Spring 2009

April 6-13, 2009: Film Festival - "Zhang Yimou Week." In recognition of BU’s award of an honorary doctorate to China’s most prominent film director, BUCSA also co-sponsored Zhang Yimou Week in cooperation with the Undergraduate Chinese Society, Chinese Student Association, ASIABU, Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, Department of Film & Television, Women’s Studies Program, Development & Alumni Relations, and International Programs. Over the course of eight days, BUCSA screened eight of Zhang’s films plus the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, accompanied by five roundtables involving both faculty and students. Films shown at the festival included Raise The Red Lantern (1991), The Story of Qiu Ju (1993), Hero (2002), Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou (1990), The Road Home (1999), To Live (1994), Happy Times (2000).

April 2-3, 2009: Inaugural Conference - "The Idea of Asia." On April 2-3, BUCSA held its inaugural conference. The event began on the evening of April 2 with a keynote address on “The Idea of Asia” by Professor David Eckel of the Religion Department, a Metcalf Award winner who has been recognized as one of the finest teachers at Boston University. It was followed by a performance of Wayang Kali led by I Madé Sidia, an acclaimed dalang (shadow puppeteer) from one of Bali’s most accomplished families in this art form. The performance, which was introduced by CFA ethnomusicologist Brita Heimarck, combined the complex “classical” art form of Balinese shadow play with western theatrical and musical forms, based on a new interpretation of the Bharatayuda (Indian war) by the renowned Indonesian playwright, poet, and journalist Goenawan Mohamad. The second day of the conference included BU faculty panels on “The Idea of Asia,” “Cultural Transmission and the Boundaries of Asia,” and “Diasporas and Transnationalism in and out of Contemporary Asia.” It also featured a lecture by Harvard anthropologist Theodore Bestor on “Global Sushi” and a reading by BU’s National Book Award-winning writer Ha Jin from his recent novel, “A Free Life.” Parts of the event, including the Wayang Kali performance, Professor Bestor’s lecture, and Professor Jin’s reading, were filmed and are available for viewing on the BUCSA web site. The conference was co-sponsored by the BU Humanities Foundation, the CAS Core Curriculum, and the School of Music at the BU College of Fine Arts.

March 23, 2009: Public Lecture - Michael Bakan "The Abduction of the Signifying Monkey Chant: Decontextualization and Recontextualization of the Balinese Kecak in International Films."

March 18, 2009: Public Lecture - Sanjay Subrahmanyam “Radical Enlightenment and Indian Religion: The Curious Case of Bernard and Picart.” Professor Subrahmanyam has written extensively on religion, trade, and politics in early modern India (15th-18th centuries). His multifaceted and interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion in economic and political transactions across the Indian Ocean holds broad implications for our understanding of the way religion impacts other aspects of culture. He has served as Directeur d'études at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, as Chair in Indian History and Culture at the University of Oxford, and currently holds the Navin and Pratina Doshi Chair of Indian History at UCLA. For a PDF Flier, please click here.

March 16, 2009: Public Lecture - Modernization and Revolution in China: From the Opium Wars to World Power. Three International History Institute (Boston University) authors and Fellows, Professors June Grasso, Jay Corrin, and Michael Kort, discussed their landmark book on modernization and revolution in China. They took questions and lead a discussion of key trends in modern Chinese history.

February 23, 2009: Public Lecture - Jeeyang Baum (University of California, San Diego) "Responsive Democracy: Increasing State Accountability in East Asia" Professor Baum presented her research on administrative reform and accountability in East Asia. In particular, she focused on the political causes and effects of the introduction of administrative procedure acts in South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

February 13-14, 2009: Second Annual Student Conference on East Asia: "Evolving East Asia." The BU Conference on East Asia aims to provide an interactive and open forum for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels from various institutions and diverse disciplines to share ideas and to discuss their works in progress with peers. The conference intended for students at all levels of their undergraduate and graduate careers. The conference aims to provide a positive and constructive inter-disciplinary setting in which students can discuss their research with their peers as well as those members of Boston University faculty who share expertise in various East Asian Studies.

The theme for the 2008/2009 BUCEA was "Evolving East Asia." Subjects for submission and discussion engaged with the conference's theme of regional change, growth, adaptation, and cultural integration over the past 160 years. For more information, please click here.

