Vice Provost shares message of support

Gil Latz, Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs, has shared a message of support in the aftermath of the recent shootings in Atlanta:

We stand by our Asian, Pacific Islander and South Asian American communities, as well as all our international students, faculty and staff who may be touched by this tragedy, and we offer our unwavering support.

The full statement, along with links to support programs and services, can be found on the OIA website.

"Careers in Journalism" seminar moved to March 31

The Midwestern Professionalization Seminar in East Asian Studies "Careers in Journalism" event has been re-scheduled for Wednesday, March 31 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. online (registration required). Featured speakers include Jonathan Cheng, The Wall Street Journal; Mike Chinoy, CNN; and Elizabeth Shim, United Press International (UPI). The series is aimed at sharing skills for advancing one’s career and introducing various career paths utilizing East Asian language and area studies expertise.

The final seminar of the series, "Careers in Government," will be held on Friday, April 9.

Mark Peterson to present sijo teacher workshop on April 7

The East Asian Studies Center, with support from the Korea Foundation, will present a workshop by Mark Peterson, Brigham Young University, on Wednesday, April 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. online (registration required). Professor Peterson will present "Synchronous Sijo Teacher Workshop."

This workshop may be attended as a stand-alone program or to complement EASC's Asynchronous Sijo (Korean Poetry) Workshop. Professor Peterson will be joined by Denise Sizemore, Columbus North International School, to discuss how to incorporate sijo in the classroom.

Attendees will receive 1.5 professional development contact hours and resource materials for completing the workshop.

Chris Courtney to present on Wuhan's extreme temperatures on April 16

The Institute for Chinese Studies will present a lecture featuring Christopher Courtney, University of Durham, and discussant John Brooke, The Ohio State University, on Friday, April 16 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. online (registration required). Professor Courtney will present "A Century in the Furnace: Living with Heat in Wuhan 1920-2020."

Abstract: The heat in Wuhan is infamous. Due to the oppressive humidity experienced during the summer months, it is known as one of China’s furnace cities. High temperatures have had a profound influence on the historical development of the city, helping to define everything from local dietary and sartorial choices, to patterns of work and housing. Despite being a defining feature of local life, environmental historians have almost entirely ignored the issue of heat. This oversight is even more remarkable when we consider the extent to which the local climate dominates popular memories of life in the city. Drawing upon oral history and archival research conducted in Wuhan, this paper examines how local citizens have coped with extreme temperatures over the course of the modern era, exploring the various technological and social solutions they have adopted in order to live with heat.

Ksenia Chizhova, William Hedberg to present on China in Korean, Japanese literature on April 19

The Institute for Chinese Studies will present a lecture featuring Ksenia Chizhova, Princeton University, and William Hedberg, Arizona State University, on Monday, April 19 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. online (registration required). Professors Chizhova and Hedberg will present "Studying China in Korean and Japanese Literature."

Chizhova Abstract: This talk will approach the emergence of the Korean lineage novel (kamun sosŏl)--a lengthy genre of vernacular fiction that was coeval with the emergence of Korean patrilineage in the late 17th century--from a historical and a comparative angle.

Hedberg Abstract: This presentation examines early modern Japanese interest in Chinese literature, language, and material culture, through the lens of the late imperial novel, The Water Margin: the account of 108 outlaws in 12th-century China, and their successful insurrection against the corrupt imperial court.

2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program core competition now open

The 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program core competition is now open. In continuing 75 years of international impact, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers diverse opportunities for U.S. academics, administrators and professional to teach, research, and engage in professional projects. More than 800 awards are available to U.S. citizens in more than 135 countries. Award types include Scholar awards, Distinguished Scholar awards, Postdoctoral awards and International Education Administrator Awards.

Interested faculty and professionals are encouraged to visit the Catalog of Awards to learn about available grant opportunities, which range from a few months to a full year and many awards offer flexible durations. The application deadline for most awards is September 15, 2021.

Please contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser with questions or to request assistance with developing a competitive grant proposal.

Corey Byrnes to present on geopolitical maneuvering on
April 6

The Humanities Institute will present a webinar by Corey Byrnes, Northwestern University, on Tuesday, April 6 at 12:00 p.m. online (registration required). Professor Byrnes will present "Landscapes of Speculation and Irredentist Imaginaries in the South China Sea."

Abstract: The geopolitical struggle currently unfolding in the South China Sea is most often addressed by journalists, political scientists, or security scholars. This talk reconsiders that struggle, and the controversy over island building in particular, by addressing the forms of representation through which the region is, and might be, made visible. Focusing on not just the exercise but also the speculative projection of what Elizabeth DeLoughrey calls “hydropower,” it argues that both island building and critical responses to it are aesthetic enterprises that take place at different scales and through different media. It does this by not only tracing the relationship between the political aesthetics and the material practice of hydro-power, but also by reframing the geopolitical in environmental terms.