2010 Newsletter
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Department of Asian Studies Spring 2011 Letter from the Chair... Dear Friends and Alumni, made it possible for us to offer made progress in drafting plans courses in Turkish language and for our future graduate programs Greetings from New West where culture, a position ably filled by in Asian Studies. On top of these spring leaves are sprouting on the Dr. Canguzel Zufilkar. The Col- duties, Li-ling coordinated the Inside this issue: trees and daffodils are blooming! lege of Arts and Sciences sup- programs in Arabic and Hebrew, I am pleased to report to you on ported growth in the Department developed a Chinese summer our growing programs, new fac- of Asian Studies in many ways, immersion program, published ulty, and diverse activities. We too, allowing us to hire as full- several articles, and still found Chair’s Column 1 expanded our newsletter this time instructors Ms. Farida Badr time to practice the Chinese musi- academic year to cover all the in Arabic, Ms. Jia Lin in Chinese, cal instrument known as the guz- good news. and Dr. Shahla Adel in Persian. heng. We wish Li-ling Hsiao well Faculty News 2 Dr. Morgan Pitelka joined the as she embarks on her well- The colorful images that you see Department as Associate Profes- deserved research leave. Lecturer Highlights 4 in this newsletter give a taste of sor of Japanese Studies. All our the year’s events. These represent new instructors have brought One of our major activities was to just a few of the activities of all dedication and energy to their host the 50th anniversary meeting Giveret Retires 5 kinds that faculty initiate to attract posts. of the Southeast Conference/ Carolina students to the study of Association of Asian Studies. The Asian languages and cultures. We support UNC–Chapel Hill conference took place January 14- SEC/AAS Conference 6 Stroll into New West any day and study abroad programs with en- 16 at the Fedex Global Education you’ll see posters for language thusiasm. Our faculty lead pro- Center on the UNC–Chapel Hill New Faculty 8 tables, movie nights, invited lec- grams to Asia (China, India, Ja- campus (see pages 6-7). tures by artists and scholars, cook- pan, Singapore) and regularly ing events, and more. Students, serve as members of scholarship We’re looking forward now to the Korean Minor 9 too, can apply for funds from the and advisory committees. Rather major events of spring—our An- department to organize activities. than a photo this year, I include a nual Senior Honors Colloquium CAC China Forum 9 On behalf of our students, staff, cartoon of me drawn by a young on April 14th, and Commence- and faculty, it is my pleasure to Japanese girl—a reminder of a ment on May 8th. take this opportunity to thank our delightful field trip with UNC Events 10 many friends and alumni who students in Kyoto a few years Best wishes for 2011, the Year of make contributions to the Depart- back. the Rabbit. 11 ment of Asian Studies gift ac- Honors Colloquium count. Your generosity helps With sincere gratitude, I thank my make these events possible even colleague Li-Ling Hsiao, Associ- Giving to Asian Studies 11 in times when funds are scarce. ate Professor of Chinese Literature We sincerely appreciate your and Theater, for serving as the encouragement. Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the past Jan Bardsley Six faculty members joined our year and a half. Li-ling brought Chair department in 2010. Let me give her active leadership to regular a brief introduction here. You meetings of the department’s will find stories on each through- Curriculum Committee, which out our newsletter. A grant from oversees all our curricular issues the Korea Foundation enabled us from approving new courses and to hire Dr. Ji-Yeon Jo as Assistant strengthening our advising to Professor of Korean language and creating news ways to make our society and to expand our fast- majors and minors more effective. growing Korean program. The She also headed a committee that Institute for Turkish Studies has Did you know? The Department of Asian Studies now offers instruction in eight different Asian languages. Our newest addition is the program in Turkish, made possible by the generous support of the Institute for Turkish Studies. Dr. Canguzel Zulfikar teaches the two years of Turkish language we currently offer, as well as courses in English on Turkish culture and history. P a g e 2 Spring 2011 Faculty Publications and News Mark Driscoll published his new book, Abso- Li-ling Hsiao published several arti- lute Erotic, Absolute Grotesque: The Living, cles and essays in the past academic Sahar Amer was on research leave in spring Dead, and Undead in Japan’s Imperialism, year: ―Loyalty vs. Filial Piety: the