Narrating Identities: Writing the Border Between Muslim Spain and North Africa
Wednesday, January 18 at 2 pm in House Library room 205
Lecture by Alexander Elinson of CUNY.

The Effects of Arabic Discourse Types on the L2 Reader
Monday, January 23 at 3:30 pm in Hamilton 569
Lecture by Mahmoud Abdalla, Asst. Professor of Arabic, Wayne State University.

Contesting Spatial Order: Merchant Geography in Late Ming China
Wednesday, January 25 at 4 pm in Hamilton 569
Lecture by Yongtao Du, PhD candidate at the University of Illinois. Challenging the predominantly "local history" approach in the field of Chinese history, Du's research emphasizes the interconnectedness of the diverse local places and explores those social spaces created by the movement of people.

The Homeland in a Mercenary World Order: Examples from the Arabic Novel
Friday, January 27 at 1:30 pm in House Library room 207
Lecture by Ellen McLarney, Asst. Professor of Arabic, Duke University.

Global Music show debuts on WXYC radio
Friday, January 27 from 5-6 pm on 89.3 FM
This new monthly radio show will air on the last Friday of every month from 5-6 pm, and will focus on a particular world region each month, integrating both music from this part of the world and relevant expertise of university faculty. Each broadcast will be a live "lesson" interspersing music with dialogue. This first Global Music show will feature Sufi music and culture, with special guest Dr. Carl Ernst, Professor of Religious Studies and director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations. For more information, see the WXYC website.

Israeli film: Kazablan
Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 pm in Gardner room 105
Israeli film night returns! The spring season opens with musical comedy Kazablan (dir. Menahem Golan, 1974, 122 min.), which has been called the Israeli West Side Story.

Chinese New Year Celebration
Sunday, January 29 at 2:30 pm in Memorial Hall
A variety of artists and acts welcome the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Sponsored by the Chinese-American Friendship Association. For tickets or more information, see the CAFANC website.

Jan Bardsley reads from Bad Girls of Japan
Monday, January 30 at 3:30 pm in Toy Lounge, Dey Hall 4th floor
Mark your calendars, one and all! On Monday, January 30th, at 3:30 pm, Asian Studies' own Jan Bardsley will be reading from her new book. This reading is sponsored by the Bull's Head bookshop, but due to the construction currently afflicting Student Stores, it has been relocated, and will take place within the graciously appointed confines of Toy Lounge (on the 4th floor of Dey Hall). There the lovely and talented Dr. Bardsley will present excerpts from her latest volume, Bad Girls of Japan (coedited with Laura Miller, and hot off the press from Palgrave-Macmillan). This lively and fascinating collection examines a diverse array of transgressive female figures in Japanese culture, including the legendary mountain witch, the degenerate Meiji schoolgirl, the modern reader of ladies' pornographic comic books, the Chanel-crazed marauding shopper, and many other women throughout Japanese history who have resisted confinement in the roles society had assigned them. Bad Girls of Japan is available for purchase at the Bull's Head and wherever else interesting books are sold.

Teaching Language and Culture in Cyberspace: A Door Into Hindi
Monday, January 30 at 2:30 in House Library room 207
Lecture by Afroz Taj, Associate Professor of Hindi-Urdu, NCSU.

Ginseng and the Border Between Qing China and Choson Korea
Wednesday, February 1 at 3:30 in Hamilton 569
Lecture by Seonmin Kim, PhD candidate at Duke University. Focusing on the traffic of ginseng -- a key item of trade in Northeastern Asia, Kim uses it as a lens to explain the complex process of Qing China's empire building through negotiating borders with its neighbors and the dynamic crossing of travelers and commodities during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most earlier studies explored the history of the construction of the Qing empire from the perspective of the center (read China); Kim's work challenges that by examining the process from the borderlands.

