Divine Plenitude: Prasada in Classical and Contemporary Contexts
Monday, January 22, 4:00 pm in 117 Hanes Art Center.
Lecture by Andrea Pinkney of Columbia University. A reception with refreshments will follow the talk.

Why Nature Matters to Hindi Poetry: Romanticism in the Prism of the Modern
Monday, January 29, 4:00 pm in 222 Phillips Hall.
Lecture by Valerie Ritter of the University of Chicago. A reception with refreshments will follow the talk.

Sahid Abhimanyu in the Late Parsi Theater
Monday, February 5, 4:00 pm in 219 New West.
Lecture by Pamela Lothspeich of Michigan State University. A reception with refreshments will follow the talk.

Central Asia: the influence the region's energy capacities and strategic location wield in a New Great Game
Tuesday, February 6, 7:00 pm in Carroll 111
Lecture by former U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Michael Cotter, who will be presenting a non-traditional perspective, namely one that focuses on the roles Russia, China, and perhaps the EU will play in this emerging region, in this hour-long lecture. Part of the Great Decisions 2007 Lecture Series.

Turning Prisoners Into Patients: Therapeutic Communities and Heroin Addiction in Southwest China
Friday, February 9, 3:00 pm in Alumni 308
Lecture by Sandra Hyde of McGill University. Sponsored by the UNC Anthropology Department, the Medical Anthropology Program, and The Center for AIDS Research of the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases.

China's Changing Understanding of What Modernization Is
Sunday, February 11, 3:30 pm in Toy Lounge, Dey Hall 4th floor
Lecture in Chinese by Professor Qian Chengdan, of the PKU History Department (北京大学历史系教授). Professor Qian has given this talk to the State Council (中国国务院). He is also one of the screenwriters of CCTV's recent documentary series "The Rise of the Great Powers " and he may incorporate some information from this series in his talk. The talk will be entirely in Chinese without English interpretation.

The Birth of Japanese Buddhism: Books, Publishing, and the Awakening of Sectarian Consciousness in Tokugawa-Period Japan
Thursday, February 15, 5:00-6:30 pm, York Room, Gray Building, Duke--West Campus
Lecture by William Bodiford, Associate Professor of Asian Languages & Cultures at UCLA. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Lunar New Year Celebration
Saturday, February 17, 5:30-7:30 pm in the Carolina Union Great Hall
The Lunar New Year Celebration originated in China but has then made its way to most of Asia as a result of the Middle Kingdom’s long and involved relations with its neighbors. This evening, we will not only celebrate the traditions of Chinese roots, but also its branching off into various parts of Asia and subsequent arrival here in the West. Come join us for some great food, wonderful performances, and a night filled with Asian traditions! Hosted by the Chinese Conversation Club (CCC), Chinese Undergraduate Student Association (CUSA), Hmong Student Association at Carolina (HSAC), and Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), and sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center.

Poetry Reading by Dunya Mikhail
Monday, February 19, 5:00-6:30 pm in Toy Lounge, 4th floor of Dey Hall
Dunya Mikhail is an Iraqi-American poet and a former Literary Editor of the Baghdad Observer. She has published four collections of poetry in Arabic, and has had poems in many anthologies. In 2001, she was awarded the UN Human Rights Award for Freedom of Writing. Her collection The War Works Hard was translated into English in 2005 and won PEN’s Translation Award.

Arab Cultures Major Information Session
Monday, February 26, 6:00 pm in New West 219
Info session for students interested in the new major concentration in Arab Cultures.

Burial Mounds and Bronze Age Civilization of Southeastern China
Friday, March 2, 3:00 pm, Hyde Hall 210
Lecture by Dr. Nan Yang, Department of History, Central University for Nationalities, Beijing. Dr. Yang is a Fulbright Scholar at UNC-CH who has led many excavations in China.

Lecture: Dana Sachs
Tuesday, March 6, 3:00 pm, Donovan lounge in Greenlaw
Dana Sachs will speak on Tuesday, March 6 about If You Lived Here (Morrow), her new novel about adoption from Viet Nam. Sachs, the author of the Ha Noi memoir, House on Dream Street (Algonquin), teaches writing at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. If You Lived Here is a closely observed novel of the American South, of Vietnamese Americans, of the veterans from all sides in the Viet Nam War, of women's lives. Dana Sachs takes on the burden of the past in North Carolina and steps into the globalized present of contemporary Ha Noi. Her visit to UNC is sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center, Asian Studies, American Studies, and English & Comparative Literature, and organized by the Viet Nam Literature Project. For more information, contact (919) 962-5481.