February 9, 2009: Public Lecture - Professor William Grimes (Boston University), "Currency and Contest in East Asia: The Great Power Politics of Financial Regionalism." Professor Grimes discussed his recently published book of the same name, which examines the rise of regional financial cooperation in East Asia. The book examines the ways in which great power politics, economic interests, and market forces interact in efforts to ensure the stability of ASEAN+3 economies.

February 5, 2009: Chinese New Year Party. The Chinese Conversation Club and the BU MLCL Chinese Program are pleased to present a party to celebrate the Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox). The event included student performances, calligrahy practice, music and films, Gong Fu, and food.

January 23, 2009: Public Lecture - Dr. Robert Fallon, "Korea Exchange Bank: Crisis, Restructuring & Recovery." In the spring of 2004, Robert Fallon became the first non-Korean to chair a publicly-traded South Korean corporation when he took over leadership of the Korea Exchange Bank. KEB was one of the leading Korean banks but remained troubled in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. When it was taken over by Lone Star Funds, Lone Star turned to Fallon, who drew on decades of experience in Asian finance. In his position as chairman, Fallon contributed to an extraordinary turnaround in KEB's fortunes. In this lecture, he shared his perspective on that accomplishment and tied the problems in Korea to the current global financial crisis.

Fall 2008

December 8, 2008: Pardee Center Conference - Three Decades of Reform and Opening: Where is China Headed? The Pardee Center held an international conference titled, organized by Prof. Joseph Fewsmith, and included sessions on China's economy, social order, politics, and development, and included a Keynote Address by Amb. Stapleton Roy. Other scheduled conference speakers included Edward Cunningham, Joseph Fewsmith, Sebastian Heilmann, Jamie Horsley, Joanna Lewis, Yawei Liu, Yuanli Liu, Barry Naughton, Elizabeth Perry, Jiantao Ren, Carl Riskin, Yanefi Sun, Robert Weller, Min Ye, and Yongnian Zheng.

December 3, 2008: Exhibition: East Meets West. The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center held an exhibition to discover those who cross between the worlds of Southeast Asia and the West. The exhibition included writings, diaries, photographs, and letters in the personal collections of C. Y. Lee, Han Suyin, Bhabani Bhattacharya, R. K. Narayan, Eugene Burdick, and others.

December 3, 2008: Public Film: Seoul Train. Filmmakers Lisa Sleeth and Jim Butterworth set off for Korea and China with an ambitious plan: document the secretive Underground Railroad smuggling North Korean refugees out of China. The Chinese Government systematically arrests and forcibly repatriates hundreds of these refugees each month. Defecting from North Korea is a capital offense. SEOUL TRAIN is an expose into this growing and potentially explosive humanitarian crisis that threatens to undermine the stability of East Asian peace.

November 20, 2008: Public Lecture: Professor Jin Canrong (Renmin University) - "Sino-U.S. Relations." Jin Canorong of Renmin University spoke at Boston University on the current relations between the U.S. and China. The event was sponsored by the Center for International Relations and co-sponsored by the BU Center for the Study of Asia (BUCSA).

November 13, 2008: Book Talk: Laura Tyson Li, "Madame Chiang Kai-shek: China’s Eternal First Lady." Laura Tyson Li talked about her recent book, Madame Chiang Kai-shek: China's Eternal First Lady, the first English-language biography of one of the world's most influential, colorful, and controversial women in modern history. Madame Chiang's life (1898-2003) spanned the twentieth century, much of it lived at the epicenter of events not only in the turbulent history of modern China, but in the epic struggles -- World War Two, the Cold War -- that engulfed the world for much of the twentieth century.

November 5, 2008: Fall 2008 Japanese Movie Series: "Tampopo."

October 29, 2008: Asian Studies Annual Reception: Organized by the student organization ASIABU and co-sponsored by Boston University Center for the Study of Asia (BUCSA). Open and free to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and others interested in Asian Studies at BU. Asian refreshment will be served.

October 29, 2008: Fall 2008 Japanese Movie Series: "Maborosi."

October 22, 2008: Fall 2008 Japanese Movie Series: "In the Realm of the Senses."

October 15, 2008: Fall 2008 Japanese Movie Series: "The Funeral."