Korean film: Welcome to Dongmakgol
Wednesday, February 1 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Susie Jie Young Kim of Duke's Dept. of Asian & African Languages introduces Welcome to Dongmakgol (dir. Park Kwang-Hyun, 2005, 133 min, S. Korea, in Korean with English subtitles), part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Seminar: The Aceh Peace Process: Achievement and Prospects
Monday, February 6 from 3:30-5 pm in Toy Lounge, Dey Hall 4th floor
On August 15, 2005, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Government of Indonesia signed a peace agreement to end almost three decades of separatist conflict. The Indonesian government faced numerous pressures, primarily from its military and other hardliners who wanted to continue the failed 'military sollution'. GAM, meanwhile, would not accept the status quo, as offered by Indonesia, holding out for real political gains. By finally agreeing to considerable local autonomy for Aceh, the peace deal offers the potential for sustainable peace in Aceh. GAM, meanwhile, has embraced democratization and is transforming from a military organization into a political party. The peace agreement has flaws, and there are serious obstacles to its implementation. However, the framework for peace now exists, so that the parties can return to it should implementation stumble.
Dr Damien Kingsbury is Associate Professor in the School of International and Political Studies and Director of International and Community Development, Deakin University, Australia. He holds an MA and PhD from Monash University, Australia and an MS from Columbia University. He has written or edited numerous books on Indonesia, including Violence in Between: Conflict and Security in Archipelagic Southeast Asia (MAI/ISEAS 2005), The Politics of Indonesia (Oxford, 2005, 3rd ed.), and Power Politics and the Indonesian Military (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003). Dr Kingsbury was political adviser to the Free Acheh Movement at the Helsinki peace talks and is currently engaged in a democratization training project for Aceh.

Chinese history lecture
Wednesday, February 8 at 3:30 in Hamilton 569
Lecture by Michelle King, PhD candidate at UC-Berkeley. King's work examines the social practice of female infanticide -- which has become an emblem of the "barbarity" of Chinese civilization in the Western imagination over the last century -- as it was understood, discussed and managed by both Chinese and Westerners in an earlier period. By looking at the competing views of the issue, her research brings into focus the different discourses on infanticide, and how and why they were articulated in the nineteenth century prior to the practice becoming a part of "population studies" decades later. In doing so, her work aims, as she puts it, to "offer a broader theoretical framework regarding culturally accepted standards of evidence in the creation of knowledge."

Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination
Wednesday, February 8 at 3:30 pm in Alumni 308
Lecture by Anne Allison, Professor of Anthropology, Duke University. Based on a forthcoming book by the same title, which explores the global popularity of Japanese youth today, questioning the makeup of the fantasies and the capitalistic conditions of the play properties involved. The talk examines the crossover traffic of four waves of youth goods between Japan and the U.S. This is a spring colloquium sponsored by the Department of Anthropology. Reception will immediately follow the talk.

Japanese film: Tokyo Godfathers
Wednesday, February 8 at 8 pm in the Griffith Theater, Bryan Center, West Campus, Duke
Tokyo Godfathers (dir. Satoshi Kon, 2003, 92 min.) is part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

How God Creates the World? Al-Ghazali (d.1111) and the Cosmology of the Aristotelian Philosophers
Friday, February 10 from 4-5 pm in Saunders 104
Lecture by Frank Griffel of Yale University. Sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies.

Theorizing Charismatic Authority in Early Islamic Law
Monday, February 13 from 4-5 pm in Saunders 204
Lecture by Jonathan Brockopp of Pennsylvania State University. Sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies.

A Saracen Eye for the French Gal
Wednesday, February 15 from 12-1:30 in Toy Lounge, Dey Hall 4th floor
Lecture by Sahar Amer, Associate Professor of Asian Studies. Dr. Amer is interested in cross-cultural relations between the Arab world and Europe, between Muslims and Christians from the Middle Ages through the present day. She is currently completing a book entitled Border Crossings: Love Between Women in Medieval French and Arabic Literatures, on cross-cultural and comparative representations of same-sex desire between women in the Middle Ages. She has previously published work on medieval literature, the literature of the Maghreb, multiculturalism in the Middle Ages, and the status of Muslim women in France today. She is currently a Fellow at the National Humanities Center. This talk is sponsored by the Curriculum in Women's Studies as their February Luncheon Colloquium. Cookies & drinks will be served; please bring your lunch.

Documentary: Mardi Gras: Made in China
Wednesday, February 15 at 7 pm in Murphey room 116
(dir. David Redmon, 2005, 72 min.) This award-winning documentary takes an up-close look at globalization through the example of Mardi Gras beads, tracing these famous trinkets from the Chinese factories where they're made by teenage girls under sweatshop conditions, to the streets of New Orleans, where they're thrown from floats by the social elite into the eager hands of drunken, semi-naked revelers. For more info, see the film's website: www.mardigrasmadeinchina.com. This screening will be followed by a Q&A talk with the director.

Reforming Islam in the ‘Axis of Evil’: Methodology, Pluralism, and Tradition in Contemporary Iran
Thursday, February 16 from 4-5 pm in Hanes Art Center 218
Lecture by Omid Safi of Colgate University. Sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies.

