Fall 2009 Events
Divaali Nite: Festival of Lights – Sunday, October 4 6:00-10:00 PM – Great Hall, Student Union – Tickets are $7 in the Pit, $9 at the door Divaali, the Festival of Lights, is here again. Hindu YUVA and the UNC Colony of Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. invite you to 'Divaali Nite' to enjoy the evening with us! This event is a greatly enjoyable way to celebrate Divaali for anyone who misses being home, or anyone who is interested in learning more about the Indian culture. Open to the entire UNC population, this gathering will feature dances from several campus groups, other individual performances, free catered Indian food, puja, and raas with a live band! Don’t miss the biggest celebration of the year! Be sure to come out and join us, and please bring your friends! Sponsored by Hindu YUVA and the UNC Colony of Delta Phi Omega Sorority. |
Artist’s Reception and Gallery Talk – “Fading Hutongs” – Friday, October 16 A photographic exhibit by Júlio de Matos 6:00-9:00 PM, Through This Lens, Inc. – Free and open to the public Meet photographer and architect Júlio de Matos, who will travel from Portugal to join us for the evening. Enjoy light refreshments, Portuguese wine selections from Wine Authorities (with valid ID), and a gallery talk presented by the artist at 7:30. Portuguese photographer and architect Júlio de Matos conveys the ephemeral nature of urban neighborhoods with his project Fading Hutongs. Dating from the 14th century, hutongs are formed by joining together multiple courtyard residences. These traditional Beijing neighborhoods and the communities housed within them are disappearing in the shadows of newly erected high-rises. Between 2005 and 2008, de Matos elegantly photographed Beijing's rapidly changing urban fabric. Thirty of these subtly colored photographs are available at Through This Lens gallery in downtown Durham. Júlio de Matos was born in Braga, Portugal in 1951. He trained in industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and in 1976 completed the Higher Education Architecture Course at the Porto School of Fine Arts. With a Fullbright Scholarship, he earned an MFA in Photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1981. His photographs are in the collections of museums in Portugal, the US and China. |
The Quest for International Justice in Burma – Tuesday, October 20 5:30 PM – Nelson Mandela Auditorium, Global Education Center Over the last ten years, the Burmese military has burned down over 3,300 ethnic villages in eastern Burma in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing. While conflicts in Darfur, eastern Congo, and Uganda have received widespread international attention, the conflict in eastern Burma has gone largely unnoticed. Recently, a coalition of international organizations--including the US Campaign for Burma-- have come together in an effort to bring the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court. This movement seeks to end the culture of impunity in Burma and shed light on the junta's campaign of ethnic cleansing. Cook-Deegan will make the case for why the Burmese junta needs to be brought to the International Criminal Court. Advocating for Burma at the national level, Cook-Deegan will explain how US citizens and students can play a role in this historic effort. Cook-Deegan graduated from Brown University in May 2008 and is the winner of a Fulbright scholarship. A board member of the US Campaign for Burma, Cook-Deegan has been featured in the Washington Post, Providence Journal, and the Sunday Boston Globe. He has appeared on NPR and Radio Free Asia and ABC NewsNow. In November 2009, Cook-Deegan will be moving to the Thai-Burma border to begin his Fulbright scholarship where he will study the Burmese democracy movement in exile. Sponsored in part by the UNC Southeast Asia Interest Association (SEAIA). |
Traditional Japanese Tea Gathering Nancy Hamilton, Urasenke Tradition of Tea Duke Gardens Wednesday, October 21, 2 seatings: 10:45am-12:00pm, 12:15pm-1:30pm Wednesday, November 11, 2 seatings: 10:45am-12:00pm, 12:15pm-1:30pm Fee: Friends $20, General Public $30 We are pleased to announce two dates for upcoming autumn tea gatherings at the Duke Gardens. Savor a deep-autumn moment of retreat while enjoying a bowl of whisked tea prepared in the traditional way. As a guest to Tea, you will experience the patterns and poetry of Chado, or the Japanese Way of Tea, while enjoying an enticing bowl of whisked tea and a seasonal treat. The practice of Tea is characterized by the phrase ichigo ichie, or "one moment – one meeting." Join us for a special moment in the tearoom as we celebrate the gifts of autumn in the garden setting. The small class group will meet at the Doris Duke Center to be escorted to the Durham-Toyama Sister Cities Pavilion in the garden for this intimate gathering. |
Myth, Memory, and the Mongol Invasions of Japan – Friday, October 23
3:00–4:30 PM, Breedlove Room (204 Perkins Library), Duke West Campus Professor Tom Conlan (Bowdoin College) will be giving a lecture in Duke’s APSI Speaker Series on "Myth, Memory and the Mongol Invasions of Japan." The talk is co-sponsored by Duke University Department of History and the Triangle Japan Forum. |
