CAS Holds the 10th Asian Culture Forum: On October 16th, Center for Asian Studies held the 10th Asian Culture Forum since its establishment. In this forum, Songyao Ren, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, in her first public lecture as a member of the UTD Faculty, discussed “The Good and the Beautiful in the Analects of Confucius” In a conversation moderated by Dr. Dennis Kratz, Dr. Ming Dong Gu and Dr. Lawrence Amato gave their insight on the connection of goodness and beauty in Asian and Western thought. Watch the forum recording here.
Exhibition of Asian Musical Instruments Held at UT Dallas: On June 11-12, in the hallway on the fourth floor of Jonsson Hall at UT Dallas, the unique “Asian Musical Instruments Exhibition” took place. More than 30 pieces of folk musical instruments from China, India, Japan, and South Korea were exhibited there. At the same time, in the Jonsson Performance Hall of the same building, a professional video production team was shooting a short documentary, recording the musicians introducing and playing every musical instrument, and demonstrating how these musical instruments, with different national characteristics, produce their beautiful musical sound.
This event was organized by Dallas Huayun Chinese Orchestra and sponsored by UTD Center for Asian Studies. The purpose is to introduce people to different ethnic musical instruments and ethnic music from Asian countries. The documentary of the exhibit and demo playing of the instruments is showing on CAS’s website, YouTube, Facebook, and other media. Click to watch the documentary here.
Summer Communication Course Prepares Students for Studying Abroad in Japan: in partnership with a professor of immigration and global studies at Toyo University at Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Carrie S. Tucker King, Clinical Professor and Associate Director of Rhetoric will be teaching COMM 3342: Advanced Topics in Communication – Japan and Communication in 2021 Summer. In teaching this course, Dr. King and her partner have been meeting every other week to build the class content and schedule meetings. The students will be engaging outside class to learn about Japanese culture and communication and build presentations on what they learn. The course is a preparation for an anticipated study abroad to Japan in 2022. Dr. King and Nami Kroska, Professor of Japanese hope to take a group of UTD students to Toyo University and Tokyo in Summer 2022 for 2 weeks to learn about Japanese culture, observe Japanese communication practices, and engage with Japanese students.
CAS Holds the 9th Asian Culture Forum: On April 24th, Center for Asian Studies held the 9th Asian Culture Forum since its establishment: Japanese Culture and Society in Hayao Miyazaki‘s Animations and Movies. In this forum, Nami Kroska, visiting professor in Japanese from the School of Arts and Humanities at UT Dallas discussed what Hayao Miyazaki wanted to express in his animations and movies, and what impact his works has brought to the Japanese culture and society. The lecture is the second part of the lecture which was held on November 7th, 2020 and presented by Professor Kroska on the same topic. Watch the forum recording here.
Globally-recognized Scholar Delivers a Lecture Featuring “US-China Relations and Governance”: On April 14th, 2021, Dr. Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) was invited to deliver an online lecture, featuring “US-China Relations and Global Governance” for the Center. The lecture was hosted by two distinguished scholars – Dr. Dennis M. Kratz, Founding Director of the Center for Asian Studies and Ignacy and Celina Rockover Professor of Humanities at UTD and Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Asian Studies at UTD, a physicist as well as a world-renowned specialist in global affairs and education and the author of China’s Millennium Transformation, the Belt and Road Initiative. Read more….. Watch the lecture according here.
CAS Holds the 8th Asian Culture Forum on March 27: On Saturday, March 27th, Center for Asian Studies held the 8th Asian Culture Forum. In this forum, Dr. Kevin Caffrey, Professor and Director of Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at The University of North Texas, gave a virtual presentation about Chinese Muslims. Watch the forum video here…
CAS Director Presents a Timely Discussion on Asian-American Relations: On March 23rd, in light of recent events and coverage highlighting discrimination against Asian-Americans in the United States, Dr. Dennis Kratz, Founding Director of the Center for Asian Studies presents a timely discussion on the topic of “US-China Relations through a Superheroic Lens”. In his presentation, Dr. Kratz explored the origin, history and nature of a Heroic Ideal that originated in Greek Antiquity and its surprising impact on American culture — from popular culture to the COVID pandemic, from business to national and international politics, especially US-China relations. This event is sponsored by the Business Council for the Arts, for which Dr. Kratz serves as a board member.
