica, Sankt Augustin ¨ Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2007

316 pp., EUR 40.- ISBN 978-3-8050-0547-0

Contextualization in the study of the history of Christianity in China has become increasingly popular in recent years. It has become a key research criterion in evaluating the strategies of Christian missions, of missionary behavior, of conflicts between Christian and local cultures, and of the success or failure of a given Church mission in China.

This volume presents the papers of an International Symposium on the “Contextualization of Christianity in China: An Evaluation in Modern Perspective” held at Leiden Uni­ver­sity in 2002, supplemented by additional contributions, covering a wide range of fields , namely, Sinology, history, theology, missiology, religion, philosophy, and political science.

(VI) Conferences and Workshops

*Teaching Asia Workshop
Shared Values in the Performing and Martial Arts of
East Asia
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Friday, October 26, 2007
Benjamin Banneker Room, Stamp Union
University of Maryland, College Park

Registration deadline is October 12, 2007.
Register online at:
http://www.register123.com/event/profile/form/index.cf
m?PKformID=0x4245379b2f

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*Thirty-sixth Annual Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies Conference:

Asia Rising: Departures, Destinations, Dreams

October 26-28, 2007
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Center for East Asian Studies
University of Pennsylvania
642 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Tel: 215-573-4203; Fax: 215-573-2561
E-mail: ceas@ccat.sas.upenn.edu