South Asia Film Festival: Amar Akbar Anthony -- Wednesday, October 28 Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) stars Amitabh Bachchan; Vinod Khanna; Rishi Kapoor; Neetu Singh; Shabana Azmi and is directed by Manmohan Desai. The fantastic plot about three brothers separated at birth and raised in three different religions becomes an comedic allegory of national integration in India. Released after censorship restrictions were lifted by a more liberal Indian government, Amar Akbar Anthony indulged audiences in a story with loose morals and visual excitement. The Chinese box of a narrative is essentially a comedy of errors concerning three brothers, Amar, Akbar, and Anthony. Abandoned in a park by their father, the three are raised separately and without knowledge of each other. By coincidence they all find themselves giving blood to a woman in a hospital and events stemming from this encounter bring them together. All three meet women who they fall in love with, but when their father, who unbeknownst to them has become a successful smuggler, kidnaps one of the women, all three become implicated in the struggle for her release. At the end of the film, the identities of the three are revealed, the police reveal that the smuggler is their father, and they manage to defeat a variety of criminal elements. The film closes with the brothers reunited, driving off into the sunset with their women. Organized by the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Asian Studies. |
Lecture: Manga for Girls: Girls' culture, Girls' sexuality, and sho-jo manga -- Thursday, October 29 Sho-jo manga are Japanese comics for girls. This definition reverberated throughout Dr. Prough's research in Japan on the production of mainstream girls' manga. It was broadcast through the proliferation of pastel and glitter, hearts and stars, and doe-eyed cuties which populate the pages of most sho-jo manga magazines; and it peppered conversations with editors, artists, and scholars about the history, aesthetics, and production of girls' comics in millennial Japan. In this talk Dr. Prough will examine the construction of gender in mainstream sho-jo manga and the relationship between sho-jo manga and wider representations of girls in contemporary Japan. Organized by the Carolina Asia Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. |
Palestinian Film Showing: Rana's Wedding (2002), by Hani Abou Asaad – Thursday, October 29 Part of the Arabic Music and Film Series: Palestine. The film is 90 minutes and will be followed by a discussion. Shooting on location in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and at checkpoints in-between, Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad (Ford Transit) sees the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the eyes of a young woman who, with only ten hours to marry, must negotiate her way around roadblocks, soldiers, stonethrowers, overworked officials... and into the heart of an elusive lover. This timely feature that explores love among the ruins of an occupied territory was presented with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival's 2003 Nestor Almendros Prize for courage in filmmaking. According to Abu-Assad, "when the abnormalities of barriers and occupation become an everyday reality, normal things like love and marriage turn into fiction. This is life in Palestine right now. I wanted to challenge it through cinema." Winner of the Best Actress award at the 2002 Marrakesh International Film Festival (for Clara Khoury's affecting performance), Rana's Wedding premiered during the 2002 International Critic's Week at Cannes and has been a festival favorite in Palm Springs, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Cairo and London. Organized by the Arabic Program at UNC-CH. |
Discovering Indonesia: Art Exhibition Opening – Tuesday, November 3 Join us in discovering the textiles, music and food from Indonesia. This event will begin with a public lecture "Indonesian Textiles - Culture, Traditions and Techniques" by Sally Kahler. Explore Indonesia by looking at traditional cloths that decorate both body and home. Each cloth tells a story of ethnic culture and can relay facts about geography, history, symbolism, superstitions, and crafting techniques. Through actual pieces from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Timor, Flores, and Sumba we will examine cultural traditions of Indonesia, unraveling the mysteries behind ikat, batik and intricate weaving. Curated by Sally Kahler. Explore the textile exhibit on display in the FedEx Global Education Center Peacock Atrium immediately following the lecture. Listen to the lively performance by UNC's Gamelan Nyai Saraswati, directed by Marzanna Poplawska, and enjoy tasting traditional Indonesian foods. Exhibition on display November 3rd through 15th. Hosted by the Carolina Asia Center. |
South Asia Film Festival: Junoon – Wednesday, November 4
6:30-9:00 PM, Nelson Mandela Auditorium, GEC Free and open to the public The film will play with English subtitles. Organized by the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Asian Studies. |
The Asian Leadership Chasm: Professional Development Seminar -- Friday, November 6