October 15, 2008: Public Lecture: "Stagnating WTO Negotiations and Japan's Regional FTA Options" The BU Center for the Study of Asia was pleased to present H.E. Yoichi Suzuki, Consul-General, Consulate-General of Japan in Boston in a lecture that discussed WTO and other trade negotiations from a Japanese perspective.

September 15, 2008: Annual Lecture in the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program: Presenting Dr.Vishakha N. Desai, President and CEO of the Asia Society (New York). Dr. Desai is an internationally renown scholar of South Asian art. Recipient of numerous grants form the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Indo-US Subcommission on Education and Culture, and the American Institute of Indian Studies, she has published extensively on traditional Indian art and contemporary Asian art. Prior to joining the Asia Society (http://www.asiasociety.org/) in 1990 (she is president since 2004), Dr. Devai was curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, and Islamic art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Spring 2008

January 25, 2008: When East Is West and West Is East: Translating Murakami in Poland. Part of the Literary Translation Seminar (UNI HU 540), this lecture is open to the public. The speaker is Anna Zielinska-Elliott, Lecturer on Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages & Comparative Literature, Boston University.

February 15, 2008: Performance Dimensions of Korean Poetry: Reading, Writing, Translating. Part of the Literary Translation Seminar (UNI HU 540), this lecture is open to the public. The speaker is David McCann, Director of the Korea Institute, and Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature, Harvard University.

March 24, 2008: Pre-Departure HPAIR Luncheon. Boston University students selected to attend the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations met with faculty advisors, Professors Menegon, Fewsmith, and Grimes, as well as the Associate Provost of Undergraduate Studies to discuss the upcoming conference and the future of Asian studies at BU. For photographs of the event, please click here.

Fall 2007

October 23, 2007: Fall 2007 Asian Studies Reception. An occasion for undergraduate and graduate studnets in Asian Studies to meet their peers, mingle with Asian Studies faculty, enjoy some Asian refreshments, and find out more about Asian Studies at BU! For more information, contact asiabu@bu.edu.

November 16, 2007: "Chinese Rap: Kuaiban and Popular Performance Arts in China". Performance by Dr. Jan Walls (see http://web.mac.com/janwwalls). Sponsored by: BU East Asian Studies Interdisciplinary Program, BU Department of Modern, Languages and Comparative Literature, ASIABU (Asian Studies Initiative at Boston University), Boston Children's Museum. For more Information, contact: asiabu@bu.edu

November 30 - December 1, 2007: 2007 Graduate Student Conference on East Asia at Boston University. The BU Graduate Student Conference on East Asia aims to provide a forum for graduate students from various institutions and diverse disciplines to share ideas and to discuss their works in progress with peers and with leading scholars in the field of East Asian studies.  As an interdisciplinary conference, the BU Graduate Conference on East Asia includes topics focusing on East Asian history and international history as pertains to East Asia, in addition to the current East Asian political, socio-economic, and cultural climates. Keynote address was given by Professor Emeritus Ezra Vogel of Harvard University, "East Asia towards the year 2010: What the Region Should, Can, and Will Do." Click here for a full schedule of events.

December 1, 2007: All in Good Taste: A Boston Tea Party. The Howard Thurman Center sponsored a tasting of teas from around the world, as well as pastries, deserts, and games.

December 3, 2007: Discussion on Environment in Western China  by Prof. Zhang Jijiao and Prof. Du Fachun (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) on a WWF project, "Climate Change and its Impact on Local Environment in the Source Region of the Yangzi River," and "Ecological Migration in the West of China."

Summer 2007

June 20, 2007: Lecture by Dr. Cheng-Sheng Tu, Minister of Education, Taiwan
titled, “Taiwan’s Educational Reform and the Future of Taiwan”

Spring 2007:

January 22, 2007— BU East Asian Religions Faculty Search -- Prof. Jennifer Eichman (Seton Hall University and Academia Sinica), "Chinese Buddhist Networks in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620)."

January 29, 2007: BU East Asian Religions Faculty Search -- Dr. Jason A. Josephson (Postdoctal Fellow, Princeton; Ph.D. Stanford), "The Invention of 'Religion' in Meiji Japan."

February 5, 2007:  Talk in Japanese Literature, Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature -- Christian Ratcliff (Ph.D., Yale University),  "The Jostle and Push: Medieval Japanese Poets in Competitive Fields of Cultural Service."

