Newsroom
Asian Studies Conference is March 25
Faculty members in Occidental College’s Asian Studies Department will make presentations on their research during the department’s Capstone Conference, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25 in the Occidental College’s Weingart Hall, Room 117.
The event is free and open to the public. Occidental is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock. For directions and a campus map, click here.
The schedule is as follows:
9:30-10 a.m.: “Post-Mao Entrepreneurship,” Wellington Chan, professor of history
10-10:30 a.m.: “The State of Political Studies of China and Taiwan: A Quantitative Analysis,” Tsung Chi, professor of politics
10:30-11 a.m.: “Chinese Writers in Exile: Writing China in English,” Sarah Chen, associate professor of Chinese and Asian studies
11-11:30 a.m.: “The Impact of Transnational Chinese Publication and Media Networks on Chinese Americans,” Xiao-huang Yin, professor of American studies
11:30 a.m.-Noon: “Folk Songs and Affective Culture in Chinese Communist Films,” Esther Yau, professor of art history and the visual arts
Noon-12:30 p.m.: “Heaven and Hell in Buddhist Rock Carvings in Sichuan,” Louise Yuhas, professor of art history
2-2:30 p.m.: “Afterlives of the Material Culture Associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu,” Morgan Pitelka, Luce Assistant Professor of Asian Studies
2:30-3 p.m.: “Layers of Imagination: A Study of Deviational Readings of Japanese Characters,” Motoko Ezaki, adjunct assistant professor of Japanese and Asian studies
3-3:30 p.m.: “Inside and Outside the Margins: Women, Agency, and the Print Media in Colonial Korea,” Jennifer Jung-Kim, adjunct instructor of history
3:30-4 p.m.: “Victoria’s Secret: Morality and the Character of Zen Enlightenment,” Dale Wright, David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professor in Religion
4-4:30 p.m.: “Asian Identity and ‘Asian’ Music in Southern California,” Jen-yen Chen, assistant professor of music
The conference marks the culmination of a three-year grant from the Henry R. Luce Foundation. The Foundation’s support enabled the college to elevate its Asian Studies program to full department status and to hire a tenure-track professor of Asian studies, Dr. Morgan Pitelka. Occidental’s interests in Asian cultural affairs dates to the 1930s, when the college hosted Chinese exchange students. After World War II, Occidental was the first college in the United States to host a Japanese student. Asian studies curriculum was added more than 40 years ago, and an Asian studies major was offered in 1989.
Founded in 1887 as one of the first institutions of higher learning in Southern California, Occidental College is one of the few nationally ranked liberal arts colleges located in a major city. Its student body of 1,839 students, drawn from 45 states and 26 countries, combines a remarkable diversity—more than a third are students of color; almost 20 percent are the first in their family to attend college—with a traditional commitment to academic achievement. Occidental students regularly win many of the nation’s most prestigious awards. Particular strengths include its superb faculty, a top-ranked undergraduate research program, extensive opportunities for interdisciplinary, overseas and independent study, a historic commitment to community-based learning, and a beautiful 120-acre campus designed by architect Myron Hunt.