"Never Forgive the Enemy Dolls!": Violence and Object Relations in Japan, 1943-1945
Wednesday, March 7, 3:00-4:30, Breedlove Room, Duke--West Campus
Lecture by Ellen Schattschneider, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Agent Orange and the Environment: From Research to Remediation
Wednesday, March 21, 12:00-1:30 pm, McGavran-Greenberg Hall room 1305
Lecture by Phung Tuu Boi, Director of the Nature Conservation and Community
Development Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, and member of the Vietnamese Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. For the past three decades, Phung Tuu Boi has studied the effects on forests of herbicides and defoliants used from 1961 to 1971 in the Vietnam War. He has also prepared forest development plans for sprayed areas in southern Vietnam, including the creation of natural barriers made up of locust trees to block exposure of humans and animals to residual, highly toxic dioxin from Agent Orange and other chemicals.He is being hosted in the US by the Asian Studies Association and Dr. Pamela McElwee of Arizona State University, who also studies forestry, ecology, and environmental harm from wartime herbicides in Vietnam. Dr. McElwee will accompany Dr. Boi, and will also be available to discuss her work. For additional information, please contact Trude Bennett, Department of Maternal and Child Health, UNC-CH SPH, at trude_bennett@unc.edu.

Muslims in Europe: Among the Unbelievers
Thursday, March 22, 5:15 pm, Stone Center Theatre
Lecture by Ian Buruma. Ian Buruma was educated in Holland and Japan, where he studied history, Chinese literature, and Japanese cinema. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, and The Guardian. Among his books are The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Japan and Germany, Inventing Japan: 1853-1964, and Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of its Enemies. His most recent book is Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance (Penguin, 2006). He is the Luce Professor at Bard College in New York. Sponsored by The Working Group on Democracy and Culture, the University Program in Cultural Studies, and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

Korean film: Il Mare
Thursday, March 22, 7:00 pm, in Greenlaw 101
Love Korean movies? Il Mare is one of the best Korean movies of all time! Love The Lake House? See how the original warmed the hearts of millions! In the year 1999, a young woman leaves her quaint house on the sea and returns to the city, leaving behind in the mailbox a card for the next owner, with instructions to forward any mail of hers to the new address. In the year 1997, a young jaded architect moves into the same house...and finds the letter. His reply, which he slips into the mailbox, finds its way to her, beginning a parallel-time love story separated by a span of two years.

Korean Comfort Women: Survivors of Military Sexual Slavery Speak Out
Friday, March 30, 1:30-3:00 pm, 5th floor lounge of Tate Turner Kuralt Building
Hear the testimony of Ok Sun Kim, an 84-year-old survivor of sexual slavery, and Ju Hye Kang, activist, who are visiting the Triangle area to raise awareness about this important issue. The euphemism "comfort women" was coined by imperial Japan to refer to young females of various ethnic and national backgrounds and social circumstances who were forced to offer sexual services to the Japanese troops before and during the Second World War. Estimates of the number of comfort women range between 50,000 to 200,000. The majority (approximately 80%) came from Korea, then a Japanese colony, and another large percentage came from Japanese-occupied China. The women were drawn primarily from those the Japanese considered racially inferior and virgins were actively sought. Most of the survivors have suffered for over 50 years from excruciating memories of gruesome racial and sexual violence. With the support of the Korean Council in Seoul, South Korea, and other NGOs around the world, in the last two decades many survivors have begun to speak out for their own rights and global women's rights in the modern world. For more information contact Claire Robbins, MSW, Program Coordinator, Duke University Women's Center, (919) 684-3897, claire.robbins@duke.edu.