Lecture on K-Pop, Race and Transcultural Fandom Brings Big Interest and Attendance: On Saturday, January 30th, for the first Asian Culture Forum of Spring 2021, Dr. Michelle Cho, University of Toronto, presented a virtual lecture on the topic of “BTS for BLM: K-Pop, Race and Transcultural Fandom” to 157 attendants from 15 countries in the world. In the lecture, Dr. Cho discussed the online organizing and protest strategies of K-pop fans in the BLM movement and anti-racist activism and contextualized K-pop group BTS’s history of engagement with Black pop cultural forms. By bringing these accounts together, Dr. Cho enriched the audience’s understanding of the significance of emergent fan identities, while emphasizing the need for historical grounding in our discussions of race and transnational pop cultural phenomena. Watch the lecture video here…
Director Kratz Holds Virtual Conversation with Charles Yu: On Wednesday, January 27, 2021, in partnership with the School of Arts & Humanities at The University of Texas and Dallas Museum of Art, CAS Director, Dr. Dennis Kratz holds a virtual conversation with Charles Yu. The event drew over 250 audience. Watch the conversation recording here.
Charles Yu’s novel Interior Chinatown won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. Yu is the author of four books—including How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe—and a writer for the HBO series Westworld. He received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Award and was nominated for two Writers Guild of America awards. He has also written for shows on FX, AMC, and HBO. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, and Wired, among other publications.
CAS Holds The First Lecture of 2021: On Thursday, January 21, 2021, Professor Andrew Rubin gave a virtual lecture on “Orwell Between East and West”, exploring the connection between politics and the literary imagination. CAS Director Dr. Dennis Kratz provided the introduction of the speaker. This timely subject had an attendance of 51, many who also participated in a lively discussion following the formal lecture. Watch the lecture video here…
Recent political and cultural developments have aroused extraordinary interest in Orwell and misuse of the term “Orwellian.” Dr. Rubin discussed the continued ubiquity of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four in popular culture and the way it continues to define the imaginary geographies between the East and the West. He also pointed out parallels drawn between the novel’s subject matter and real life instances of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and violations of freedom of expression among other themes.
An internationally respected authority on modern literature and specifically Orwell, Dr. Rubin is a Research Scholar-in-Residence in the Center for Asian Studies.
Globally Recognized Scholar Was Invited to Gave Lecture on India-China Relations: On Tuesday, November, 24th, 2020, Professor Bali Deepak of Jawaharlal Nehru University of India, a globally recognized expert in Sino-Indian relations and an awarding-winning translator of Chinese classics into Hindi, was invited by the Center for Asian Studies to give a virtual lecture. In his lecture entitled “Perception of Images in India-China Relations”, Professor Deepak discussed the ancient to modern interactions between China and India, portrayed a blueprint for both countries and how they could move forward in the 21st century. Watch the lecture video here.
Director Received Lifetime Achievement Award For His Contributions To Arts And Culture: In October 2020, Dennis M. Kratz, Founding Director of the Center for Asian Studies received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Business Council for the Arts for his exemplary support of arts and culture in North Texas. A “virtual” award ceremony and luncheon will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 11:30 am-1:00 pm CST. Read more...
Center Held The Sixth Asian Culture Forum: On Saturday, November 7th, 2020. Nami Kroska, visiting professor in Japanese, gave a lecture on Japanese culture and society through the works of legendary filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki. The lecture was held online and had about 40 attendants. Professor Kroska discussed Miyazaki’s impact on animation in Japan, and through clips of classic Japanese cartoons and Miyazaki movies, she revealed how the clips reflect Japanese culture and society. Watch the Forum’s video here…
CAS Held The First International Advisory Council Meeting: On October 26th, 2020, Center for Asian Studies held its first International Advisory Council meeting virtually online. 17 council members attended the meeting. Director Kratz presided over the meeting and Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, Chair of the Council made an opening speech. The members discussed the Center’s mission, short and long-term tasks and challenges it’s faced in current time and the future.
Director Interviewed Writer Jonathan Kaufman: On October 18th, 2020, Director Kratz interviewed Jonathan Kaufman, author of “The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China as part of the 14th annual Tycher Library Fall Community Read sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.
Director Published New Article In World-Renowned Journal: In October 2020, Director Kratz’s article “The Silk Road: Traveled. Imagined, Transformed” was published in the journal China and the World. Volume 3, Number 3 (2020): 2050012 (24 pages). The Executive Editor of the journal commented: “….you have presented a truly unusual perspective of “China and the world,” using your profound understanding of the Western civilization as a WESTERN SCHOLAR to view, examine and link up with the Eastern civilization. What you have written gives the reader a totally novel view to leverage the past (ancient Western civilization) to view the present (the BRI)!