Late 2010, working on a new project focusing on 1895–1945, in July 2010 with Duke University Ming Commentaries of Pipa ji‖ in homosexuality in the contemporary Arab Press. He gave presentations this summer in Chinese Culture Quarterly; ―The World. She completed a substantial article on China and Japan on his new research and Metaphoric Mode of Production: The the topic entitled ―Homosexuality/ spoke with potential translators of Absolute Editing Principle of Ten Bamboo Lesbianism and the Politics of Naming in Erotic, Absolute Grotesque into Chinese and Studio Letter Catalogue‖ in Chinese Contemporary Arabic Studies,‖ which she Japanese. Mark was Studies; ―Dancing the Red Lantern: submitted to The International Journal of awarded a Pogue Leave Zhang Yimou’s Fusion of Peking Middle East Studies. She also completed a for spring 2012 to work Opera and Ballet‖ in Southeast Review books-in-brief article (an expanded review on his new book pro- of Asian Studies; and a paper co- article) on Joseph Massad’s Desiring Arabs ject, ―Race for Trade: authored for GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay The Opium Wars and with Dr. Studies, due to appear in the Fall 2010 issue. the Origins of White David A. In Spring 2011, she contributed a wall label Biopolitics, 1839- Ross: and longer article on the theme of the 1860,‖ which traces the ―Taking ―Iranian Balustrade‖ in the booklet accompa- origins of contempo- Pains to nying the special exhibit ―The Silk Road‖ at rary (neo)liberal re- Explain Li the Ackland Museum at UNC–CH. Also in gimes of trade in global Keran’s The Spring 2010, she gave a guest lecture at UNC phenomena occurring in the wake of the First Pain of Com- –Wilmington entitled ―Naming Homosexual- Opium War of 1839-42. position,‖ in ity in the Arab World: Bridging the Past and Southeast the Present.‖ Sahar received a Pogue Leave Review of for research in fall 2010 and is serving as a Kevin Hewison was a Visiting Professor at Asian Stud- Faculty Scholar at the Carolina Women’s Warwick University for six weeks in May and ies. She Center in spring 2011. June 2010. In May, he spoke to UNC alumni in served as one Paris and also presented papers in Copenha- of the co- Jan Bardsley traveled to Japan in summer gen, based on research he conducted on red editors of the 2010 to view geisha dances, explore tea- shirt protests in Bangkok from January to peer- houses, and collect new writing about geisha. March. He and Arne Kalleberg (Sociology) reviewed academic journal Southeast She published ―Liza Dalby’s Geisha: The were awarded a John E. Sawyer Seminars on Review of Asian Studies (SERAS), and View Twenty-five Years Later‖ in Southeast the Comparative Study of Cultures grant on edited the 2010 issue. She developed Review of Asian Studies, ―Teaching Geisha in Precarious Work and served as the director of the Chi- History, Fiction, and Fantasy" in ASIANet- in Asia by the nese Immersion Program which was work, and her article Mellon Founda- piloted in summer 2010, and will serve ―The Maiko Boom: tion. The Journal as its director again in summer 2011. The Revival of of Contemporary Kyoto’s Novice Gei- Asia, which he sha" is forthcoming in has co-edited for Japanese Studies Re- several years, is view. With Laura now one of the Miller, she co-edited Web of Science’s Manners and Mischief: highest ranked Gender, Power, and area studies Etiquette in Japan journals. Kevin (University of Califor- was awarded a nia Press, 2011). In Japanese, Jan published Reynolds Leave for fall 2011 to work on his ―Geisha, Pop Star, Princess: Japan Miscast?‖ book project, ―Murder and Mayhem in Modern in the online journal Nihongo to jendaa. Jan Thailand," which is a study of the political is an editor-in-chief of U.S.-Japan Women's uses of homicide, regicide, and mass murder in Journal. the period since World War II. P a g e 3 Wendan Li published Chinese Writing & Calligraphy in fall 2010 with Univer- Robin Visser published her new book Cities sity of Hawai’i Press. The book draws Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in on her popular UNC–Chapel Hill Postsocialist China with Duke University course, ―Chinese Culture through Cal- Press in 2010. A Taiwan Studies Faculty ligraphy.‖ Wendan also published an Yaron Shemer was invited as a guest Research Grant enabled her to travel to Taiwan article, ―Features of Advanced L2 Chi- speaker to six public events and gave papers for research related to her new book project on nese Writing and their Implications for at conferences in Canada, Spain, and the U.S. sustainable aesthetics. In spring 2010, she the Teaching of Vocabulary,‖ in the Among his presentation topics are Mizrahi served as Interim Director of the Carolina Asia Journal of identity in Israeli cinema and terrorism in Center.