Politics of Gender and Sexuality in the Global U.S. Military Empire: A Case of South Korea
Friday, February 17 at 3 pm at Duke's John Hope Franklin Center, room 230, 2204 Erwin Road, Durham
Lecture by Seungsook Moon, Assoc. Prof. of Sociology, Vassar College. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Temporary Migration in Lhasa in 2005: Characteristics and Structures
Tuesday, February 21 at 5 pm in Toy Lounge, Dey Hall 4th floor
Lecture by Dr. Ma Rong, who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Peking University, China, and currently a visiting scholar at Duke. In 1999 the Chinese government launched a national strategy of developing the “West.” Spurred by perceptions of uneven development, the Government sought a more balanced investment strategy. This strategy seeks to promote development in the “West” through investment and huge infrastructure projects. An important impact of this strategy has been internal migration and competition between local laborers and in-migrants. The Tibet Autonomous Region has seen a large number of temporary migrants moving in. This presentation reports the results of a survey focusing on temporary migration conducted in Lhasa City in 2005, covering 1470 migrants. Based on the information obtained from this survey, the basic characteristics of this migration are detailed and a comparison can be made with temporary migration in other Chinese cities. Sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center.

Taiwanese film: Dust in the Wind
Wednesday, February 22 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Dust in the Wind (dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986, 109 min, Taiwan, in Mandarin with English subtitles) is part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Centrifugal Forces of Empire: Japan's "Aborigine Hands" in Colonial Taiwan
Friday, February 24 at 3 pm in Perkins Library rm. 204, Duke West Campus
Lecture by Paul Barclay, Asst. Prof. of History, Lafayette College. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

KoreaNite 2006: United in "Seoul"
Saturday, February 25 at 5:30 pm in the Stone Center auditorium
This exciting evening of Korean culture will include drum performance, a fashion show, storytelling, songs, and more. Dinner is at 5:30, and the show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $8 for dinner & the show, or $5 for the show only. Tickets will be sold in the Pit during the preceding week from 10 am to 2 pm. Sponsored by KASA.

Israeli film: Hill Halfon Doesn't Answer
Saturday, February 25 at 7:30 pm in Gardner 105
Hill Halfon Doesn't Answer (Assi Dayan, 1975, 92 min., Hebrew with subtitles) is a comedic take on military mischief through the eyes of three Israeli Army reservists. The Sinai desert on the border of Israel and Egypt is where these patriotic yet trouble-prone soldiers get into everything that has nothing to do with upholding their military duties. Mayhem and mishaps follow as these three gentleman try their hardest to overcome their problems. Popular comedy trio Hagashash and Tuvi Tzafir head the all-star Israeli cast.

Chinese film: Centre Stage
Monday, February 27 at 8 pm in the Griffith Theater, Bryan Center, West Campus, Duke
Centre Stage (aka Actress, dir. Stanley Kwan, 1992, 147 min, Hong Kong, in Cantonese with English subtitles) is an ambitiously unorthodox biopic of Chinese silent film star Ruan Ling-yu. Despite her humble origins, Ling-yu ended up as one of the most famous stars of Shanghai cinema during the 30s, specializing in tragic female roles in the likes of The Goddess and New Woman. Yet having completed some 29 films by the age of just 25, she committed suicide after being villified in the tabloid press for her affair with a married man, Chang Ta-min. Maggie Cheung (so memorable in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love) provides a superlative central performance, which won her the Best Actress Silver Bear Prize at Berlin in 1992. Part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Korean Wave in the Era of Regionalism and Globalization: A Workshop
Friday, March 3 from 1-4 pm at the 240 Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Road, Duke University
Participants: KO, Yu-Fen (Assistant Professor, National Chengchi University, Taiwan),
AN, Jinsoo (Visiting Professor, NYU), Leo Ching, Guo-Juin Hong and Susie Kim
Korean Wave refers to the increased dissemination and circulation of Korean-based popular culture in East Asia and elsewhere in the last decade. This includes TV drama, film and popular music. This workshop intends to use the Korean Wave as a point of departure to examine the various discourses generated from this cultural phenomenon. Issues under consideration include: the role of the state in promoting "national" mass culture, the intersection between colonial memory and contemporary cultural forms, the regional dynamics of cultural flows, the emerging pan-Asian productions and the gendering of fandom.
Two invited speakers will present their work on Korean Wave and several Duke faculty members will serve as respondents. Graduate and undergraduate students from AALL's Melodrama East and West and Trauma and Passion in Korean Culture will be invited to attend and participate in the workshop. This event is open to faculty and students from UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State University and NC Central University.
More information at http://www.duke.edu/APSI/pdf/KoreanWaveWorkshop.pdf.