Center Held The Fifth Asian Culture Forum: On September 26th, 2020, Dr. Dennis Kratz, founding director of the Center, held an interesting and informative online lecture for the Center’s fifth Asian Culture Forum. About 30 people participated in the lecture and had discussions with him. In his lecture entitled “Odysseus Meets Monkey King: A View of the East-West Encounter in the Global Age”, Dr. Kratz chose a clever framework of an imaginary lunch attended by Dr. Kratz, the Monkey King, and Odysseus. Over the imaginary lunch table, they “discussed” what perspectives contemporary people can get from Odysseus and the Monkey King, what we can learn about resolving the tension between individual excellence and social obligations.
The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, is a legendary figure Chinese literature best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel “Journey to the West”, an allegorical rendition of the journey. Odysseus is the legendary hero in Greek mythology, king of the island of Ithaca and the main protagonist of Homer’s epic, the “Odyssey.” Odysseus was well known among the Greeks as a most eloquent speaker, an ingenious and cunning trickster. After the presentation, Dr. Kratz and the attendees engaged in a spirited discussion about the lecture. For those who missed the discussion, click to watch the lecture online...
Center Co-Sponsored The Workshop On Chinese Pronunciation: On September 17th, 2020, about 30 UTD faculty and staff joined the interactive “Pronouncing Chinese Names” workshop organized by the Intercultural Programs and Center for Asian Studies. The workshop was presented by Ms. Bei CHEN, associate professor of Instruction at the School of Arts and Humanities. During the 90-minute session, the participants learned the basic mandarin Chinese phonetics, practiced the Chinese name pronunciations, and were provided some essential etiquette tips for addressing Chinese students or colleagues. The workshop received much positive feedback. This event was recorded for those who could not attend, please watch the workshop online.
New Credit Course About Asia Launched In 2020 Fall: Two new courses are launched this fall semester by the Center for Asian Studies. One is the Honors course HON3199, which is created and taught by Dr. Dennis Kratz, founding director of the Center and senior associate provost of UTD. The course aims to help students gain more insight into the different aspects of Asia by bringing in guests from all backgrounds and areas of expertise to be interviewed by Dr. Kratz and the class. There are 15 students enrolled, mostly freshmen and sophomores, who have chosen to attend for various reasons – from having a strong interest in Asia to simply because it “was better than taking Neurobiology”. As the semester has progressed, the course has welcomed five wonderful guests so far. The students and Dr. Kratz have been enjoying learning more about Asia from many different perspectives. Another course is Introductory Hindi, which started on September 1st. This non-credit language course aims to promote Indian language and culture, and help people to build connections with this Asian country.
Center Offers Non-Credit Courses of Japanese, Hindi And Korean First Time In 2020 Fall: Three new non-credit courses: Conversational Japanese, Korean Beginners and Introductory Hindi 1 have been added to the course program of the Center for Asian Studies. The courses are non-credited so anybody who is interested in can register and take. Besides Japanese, Hindi and Korean, Center for Asian Studies offers non-credit Mandarin Chinese courses all-year round. Besides Japanese, Hindi and Korean, Center for Asian Studies offers non-credit Mandarin Chinese all year-round. Click to read the course description and register: Conversational Japanese, Introductory Hindi, Korean Beginners, Mandarin Chinese. Due to impact of COVID-19, all courses will be taught virtually online till further notice.
Director Kratz Gave Online Speech About Arts: On July 14, 2020, Director Kratz was invited to give a speech on the event of “Across The Board” sponsored by The Business Council for the Arts. His speech titled “History, Memory and Monuments” is one of the series of fascination conversations with BCA board members on art, business and beyond. Read more…
Center Held The Fourth Asian Culture Forum: On February 8, 2020, Center for Asian Studies held its fourth Asian Culture Forum (the first one in 2020 spring). Dr. Zhijun Xu of Peking University held a seminar on the portrayal of assassins in ancient Chinese artwork. He emphasized the significance of legendary figures like Jing Ke in both history and pop culture, as well as the parallels to American pop culture assassins like Reuben Cogburn in 1968’s True Grit. Dr. Xu also gave detailed explanations of legendary Chinese figures like Yu Rang, Nie Zheng, and the “Seven Daughters.” His comprehensive PowerPoint showed the traces of ancient Chinese legends in the artwork and artifacts found in tombs across China. A brief introduction was given by Professor Mingdong Gu, associate director of Center for Asian Studies, and a 10-minute Q&A session followed the presentation in which audience members discussed the presence of these themes in both Chinese and Western films.