The World on Puppet Strings: A Trope of Embedded Realities in Chinese Culture
Tuesday, April 10, 4:00 pm, Toy Lounge, 4th floor Dey Hall
Lecture by Li-ling Hsiao, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies. The unique style of string puppet performance (marionette) "manipulated through strings by a higher existence" makes it the most affective metaphor for embedded realities in Chinese culture. As Shakespeare indicates that the world is a stage and all men and women are actors, the concept of life being controlled by a higher existence and all the human actions are prescripted is also an important world-view in Chinese culture. This paper attempts to illustrate this metaphorical implication of string puppet and its embodiments in drama and in art, especially works created during the late Ming period when this metaphor is given its most dramatic and all-encompassing expression. This paper will focus on the play Zhen Kuilei (Real Puppet) by Wang Heng, the Picture of Puppet theater in Sancai tuhui, and an illustration of a puppet performance included in the Min Qiji edition of Xixiang ji published in 1640. In the play the boundaries between stage and offstage, puppet and human are completely erased while the illustration embodies a set of complicated metaphysical concepts in which a chain of embedded realities is presented. This paper attempts to demonstrate that the representation of string puppet in both media, theater, and art - is to stimulate reflection about the place of humans in a vast and mysterious universe. Part of the Lilian R. Furst Forum in Comparative Literature.

Poetry Reading
Wednesday, April 11, 3:30 pm, Bull's Head, Student Stores
Sandy Seaton, Emeritus Professor of Asian Studies, will be reading at the Bull's Head.

Imagining Orphanhood in Postwar Chinese-language Cinema
Thursday, April 12, 3:00-4:30, Breedlove Room, Duke--West Campus
Lecture by Zhen Zhang, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at NYU. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Jewish-Muslim Arts Festival
Thursday, April 12, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Goldies Restaurant 137 E Franklin St
The UNC Muslim Students Association and North Carolina Hillel invites the
entire community to their 3rd Annual Jewish-Muslim Arts Festival! The event, "A
Night Under the Moon & Stars", will showcase various forms of the arts including music,
poetry, spoken word, visual art, and more! Complimentary hors d'oeuvres will be served. For more information e-mail jewishmuslimartsfest@gmail.com.

Taiwanese Music: The People and the Songs
Friday, April 13, 7:30-9:00 pm, Hill Hall room 107
A concert of Taiwanese music featuring piano, guzheng, and choir. Also featuring Asian Studies' own Li-ling Hsiao, who will play the guzheng! Sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the Department of Music, Taiyin Choir, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Atlanta.

Israeli film: Millionare in Trouble
Sunday, April 15, 7:00 pm, Gardner 105
The UNC Hebrew department cordially invites you to the last Israeli film night of the semester. A light, amusing, 70's style comedy about an Israeli millionaire living in Manhattan who trades identities with his chauffeur before returning to Israel to visit his factory and fall in love.

Palestinian-American Documentary: Belonging
Monday, April 16, 6:30, Fox Auditorium, Carrington Hall
Belonging is a Palestinian-American documentary by Palestinian-American filmmaker Tariq Nasir. The film tells the story of two generations of Tariq Nasir's family members. It recounts the deep-rooted attachment to one's land, the loss of an ancestral home to war, and the experience of becoming refugees. Yet this is not a story of blame and bitterness, but a human story, one of displacement and loss; a story of longing and belonging. For more information see www.belongingthefilm.com. The event flyer is available online at http://www.unc.edu/depts/europe/newsletter/07/070404belonging.pdf. Screening will be followed by a reception and discussion with the filmmaker. Limited free parking will be available at Bell Tower lot. Event co-sponsored by the Dept. of Asian Studies, the Dept. of Romance Languages, the Center for European Studies, the Center for Middle East and Islamic Civilizations, the Center for Global Initiatives, the Curriculum in International Studies and the Program in Cultural Studies.

China: Fragile Superpower
Monday, April 16, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm, FedEx Global Education Center Room 1005
Lecture by Susan Shirk, author of China: Fragile Superpower. Her new book will be available for purchase/signing from 6:00 pm-7:00 pm in the FedEx Global Education Center Atrium prior to the lecture. Part of the Carolina Asia Center China Speaker Series.