Japanese film: Dare mo shiranai (Nobody Knows)
Thursday, March 9 at 5 pm in Graham Memorial room 39
(Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda, 2004, 141 min.) Prof. David Ross (English) will introduce this story of four children, abandoned by their parents, their very existence a secret, trying to survive on their own. Followed by refreshments and informal discussion. Part of the CLOUD spring film series, "Capturing Loss."

Aesthetic Complexity and Social Tension in the Art of the Body in Modern India
Thursday, March 23 at 4 pm in Hamilton 569
Lecture by Dr. Pravina Shukla, Asst. Professor of Folklore at Indiana University.

Mental Health Among Chinese Elderly People
Friday, March 24 at 3 pm in Perkins Library rm. 204, Duke West Campus
Lecture by Huang Yueqin, Deputy Director, Institute of Mental Health, Peking University. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

AIDS Rumors and Moral Panics in China
Tuesday, March 28 at 7 pm in McGavran-Greenberg 1301
Lecture by Dr. Jing Jun of Tsinghua University, a policy advisor for the Chinese National Center for HIV/AIDS Control who is currently writing a book on China’s AIDS epidemic. Sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center.

Taiwanese film: Taipei Story
Wednesday, March 29 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Taipei Story (dir. Edward Yang, 1985, 110 min, in Mandarin with English subtitles) is part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Okinawa Dream Show: A Retrospective of the Films of Takamine Go
Wednesday & Thursday, March 29 & 30, at 7 pm in Swain 01A
Intensely personal, subversively political, Takamine’s films are dreamlike narratives of life in Okinawa, an island crushed by Japanese colonialism and occupied by the American military. While Takamine explores the dark and tragic experiences of Okinawan history, he does so with playful wit and enthusiasm for the details of everyday life. A tireless experimenter, he brings a mastery of avant-garde cinema to his fascination with folklore and traditional performing arts, creating a surreal vision of the modern world. Takamine has been awarded the Cagliari Film Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and his work has been screened in the New Directors/New Films series at MoMA. In 2003, the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in Japan presented a series of his films, and the first American retrospective of his work will be held this month at Anthology Film Archives in New York. Takamine will be present at both screenings. Sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center.

How to Read a Chan/Zen Case
Friday, March 31 at 4 pm at Duke, 15 Westbrook, Divinity School
Lecture by Robert Sharf, Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies, UC-Berkeley. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Global Music: Chinese Pop and Rock Music Since 1995: How I Escaped Karaoke
Friday, March 31 from 5-6 pm on WXYC, 89.3 FM
This new monthly radio show airs on the last Friday of every month from 5-6 pm, and focuses on a particular world region each month, integrating both music from this part of the world and relevant expertise of university faculty. Each broadcast is a live "lesson" interspersing music with dialogue. The March Global Music show will feature special guest Tom Martineau, Associate Director of the Carolina Asia Center. For more information, see the WXYC website.

Korean film: A Bittersweet Life
Wednesday, April 5 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Susie Jie Young Kim of Duke's Dept. of Asian & African Languages will introduce A Bittersweet Life (dir. Kim Ji-woon, 2005, 120 min, S. Korea, in Korean with English subtitles), part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Chinese film: Letter from an Unknown Woman
Wednesday, April 12 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Letter from an Unknown Woman (dir. Xu Jinglei, 2004, 90 min, in Mandarin with English subtitles) is part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Japanese film: Who's Camus Anyway?
Monday, April 17 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Who's Camus Anyway? (dir. Mitsuo Yanagimachi, 2005, 115 min, Japanese with English subtitles) is part of the Cine-East 7 spring film series.

Taiwanese film
Thursday, April 20 at 8 pm in the Richard White Lecture Hall, East Campus, Duke
Director Wang Tong will be present for this screening of one of his films (Taiwan, Mandarin with English subtitles). The film is TBA; to find out which one will be shown, check the Screen Society website.

The Gender of Memory: Rural Women and China's Collective Past
Friday, April 21 at 3 pm at Duke, 15 Westbrook, Divinity School
Lecture by Gail Hershatter, Professor of History, UC-Santa Cruz. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.