6:00-9:00 PM, Koury Auditorium, Kenan-Flagler Business School Free and open to UNC students Being Asian-American or Asian can prevent you from ascending the corporate ladder. You've done all the right things, top marks from perhaps a top school and top job performance. Why haven't you reached the top as an executive? Learn from renowned Asian executive, David Lum, Director of Asia/Pacific Product & Support Operations for the Networks & Enterprise business in Motorola. Mr. Lum will explore the fundamental reasons for why Asians/Asian-Americans have such difficulty in reaching those coveted positions. In addition to exploring the root causes, this seminar will also give clear and practical guidance on what you can do to prepare your career now for the long-term. To RSVP or for more information, visit http://www.naaap-nc.org/Events.do?id=7855. Refreshments will be provided. |
Aaj Ka Dhamaka 2009 -- Saturday, November 7
7:00 PM, Memorial Hall: Doors Open at 6:30 Aaj Ka Dhamaka is a South Asian intercollegiate dance competition that showcases three dance styles: Raas, Bhangra, and Fusion. Come watch college students from all over the country battle it out at UNC's very own Memorial Hall and support Carolina's own Bhangra Elite and Ek Taal as they hit the stage! The show will also feature a performance by the up and coming U.K bhangra artist, H-Dhami and, for the first time ever, a silent auction where guests may bid on the winter collection of Satya Paul saris! All proceeds from the silent auction and the show benefit the Mahatma Gandhi Fellowship, the first student-run scholarship at UNC. This prestigious Fellowship awards two Carolina students up to $3000 each to implement a service project that benefits the South Asian community at home or abroad. After the show, be sure to end the night at the Official Aaj Ka Dhamaka After Party at Touch Ultra Lounge. All the performers will be in attendance, as well as H-Dhami himself. Bikram Keith, Jay Sean's official DJ, will also be spinning! |
Lecture: Hiroshima: After Aftermath – Monday, November 9 On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 70,000 people died instantly. Another 70,000 died by the end of 1945 as a result of exposure to radiation and other related injuries.Hiroshima is now a City of Peace. Everywhere there are memorials to this catastrophic event that inaugurated the Atomic Age. A-bombed trees continue to grow and A-bombed buildings remain. This event is sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center featuring an artist lecture by Elin O'Hara Slavick, Professor of Art, UNC-Chapel Hill with respondent Cary Levine, Professor of Art History, UNC-Chapel Hill. |
Lebanese Music Exhibition: Fairuz and Wadih vs. Haifa Wehbe and Nancy Ajram – Monday, November 9 Part of the Arabic Music and Film Series: Lebanon. A discussion will follow the exhibition. Organized by the Arabic Program at UNC-CH. |
Film: LiNK Screening of Seoul Train -- Tuesday, November 10 7:30-9:30 PM, Manning 209 This film is approximately 80 minutes long. Representatives from LiNK, or Liberty in North Korea, are coming to campus in order to shed light on the human rights and refugee crisis in Northern Korea through the film Seoul Train, sponsored by students and the UNC club Invisible Children. LiNK is a U.S. based international NGO devoted to the North Korean human rights and refugee crisis. LiNK protects North Koreans where they can be reached, advocating for their human rights. In the field, LiNK maintains a network of shelters to protect refugees who are in hiding in China and Southeast Asia. The organization operates underground, helping to bring refugees to safe countries. In the US and South Korea the "Liberty House" program assists newly resettled refugees. Protection officers and staff spend extensive time meeting with North Korean refugees to document their stories and share them with the world. LiNK believes in the influence of the grassroots and realizes that change may only come about through international attention and the conscious action of global citizens. More information about LiNK can be found here: http://www.linkglobal.org/. With its riveting footage from the secretive Underground Railroad of Asia, Seoul Train is a gripping documentary that exposes the life and death of North Koreans as they try to escape their homeland and China. Created in China and inspired by the 19th Century Underground Railroad that saved over 30,000 slaves, up to 300,000 North Korean refugees today are trying to escape through a similar network of routes in China and Southeast Asia. Come and discover how you can take part in the today's modern Underground Railroad and be responsible for rescuing those who have been oppressed. For more information about the documentary, please see the official website at http://www.seoultrain.com/. Light refreshments will be provided. Sponsored by the UNC chapter of Invisible Children. |
