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Aesthetics of Nirvana will be a campus-wide series of events involving
students, faculty and community members, focusing on Buddhism and its related
art forms. With this series, we celebrate the careers of Carolina
Professors Emeritus James H. Sanford (Department of Religious Studies) and
Jerome
P. (Sandy) Seaton (Curriculum in Asian Studies). The Aesthetics
of Nirvana series points to the diversity of their contributions to Asian
Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and their engagement with the poetry, the art,
and the scholarship associated with Buddhism and other spiritual traditions
in Asia. We are especially pleased to have Professors Sanford and
Seaton read from their translations of Zen and Taoist poetry at the conclusion
of this series.
ART
"Word
into Art" is
an exhibit of calligraphy especially curated for The Aesthetics of Nirvana
series. The exhibit includes work by American, Chinese, Japanese and Korean
artists. UNC-CH students have the opportunity to meet the "Word into Art"
calligraphers and to take part in hands-on calligraphy
workshops. The series coincides with the Ackland Art Museum’s
exhibit “Plum,
Pine and Bamboo: Nature and Buddhism in Japanese Art” (October
19, 2003 – January 4, 2004).
"Birds of a Feather: Sesshu and the Bird and Flower Screen."
A lecture by University of Chicago
art historian Hans Thomsen in the Ackland on Friday, November 7th, 4-5pm.
POETRY
Professor
John Balaban, poet-in-residence at NC State University, reads from
his translation of the poems of an 18th century Vietnamese concubine on
November 5, 2003, 4:00-5:00pm in Toy Lounge. A poetry reading organized
by students takes place in the lounge of the James M. Johnston Center for
Undergraduate Excellence on November 6, 2003, 4-5:30pm. The series
concludes with poetry
readings by translators James Sanford, Sandy Seaton, Bill Porter
and John Balaban on November 8, 2003, 4-5:00pm.
FILM
The
Aesthetics of Nirvana series includes three film
screenings with introductions and refreshments: The Lower Depths
by Akira Kurosawa, The Avatamska Sutra by Seon-Woo Jang, and Between
Two Worlds by UNC-Chapel Hill professor and filmmaker Joanne Hershfield.
SCHOLARSHIP
The
Aesthetics of Nirvana series concludes with a full panel of speakers on
Saturday. Our keynote speaker is Professor Jacqueline Stone of Princeton
University. The day also features the Southern
Japan Seminar presentations by prominent scholars from other Southeastern
universities, and panels
by graduate and undergraduate students from the triangle area on
subjects such as “Viewing Kurosawa,Teaching Kurosawa” and “Cross-Cultural
Approaches to Buddhist Aesthetics”.
These presentations are free
of charge and open to the public, although seating is limited. A
complete schedule
of events is posted on this website. For further information,
please contact one of the conference coordinators, Professor Inger
Brodey (brodey@email.unc) or Professor Jan Bardsley (bardsley@email.unc.edu).
There
will also be a special workshop
on Japanese electronic sources for Southern Japan Seminar scholars
and weekend social events for the group as well.
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