Director Gave Speech In The Dallas Institute: On December 9th, 2019, Director Kratz was invited to give speech on the series of “Faiths in Conversation”, sponsored by The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Cultures and SMU Perkins School of Theology, to explore “The Intellectual Tradition of Islam”.
Director Made Keynote Speech At ACP Annual Conference: On November 23, 2019, Dr. Dennis Kratz, founding director of Center for Asian Studies made a keynote speech at the Association of Chinese Professionals (ACP). Dr. Da Husan Feng, former Vice President of the University of Texas at Dallas wrote a review about the speech. Read Dr. Feng’s comment here…
Center Held The Third Asian Culture Forum: on November 23, 2019, Center for Asian Studies invites Dr. Haiying Yan from Beijing University to present for the third Asian Culture Forum. In her lecture titled “Memory and Cultural Identity: Egyptian Art in High Antiquity”, Dr. Yan introduced: In late antiquity, with the development of world empires, cultural confrontation and conflict caused the “fear of forgetting”, the consequence is the canonization and interpretation of local traditions and framing of cultural identity. Temples became three-dimensional books full of relief describe the secret rituals and festivals, Dendera temple is the most typical one, it gives a complete ritual context about the mortuary text of afterlife — Book of the Dead. It was due to this change that Egyptian formula of immortality through righteousness contributed to later concept of salvation, and ancient Egyptian religion became part of western cultural memory.
Director Gave Speech At Annual Beijing Forum: On November 4, 2019, Director Kratz was invited to give a speech on the 19th annual Beijing Forum, sponsored by Peking University and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies. His speech topic is “Achilles, Jesus, Confucius: Integrating Incompatible Elements Across and Within Civilizations.”
Center Held The Second Asian Culture Forum: On November 2nd, 2019, Center for Asian Studies held the second Asian Culture Forum. Dr. Liu Man, Professor of Foreign Studies, Hunan University of Technology gave a lecture titled “The Theme of Love in Chinese Myths and Legends”. In her lecture, Dr. Liu presented the miscellaneous aspects of the love them in Chinese myths and legends. By examining similar themes and motifs in some Western myths and legends, she compared similarities and differences in the representation of love in Chinese and Western literatures.
Center Held The First Asian Culture Forum: The newly established Center for Asian Studies held its first Asian Culture Forum on October 5, 2019. Prof. Dennis Kratz, the founding director, opened the forum and briefly introduced the new center. Dr. Ming Dong Gu, associate director of the Center introduced the speaker, Dr. Chen Jing, Associate Professor of Art, Nanjing University in China. Dr. Chen’s lecture focused on the Grand Canal of China, an ancient construction project, which rivals the Great Wall of China in its scale and cultural impact. The Grand Canal is a vast waterway system that runs from north China to south China. With a total length of 1,776 kilometers (1,104 miles) it is the oldest and longest humanly made river in the world. Recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 for its “Outstanding Universal Value,” it represents a high level of hydraulic engineering and ancient wisdom in the history of mankind, and has exerted a lasting impact upon Chinese history, society, and culture. Dr. Chen has been closely involved in a project, “the Virtual Museum of the Grand Canal of China,” which aims to explore the representation of the Grand Canal in the new media era. By employing photography, topography, space narratives, text mining and new media studies, she gave a presentation, which narrates a spectacular story about the historical, political, economic, social, and cultural significance of the Canal for ancient China and for the preservation of heritages for the mankind. The lecture was attended by over 50 people from both the campus and local community, who showed an immense interest in the topic and interacted with Dr. Chen after her talk.
Center Co-Sponsored A Memorable Lecture About Author Iris Chang: On September 19th, 2019, Center for Asian Studies collaborated with the School of Arts and Humanities and the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies to sponsor the fifth annual Anlin Ku Lecture on Asian Culture. An overflow audience of more than 200 listened intently as Dr. Ying-Ying Chang, a distinguished scientist from the University of California at Berkeley, gave a deeply moving lecture about the life and work of her daughter Iris Chang, the author of the groundbreaking book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II.
Center Held The First Event As Co-Sponsor: On September 13th, 2019, in partnership with the School of Arts & Humanities, Center for Asian Studies co-sponsored the first event since its establishment on September 1st, 2019: The concert by Korean pianist Soyeon Kate Lee, which attracted about 200 attendees to participate in.
University Establishes New Center for Asian Studies: On August 29, 2019, The University of Texas at Dallas announced to establish Center for Asian Studies. Dr. Dennis Kratz, the Ignacy and Celina Rockover Professor in the School of Arts and Humanities, is the founding director of the Center. Read the University’s announcement here…