Lecture: Arabic into Latin (Or, Why Medical Schools Got Started) -- Tuesday, November 10 A presentation by Dr. Michael McVaugh, Professor Emeritus of History at UNC Refreshments at 5:30 PM, Lecture at 6:00 PM, UNC Health Sciences Library 527 In medieval Europe medicine was a craft, not a subject that could be studied from books, until the twelfth century, when Latins discovered in Arabic manuscripts this new source for medicine knowledge, translated them into their own language, and made them the basis for a new invention, the medical school, with a set curriculum, examinations, and degrees. Dr. McVaugh received his education at Harvard (AB, 1960) and Princeton (PhD, 1965). He has been on the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty since 1964 and is presently William Smith Wells Professor of History (Emeritus). His books include Medicine before the Plague: Practitioners and Their Patients in the Crown of Aragon, 1285-1345 (Cambridge, 1993), The Rational Surgery of the Middle Ages (Florence, 2006), and he is a member of the editorial commission for the Arnaldi de Villanova Opera Medica Omnia (12 vols. published since 1975). Sponsored by The Bullitt History of Medicine Club at UNC. |
Lecture: Arab Homosexuality/Lesbianism and the Politics of Naming -- Wednesday, November 11 A presentation by Sahar Amer, Professor of Asian Studies and Adjunct Professor of French and of International Studies 12:00-1:00 PM, Hamilton 569 This lecture will address the very rich indigenous literary and cultural tradition of alternative sexualities that has been prevalent in the Islamicate world at least since the 9th century. Beginning with a review of the new terminology that Arab LGBT groups are coining and advocating in an effort to empower contemporary Arab gays and lesbians, a terminology modeled on Western LGBT vocabulary, Prof. Amer will ask whether this new lexicon is truly more liberating to the culturally-specific context of gay and lesbian Arabs. To what extent might the adoption of this contemporary vocabulary represent an unsuspected site of oppression that ultimately erases very rich indigenous Islamicate traditions in place since the Middle Ages? |
Lecture: The Shogun and His Things: Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) and the Agency of Objects -- Wednesday, November 11 A presentation by Morgan Pitelka, Associate Professor of Early Modern Japan culture at Occidental College and author of Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in Japan (University of Hawai’I Press, 2005) 5:00-6:00 PM, Saunders 220 Free and open to the public. |
Princeton In Asia: Fellowships for Graduating Seniors -- Wednesday, November 11
A presentation by program alum Dan White, UNC School of Medicine class of '13 5:00 PM, Union 3201 What are you doing next year? Suit-n-Tie Land or Suit in Thailand? Follow in the footsteps of previous UNC graduates like Will West '09, Jacob O'Quinn '09, Nick Alexsovich '06, Steven Dale '03, and dozens more, and take the plunge for an adventure over in Asia! Work with educating sex workers at a leading public health organization in Laos. Explore the back roads and floating markets of Thailand at the world's largest international insurance/consumer finance company. Order the finest bowl of noodles after a day of work teaching a class about American culture in the Vietnamese delta. Stop for a drink in some of the famous tea houses in Korea after teaching math to high schoolers. Explore remote areas of China while working at a boutique travel agency in Beijing. Go island-hopping in the Philippines while working as an anchor for a leading English-language news network. Take a pony to some of the most remote areas of Mongolia as a finance analyst with a micro-finance lending bank in Ulaan Bataar. There is no Asian language or study experience necessary. Bring your sense To find out more, come to the Princeton in Asia information session presented by program alum Dan White. Princeton in Asia offers year long fellowships for graduating seniors at leading universities around the U.S. in 18 Asian countries in a variety of fields: education, international development, environment, journalism, law and business. Co-organized by the Southeast Asia Interest Association (SEAIA). |
Journey into Asia: Timeless -- Saturday, November 14 7:00 PM, Memorial Hall Tickets are $8 in the Pit from 10am-2pm this week, or $10 at the door The UNC Asian Students Association is proud to present Journey into Asia: Timeless, a fun-filled night with music, dance and other forms of celebration of Asian traditions. Come watch, learn and appreciate the transition of Asian culture throughout the years, the way it was and the way it has come to be. Join us in Memorial Hall and walk away with a better understanding of timeless Asian culture. Sponsored by the UNC Asian Students Association. |
UNC Aaasha's Nashta Night -- Saturday, November 14 UNC's Aaasha is hosting its annual Nastha Night this Saturday! This year's theme is "A Celebration of Hopes for a Poverty Free Bangladesh." Come celebrate Bengali culture and learn about the fight against poverty in in Bangladesh! Learn how to wear traditional bengali clothes like saris and lungis, play bengali musical instruments, get a henna tattoo, and play and win prizes through fun bengali games!! Enjoy a show performed by UNC performers like Zankiliwala, |