February 7, 2007: Spring 2007 Asian Studies Reception

February 8, 2007: Talk in Japanese Literature, Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature -- Keith Vincent  (Ass. Prof., New York University), "Mishima Yukio: Camp, Kitsch, or Crazy?"

February 12, 2007: Talk in Japanese Literature, Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature -- Torquil Duthie (Ass. Prof., University of Pittsburgh), "The Patterning of Collective Voice in Early Japanese Poetry"

February 14, 2007: 2007 Chinese New Year Party - Sponsored by Chinese Conversation Club and BU Dept. of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature -- Samuel Perry (Ph.D., University of Chicago), "Fiction for Revolution in Early Twentieth Century Japan."

February 14, 2007: Talk in Japanese Literature, Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature -- Samuel Perry (Ph.D., University of Chicago), "Fiction for Revolution in Early Twentieth Century Japan."

March 7, 2007: Rouner Memorial Lecture. Roger Ames, professor of Chinese philosophy at the University of Hawai'i, editor of the important journal Philosophy East and West, and a world authority on early Chinese thought and comparative philosophy, will deliver the Rouner Memorial Lecture at BU's Institute of Philosophy and Religion. For updates, see the Institute's site at http://www.bu.edu/ipr/

March 22nd-25th, 2007: Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies

April 3, 2007: "The Taiyechi Royal Garden and Shangyanggong: New Light on Garden Archaeology of the Tang Dynasty, " Dr. Jiang Bo  (Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing)

April 4, 2007: "Several Questions Concerning the Origins of Ancient Chinese Civilization." Prof. Wang Wei (Director, Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing).

April 11, 2007: "Essentializing Hybridity: Cedric Dover's conception of "the Eurasian" as an Emergent Race," Emma Teng (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at MIT).

April 26, 2007: "Harji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang, Master of Arabic Calligraphy," Spring Cultural Event. BU Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations and Islamic Society of Boston University. A brief slideshow on Islam in China and a live  presentation by master calligrapher, Haji Noor Deen.

Fall 2006

October 3, 2006: Presidential Delegation from Xiamen University (PRC) visiting BU and meeting with President Brown and BU faculty and administrators

October 25, 2006: "Evil and Conventional Truth in Chinese Buddhist Thought." (Prof. Brook Ziporyn, Northwestern University). 5:00 PM, ninth floor of the Photonics Center, 8 St. Mary's Street, open to the public.

November 2, 2006: Delegation from Shandong University (PRC) visiting BU

November 7, 2006: Japanese Butoh: Performance, Lecture, Workshop. Founder of GooSayTen, Itto Morita, will hold a lecture with visuals at Boston University's Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) titled "Butoh Body: Japanese Conceptions of the Body and Butoh Dance." The lecture will be followed by a reception at CURA and a Butoh workshop.

November 8th, 2006: "To the White, To the Sky." GooSayTen Butoh Dance Duo Japanese Butoh performance presented by the Japan Society of Boston.

Fall 2005 - Spring 2006

September 30, 2005: “Deliver Us from Evil: Confession, Good Death, and Salvation in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Chinese Catholicism.” (Prof. Eugenio Menegon, History)

October 28, 2005: “Of Shrines, Hooligans and Atomic Bombs: The History Issue in East Asia.” (Prof. Thomas Berger, International Relations)

November 18, 2005: “Summoning Confucius: Inside Shi Lu's Artistic Imagination during the Cultural Revolution.” (Prof. Shelley Hawks, College of General Studies).

December 9, 2005: “A Yen for Asia? Japan's Role in East Asian Regionalism.” (Prof. William Grimes, International Relations)

January 27, 2006: Roundtable on the Prospects for Asian Studies on Campus.

February 24, 2005: "Gendering China? Mei Lanfang's Visit to Japan, May 1919.” (Prof. Catherine Yeh, Modern Languages and Comparative Literature)

March 24, 2006: “Preservation and Invention: Japan's Imperial Museums in the Modern Period.” (Prof. Alice Tseng, Art History)

April 23, 2006: "The EU-US-China Triangle," A WBUR panel discussion on how China's new position on the world stage may be affecting the U.S and Europe. To read about this and WBUR's "World of Ideas" series, click here. To listen to this discussion, click here.

April 28, 2006: "Cafe Society in Japan: Urbanities of Space, Time and Coffee." (Prof. Merry White, Anthropology)