ICS to hold panel discussion assessing Confucius Institutes on November 20

The Institute for Chinese Studies will host a panel discussion, "Assessing Confucius Institutes," on Friday, November 20 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. online (registration required). Featured speakers include: Dale Cope, University of Kansas; Mel Gurtov, Portland State University; Daniel Julius, Yale University; Lee-Hsing Lu, Assumption University, Thailand; with a short introduction by Gil Latz, The Ohio State University.

Abstract: This presentation is based on a just-concluded 18-month study by four independent scholars of Confucius Institutes affiliated with a representative sample of U.S. colleges and universities. Funded by China’s education ministry, but conducted entirely independent of it, the study involved extensive interviews of CI directors and staff, senior university officials, K-12 teachers associated with CI’s, and community leaders, as well as examination of institutional policies, procedures and websites. The purpose of the study was: first, to assess institutional, demographic and political variables associated with the success and integration of CI’s on campuses where they are housed and, second, to evaluate how well CIs were doing in their aim to promote Chinese language and cultural learning. The study identified strengths and weaknesses in CI programs, success indicators, and the variables associated with their demise and survival. We found strong endorsement of the contributions CIs make to campus and community life by those interviewed.

Ji-yoon An to present on Korean diasporic cinema on November 24

The Institute for Korean Studies will present a lecture by Ji-yoon An, University of Tübingen, Germany, on Tuesday, November 24 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. online (registration required). Professor An will present "Whose Accent? Situating Korean Diasporic."

Abstract: Two “Korean” films from 2009 were striking in their use of children as protagonists: So Yong Kim’s Treeless Mountain and Ounie Lecomte’s A Brand New Life. The significance of these two works lies in their similar narratives of children’s abandonment and journeying, but also in the comparable backgrounds of the filmmakers as Westerners with Korean origins. Both filmmakers left Korea as children. Both films were created as a memento of their Korean roots and childhoods in Korea. My interest in these two films is twofold. First, a textual reading reveals child perspectives as playing crucial roles in concealing the gravity of the issues of abandonment and adoption in the narratives. Second, I examine the “accented context” of the films and their filmmakers, borrowing from Hamid Naficy’s theory of “accented cinema” (2001). The geographic and thematic return to Korea and the Korean family by these Western Korean filmmakers brings forth questions beyond the narratives, of what constitutes a Korean film and a Korean experience. Ultimately, these two films are seen as examples of a growing Korean diasporic cinema.

Organizing committee accepting proposals for BEAL Forum 4

The Buckeye East Asian Linguistics (BEAL) organizing committee is accepting proposals for BEAL Forum 4, to be held on Friday, March 5, 2021. Papers on any topic in East Asian linguistics, synchronic or diachronic, and from any framework or theoretical perspective are welcome.

The BEAL Forum, sponsored by EASC, provides a platform primarily for graduate students to articulate and exchange ideas on their research findings with forum participants. It is a one-day event with keynote lectures and students’ presentation sessions. Previously, students’ presentation sessions were all posters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these sessions will, instead, be oral, 15-minute presentations via Zoom. The BEAL Forum is an excellent opportunity to present one’s research in a public arena and to receive comments individually. The Forum is intended to showcase regional research activities in East Asian linguistics. The event is free and open to the public, although pre-registration will be required in order to obtain the Zoom link.

Keynote speakers include: Haruko M. Cook, University of Hawaii; Kang-kwong Luke, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; and Jiwon Yun, Stony Brook University.

The abstract submission deadline is January 10, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Harvard University to hold next meeting of the Modern Japan History Workshop on November 13