Asian Studies Senior Colloquium
Tuesday, April 17, 6:00-7:45 pm, New West 219
A presentation of original thesis research by seniors graduating with honors. Asian Studies students who have won other awards and distinctions throughout the past year will also be recognized. Refreshments will be served. Presenters and topics include:

Kira Battle: The Japanese in Vietnam: Occupation and Influence (1940-1945)
Becky Closner: Interpreting the Densha Otoko (Train Man) Phenomenon: Otaku (Geek) Masculinity, Modernity and Language
Cortney Donnalley: Female Identity and Gendered Spaces in Contemporary Franco-Maghrebi Films
Joey Horne: Singapore's public housing neighbourhoods as islands of contradiction
Bryan McKelvey: Immigration and Big Business in Japan
Emily Taylor: Dating-Simulation Game Culture in Japan and the United States
Holly Wheeler: An Empirical Model of Frustration in the Palestinian Labor Market

The Rise of Innovative China
Wednesday, April 18, 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm, FedEx Global Education Center Room 1005
Lecture by Adam Segal. Part of the Carolina Asia Center China Speaker Series.

Chinese Development and Global History: How Far Can the "East Asian Model" Stretch?
Wednesday, April 18, 3:00-4:30, location TBA (at Duke)
Lecture by Kenneth Pomeranz, Chancellor's Professor of History at UC-Irvine. Part of the APSI Spring Speaker Series.

Conquest and Genocide: Hideyoshi's Invasions of Korea in the 1590s
Wednesday, April 18, 3:30-5:00 pm, Hamilton Hall 569
Lecture by Professor Benedict F. Kiernan, Yale University. Professor Kiernan is a leading public intellectual and renowned expert on the history of Asia and the global history of genocide. His many publications include The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979 (1996), the award winning collection, Conflict and Change in Cambodia (2002), and most recently, Blood and Soil: Genocide and Extermination in World History from Carthage to Darfur (2007). He was the founding Director of the Cambodia Genocide Project and Convenor of the Yale East Timor Project. The talk is the first in a new series on "Soldier and Samurai: New histories of the Japanese Warrior" kindly sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center, the UNC History Department and the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense.

Homosexuality and the Arab World
Wednesday, April 18, 7:00-8:00 pm, Hanes Art Center auditorium (new location!)
Lecture by Dr. Sahar Amer, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, on the relationship between homosexuality and the Arab world in a historical and cultural context. 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.

Master Arabic and Chinese Calligrapher
Wednesday, April 18, 7:00-9:00 pm, Manning 209
The UNC Muslim Student Association has invited world-renowned Arabic and Chinese calligrapher Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang to give a performance-oriented presentation on Arabic and Chinese calligraphy styles, as well as to speak on Muslims in China. As a lecturer on Arabic calligraphy at the Islamic College in Zhen Zhou, Haji Noor Deen's diverse educational background makes him an authority on both Chinese writing and all seven Islamic calligraphy styles. Haji Noor Deen's extraordinary mastery and genius in the art of Arabic calligraphy along with his unique ability to spectacularly deliver his craft to an audience has brought him lecture and workshop invitations from some of the most renowned and prestigious institutions around the world, including: Harvard University, Cambridge University, University of California-Berkley, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to name a few. For more information contact Arif Khan, MSA publicity chair at 919-247-9192 or arifkhan@email.unc.edu.

Singaporean film: I Not Stupid
Wednesday, April 18, 7:00 pm, Murphey 116
Comedy. Despite laziness, poverty, and creative impulses, three middle-schoolers must prove themselves in Singapore's competitive school system with their parents and teachers breathing down their necks. Also: the hilarious short film "Cut," a parody of censorship in Singapore. Part of the Southeast Asian Film Series. Hosted by the Southeast Asia Interest Association.

Filipino film: Babae Sa Breakwater
Saturday, April 21, 2:00 pm, Murphey 116
Drama. Two boys find themselves squabbling for inhospitable space by the breakwater of Manila Bay. They find redemption in Paquita, a prostitute whose life is fueled by drugs and alcohol, but the boys' affection sets Paquita on the road to recovery. Part of the Southeast Asian Film Series. Hosted by the Southeast Asia Interest Association.

