Chelsea Foxwell to present on photographs of war on Sept. 9

The Institute for Japanese Studies will present a lecture by Chelsea Foxwell, University of Chicago, on Tuesday, September 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 141 Sullivant Hall (Barnett Center Collaboratory). Prof. Foxwell will present "Photography/Realism/War: The Case of the First Sino-Japanese War, 1894-95".

Abstract: The First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) was the first Japanese war with embedded photographers to document the conflict. The crisp photographs, once they had been developed and printed in Japan, seemed to testify to what an Illustrated London News reporter called the “essentially modern and business-like method” of the Japanese offensive.1 Shortly after the war’s conclusion, the Japanese government sent a monumental hand-woven tapestry of the Aoi Matsuri (Aoi Festival) to the widow of Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham, the American diplomat who had facilitated the treaty negotiations with Qing China. While the tapestry and the surviving corpus of war photographs might seem to represent opposite ends of the spectrum of art of the Meiji era (1868-1912), together they help us evaluate the “truth claims” and political agendas of late nineteenth-century Japanese art.

Pil Ho Kim to present on K-pop on Sept. 20

The East Asian Studies Center and Department of History at Ohio State Mansfield will present a lecture by Pil Ho Kim, The Ohio State University, on Wednesday, September 20 from 12:40 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. online (registration required). Prof. Kim will present "K-Pop: A Century in the Making."

Abstract: K-pop’s sustained global popularity from Psy’s “Gangnam Style” to BTS has piqued curiosity of many, including devoted fans and serious scholars, about its origins and transformations. This online lecture will take an expansive view of K-pop, an abbreviation of Korea’s century-long musical tradition. It encompasses early twentieth-century folk songs, Japanese colonial-era jazz, 1960s’ rock and soul from the U.S. military bases in South Korea, and the emergence of home-grown musicians who would become the masterminds of K-pop entertainment company juggernauts. It is a tradition full of shapeshifting crossovers, ingenious hybridities, and intercultural collaborations, all of which have served as key ingredients to K-pop’s meteoric rise.

Noriko Reider to present on Yukionna on Sept. 21

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, East Asian Studies Center, Institute for Japanese Studies, and the OSU Center for Folklore Studies will present a lecture by Noriko Reider, Miami University of Ohio, on Thursday, September 21 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. at 062 Hagerty Hall. Prof. Reider will present "Snow Woman: Yuki onna".

Abstract: Yukionna (snow woman), a Japanese supernatural being that represents snow or wintry weather, is frequently described as a striking, ethereal female figure. Among the numerous legends of snow women, arguably the most famous one was written by Lafcadio Hearn. The talk gives a brief history of yukionna while considering how the symbolic role of snow relates to conceptions of the female and to female yōkai (weird or mysterious creatures), and it will give a special attention to Hearn’s rendition of yukionna as an amalgamation of Japanese and Western traditions and its influence on the character in subsequent tellings.

Ambassador Kurt Tong to visit Ohio State on Sept. 22

The East Asian Studies Center, Fisher College of Business, and Mershon Center for International Security Studies will present "A Conversation with Ambassador Kurt Tong" on Friday, September 22 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. at 265 Gerlach Hall. Andrew Piletz, The Ohio State University, will moderate.

Abstract: This event will be a “fireside chat” with Ambassador Kurt Tong about current US-East Asian trade and security relations. Ambassador Tong is managing partner and member of the Executive Committee at The Asia Group, and spent more than three decades in the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer in East Asia, with roles that included: Ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); Consul General and Chief of Mission in Hong Kong and Macau; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department; Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo; and Director of Korean Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.

Info sessions, application deadlines approaching for Spring/Summer 2024 programs in South Korea

The Office of Global Education is accepting applications and holding information sessions for their Spring/Summer 2024 programs in South Korea:

Exchange Programs (Spring 2024) - applications due 9/11/23
Ewha Womans University
Sogang University
Soonchunhyang University
Yonsei University

Third-Party Provider Program (Spring 2024) – application due 10/1/23
Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Korea University – information session on:
Tuesday, September 5 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in 160 Enarson Classroom Bldg.

Faculty-Led Program (Summer 2024) – application due 1/9/24
Global May Korea – information sessions on:
Wednesday, October 11 from 1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m. in 160 Enarson Classroom Bldg.
Thursday, November 30 from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in 160 Enarson Classroom Bldg.

Internship Program (Summer 2024) – application due 1/15/24
ISA Advanced Language Internship Program in Seoul, South Korea (non-credit bearing) – information session on:
Tuesday, September 5 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in 160 Enarson Classroom Bldg.

Global Gateways accepting applications for faculty grant competition

The Office of International Affairs’ Global Gateways and Partnerships unit is sponsoring a faculty grant competition to support research and scholarship in the Global Gateway countries of China, India, and Brazil. This program will award funding for a total of three to five projects in the Gateway regions and each grant award will be capped at no more than $35,000.

The program will support new, innovative projects that foster excellence in any of the following areas of interest:

Global Health: water issues, infectious diseases, health security, vaccine development, addressing health inequities, non-communicable diseases

Conservation: climate research, sustainable development, renewable energy

Future Cities: migration, resource distribution, digital solutions, circular economy

Disruptive Technologies: AI, Big Data, Internet of Things, robotics, autonomous vehicles

World Cultures: languages, arts, and forms of expression

Business and Economic Development: management of businesses, entrepreneurship and innovation, resource allocation in firms and economies, public-private partnerships

Human Behavior: small human networks, cognitive or social psychology, behavioral economics

The application period is open from September 1 through September 30. Awardees will be notified of decisions by December 31. The grant period will run from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.