South Asia Film Festival: Om Shanti Om -- Wednesday, November 18 This film will play with English subtitles. Om Shanti Om (2007) is a Bollywood film directed and choreographed by Farah Khan. It stars Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles and features Shreyas Talpade, Arjun Rampal, and Kirron Kher in supporting roles. Arjun Rampal is the antagonist in the movie. More than forty-two well-known Bollywood Stars appear in the course of the film, including thirty in one solo hit song. Synopsis: Om Prakash Makhija is a Junior Artiste in Bollywood, who is infatuated with actress Shantipriya, and hopes to marry her someday. His hopes come to reality when he rescues her from a fire and they go on a date. Shortly thereafter he finds out that she is married to a film producer, Mukesh Mehra, and is expecting his child. He then watches in horror as Mukesh, after luring her in an abandoned studio, sets it afire. Om attempts to rescue her in vain, and he eventually is killed. 30 years later, Om is reborn as the only son of yesteryear Bollywood actor, Rajesh Kapoor, and is himself an actor. His memories start to return when he meets with his widowed mother, Bela, from his previous birth. He also meets with Mukesh and together they decide to make a movie, 'Om Shanti Om'. Om then hires a look-alike of Shantipriya, and hopes to force a confession out of Mukesh - but things go awry and Om finds his life endangered once again. Organized by the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Asian Studies. |
Lebanese Film Showing: Caramel (2007) by Nadine Labaki – Thursday, November 19 Part of the Arabic Music and Film Series: Lebanon. The film is 96 minutes and will be followed by a discussion. Nadine Labaki's frothy directorial debut was the sleeper hit of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Eschewing overtly political context for human interest, this comedy of manners set in a Beirut beauty salon takes an intimate look at the lives of five women as they dish about everything from sex and adultery to motherhood and aging, touching on the double standards patriarchal societies everywhere impose. Warmed by the generous spirit of its largely non-professional ensemble cast – led by Labaki herself as Layale, the salon proprietor – the truly sweet but hardly sticky Caramel wryly takes its title from the sugary goo used to strip off body hair. As they come together to primp and preen and be pampered, Layale's customers share their everyday hopes and fears. Jamale, an aging actress, is fighting time literally tooth and nail; Rose, a seamstress, frets over forfeiting her chance at romance with the distinguished gentleman caller whose attentions she has rebuffed – all in order to care for her feeble-minded sister Lili. Layale's employees harbor secrets of their own: the spirited Nisrine is considering surgery to hide the fact that she's no longer a virgin from her husband-to-be, a conservative Muslim. And Rima is confronting her lesbian tendencies. As for Layale herself, she's embroiled in an affair with a married man – one her friends hope to put a stop to by finding her a more suitable suitor. Locating the universal in the personal, Labaki – who also co-wrote the script – has delivered a genuine charmer. Organized by the Arabic Program at UNC-CH. |
Lecture: Heike Heroics: Trade and Tragedies in Twelfth Century Japan -- Friday, November 20 |
Syrian Music Exhibition: Traditional Syrian Songs – Monday, November 23 Part of the Arabic Music and Film Series: Syria. A discussion will follow the exhibition. Organized by the Arabic Program at UNC-CH. |
South Asia Film Festival: Laagan -- Wednesday, December 2 This film will play with English subtitles. Lagaan (2001) is a Bollywood feature film based on an original story by Ashutosh Gowariker. It was produced by Aamir Khan, who also plays the lead role, and stars Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. The film received critical acclaim and awards at various international film festivals, as well as many India film awards. It also became the third Hindi-language film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Synopsis: This is the story about the resilience shown by the Indians when they were under the British Rule. They are already taxed to the bone by the British and their cronies, but when Jack Russell announces that he will double the Lagaan (tax) from all villagers, they decide to oppose it. Leading the villagers is a handsome young man named Bhuvan, who challenges them to a game of cricket, a game that is to be played by veteran British cricket players, versus villagers, including Bhuvan himself, who have never played this game before, and do not even know a bat from a piece of wood. As the challenge is accepted, the interest grows and attracts Indians from all over the region, as well as the British from all over the country - as everyone gathers to see the 'fair play' that the British will display against their counter-parts, who are aided by none other than the sister, Elizabeth, of Captain Russell. Organized by the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Asian Studies. |
Syrian Film Showing: Out of Coverage (2007) by Abdellatif Abdelhamid – Thursday, December 3 Part of the Arabic Music and Film Series: Syria. The film is 100 minutes and will be followed by a discussion. In Out of Coverage (2007) by Abdellatif Abdelhamid, Amer and Zohair are friends. While Zohair spends time in prison for a crime he did not commit, Amer devotes his time, energy and own family needs towards Zohair's wife and little daughter. Now, as Zohair is about to be released, Amer faces an unexpected conflict between good and bad--a classic duel between him and his devil. Will Zohair's return lead Amer back to his small family life? Organized by the Arabic Program at UNC-CH. |
Last updated: 19 October 2009