Triangle Dance Festival for AIDS
Sunday, April 22, 4:00-6:00 pm, Memorial Hall
The event will feature a diverse selection of campus and community performing arts groups, including Que Rico Latin Dance, Kamikazi, MiscONcEptions, Inversions, Laysa Indian
Dance, House Arrest 2, Footnotes Tap Ensemble, Modern Extension, and Meredith Dance Theatre. All proceeds from ticket sales will directly benefit NC Alliance for AIDS Services and Carolina for Kibera. Price information follows:
Students & senior citizens: $7 (advance), $8 (door)
General public: $10 (advance), $12 (door)
Children under 9 years old: $5
Our evening will end with dessert and dialogue as light refreshments will be served and HIV/AIDS-related organizations will offer information and volunteer opportunities. Students may purchase tickets in person weekdays from 10 AM - 2 PM in the Pit or by visiting the Memorial Hall box office. Community members please contact Memorial Hall at (919) 843-3333. Come one, come all! Get your dance-watching shoes on, and get in the know of HIV!Please visit http://www.triangledancefestival.org for more information.

Imagining Palestine: Research Presentations
Tuesday, April 24, 12:30-1:45 pm, New West 219
The public is invited to a series of short presentations by students in Dr. Nadia Yaqub's ARAB 452 class on April 19, 24, and 26. Today's presenters and topics:
Musical Palestine
Jeff Patterson: The Impact of Marcel Khalife’s Adaptations of Darwish’s Poetry on Palestinian Society
Sharita Gruberg: Marginalization and Resistance in Palestinian Hip Hop Culture
Margaret Hair: Palestinian Popular Music Today
Rashad Hauter: Palestinian Music: The Evolution of Genres and Lyrics
Images and Voices
Patrick Chappell: The Cactus As Symbol: Palestinian Heritage and Collective Resolve
Suzanne Saleeby: Portrayals of Domestic Life in Palestine: A Study in Photography
Anu Madan: Taha Muhammad Ali and His Poetry
Sumreen Hussain: A Woman’s Voice: Domestic Life in Short Stories by Palestinian Women Authors

Imagining Palestine: Research Presentations
Thursday, April 26, 12:30-1:45 pm, New West 219
The public is invited to a series of short presentations by students in Dr. Nadia Yaqub's ARAB 452 class on April 19, 24, and 26. Today's presenters and topics:
Social Issues in Modern Day Palestine
Rick Graven: Healthcare as a Political Mechanism in Palestinian-Israeli Relations
Kristen Wade: Women’s Rights in Palestine
Eric Schmidt: The Struggles and Progress of a Palestinian-Controlled Education System
Hala Borno: Witnesses: The Impact of Violence on Palestinian Children’s Art
Media and Politics
Harry Kaplowitz: Visual Representations of Identity and History in the works of Art Spiegelman and Naji al-`Ali
Matthew Angelo: Images of Palestine: A Look at Symbols in Political Cartoons
Justin Martin: Blogging for Sovereignty: An Exploratory Analysis of Palestinian Blogs
Daniel Smith: Yasir Arafat: Dual Representations in Palestinian Politics and Scholarship

Songkran: Thai Water Festival
Saturday, May 5, 2:00 pm, Exploris Museum in Raleigh
Celebrate Songkran, the Thai Water Festival for the traditional Thai New Year, celebrated April 12-15. This is when Thais pay homage to Buddha images, clean their houses, and sprinkle water on their elders in a show of respect. Anyone who ventures out on the streets in Thailand is likely to get splashed with water, all in good fun, but also quite welcome at the peak of the hot season! Join the Thai Student Associations of UNC-Chapel Hill and
NC State University for a performance of traditional Thai dance, enjoy cultural displays and explore the world of water throughout the world in our Living in Balance exhibit here at Exploris! Sawatdee pi maï (Happy New Year)! For more information see www.exploris.org.
Part of the Destination Exploris: Southeast Asia series.

Children's Day in China
Saturday, June 2, 2:00 pm, Exploris Museum in Raleigh
Join the Chinese American Friendship Association and Raleigh Chinese Language School in a celebration of this special day for China's children. On June 1 of each year, millions of kids throughout the People's Republic of China celebrate this day by going to museums, parks and even the Great Wall of China. Although schools remain open on Children's Day, children do not attend class and are free from homework! To celebrate, students participate in a wide variety of activities to strengthen allegiances to their country, have fun, and take part in and join youth organizations. Celebrate with performances of Chinese dance, chopstix races, Chinese calligraphy and more! For more information see www.exploris.org.