2012-2013 Listening to Asia

The Center for Asian Studies theme for the 2012-2013 academic year was 'Listening to Asia.' In this theme, we explored the idea of Asia as a place of sounds听place of sounds and on how we can better understand Asia by actually listening to it. In this series, we featured live performances, film showings, a three-day "Muslim Voices in the Heartland," series, a talk on Iranian women writers,听a conference on medieval Chinese poetry, and an analysis of environmental law. This series culminated in our annual interdisciplinary听CAS Symposium on March 1, in which we explored the sounds of love and war, the voices of the subaltern and the middle classes, and music and dance from throughout the region. This conference offered lectures and performances from across Asia that drew together and connected what could otherwise seem to be disparate topics and regions into a larger understanding of the idea of Asia as a place to which we should listen.

Fall 2012

September 14

The Crane Wife
CAS Speaker Series

A puppet theatre performance based on the Japanese folk tale of the same name. The show features puppets, actors, shadow theatre, masks, movement, and live music. Inspired by Japanese culture and aesthetic as well as Japanese theatre forms such as Bunraku, Kabuki and Noh, the show creates an enchanting atmosphere to take the audience on a mystical journey.
10:00 am.

September 21

Syria and the Arab Uprisings
CAS Speaker Series

A lecture by Haytham Bahoora, Assistant Professor of Arabic, Asian Languages & Civilizations, CU-91福利社
As violence in Syria continues unabated, the fate of the uprising and the future of the nation remain unclear. What are the characteristics of the Syrian uprising that make it different than the other Arab uprisings? What are the structural causes of the uprising and why has it thus far failed to unseat the Syrian regime? This talk will consider these questions in the broader context of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and will suggest possible outcomes in Syria. This event is free and open to the general public.
6:30 pm.

September 23

Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo
CAS Speaker Series

The first of four films in the Nikkatsu 100th Anniversary Film Retrospective, this film alters the traditional superhero image with its one-eyed, one-armed protagonist. Sponsored by the International Film Series at CU-91福利社, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
4:00 pm.

September 24

Suzaki Paradise 鈥 Red Light District
CAS Speaker Series

The second of four films in the Nikkatsu 100th Anniversary Film Retrospective, this film tells the story of a young Japanese couple who end up living at the outskirts of the Suzaki red-light district in Tokyo. Sponsored by the International Film Series at CU-91福利社, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
7:00 pm.

September 25

Megane (Glasses)
CAS Speaker Series

The third of four films in the Nikkatsu 100th Anniversary Film Retrospective, this film follows an anxious Japanese career woman who escapes her stressed urban life for a remote island vacation, only to find the island full of strange inhabitants. Sponsored by the International Film Series at CU-91福利社, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
7:00 pm.

September 26

One Million Yen Girl
CAS Speaker Series

The last four films in the Nikkatsu 100th Anniversary Film Retrospective, this film tells the story of a 21-year-old recently released from prison and her struggle to deter neighborhood gossip and family conflicts. Sponsored by the International Film Series at CU-91福利社, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
7:00 pm.

September 30 鈥 October 1

Min'yo: Japan's Musical Roots
CAS Speaker Series

A concert of min鈥檡o folk music and dance featuring Takeda Masahiro and Takeda Hiroko, award winning folk performers and professional min鈥檡o musicians from Japan (Sunday, Sept. 30) and a lecture demonstration by CU Professor Jay Keister (Monday, Oct. 1). In the lecture Professor Keister will analyze several key min鈥檡o songs and examine the meanings and significance in their words and music.
September 30 鈥 7:30 pm; October 1 鈥 2:00 pm.

October 5

Mooz-lum and Q&A with Director

Part of the "Muslim Voices in the Heartland" conference. Film screening, followed by Q&A with Qasim 鈥淨鈥 Basir.听This conference is part of the Muslims in the Mountain West Project from the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, and the Center for Asian Studies at CU-91福利社. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit or email Nabil.Echchaibi@colorado.edu.
7:00 pm.

October 6

Slam Poetry Reading

Part of the "Muslim Voices in the Heartland" conference. Reading by Dominique Ashaheed, followed by reception. This conference is part of the Muslims in the Mountain West Project from the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, and the Center for Asian Studies at CU-91福利社. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit or email Nabil.Echchaibi@colorado.edu.
5:00 pm.

October 6

The Domestic Crusaders and Q&A with Playwright

Part of the "Muslim Voices in the Heartland" conference. Staged reading of the play, followed by Q&A with Wajahat Ali. This conference is part of the Muslims in the Mountain West Project from the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, and the Center for Asian Studies at CU-91福利社. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit or email Nabil.Echchaibi@colorado.edu.
6:00 pm.

October 18

Recent Developments in Iranian Women's Writing
CAS Speaker Series

A lecture by Dr. Nasrin Rahimieh, Professor of Comparative Literature and the Maseeh Chair and Director of Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at the University of California, Irvine.听 In this talk, Dr. Rahimieh will discuss recent developments in Iranian women's writing, situating them in the history of modern Persian prose and poetry.听 The burgeoning of women's writing in the wake of the 1979 revolution might at first appear as a paradox.听 But this most recent chapter of Persian literary history and women's role in it is a consequence of Iranian discourses of modernity and the debates about women's education and their place within the fabric of the nation.听 Drawing on literary works published in the late two decades, Dr. Rahimieh will demonstrate how a thematic focus on domesticity in novels and short stories lays bare the gendered construction of modern Iran.
6:00 pm.

October 20

Rajeev Taranath in Concert
CAS Speaker Series

Rajeev Taranath is one of the world's leading exponents of the sarod. A distinguished disciple of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, his performances masterfully combine the depth and rigor of the tradition of Hindustani classical music with an inspired imagination and emotional intensity. The 2-hour concert will be preceded by a workshop for students and public, which is designed to give them a chance to learn about Indian music and culture. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by AID-Colorado, CUSG Representative Council, and CAS.
7:30 pm.

October 21

Rajeev Taranath, Workshop
CAS Speaker Series

Rajeev Taranath is one of the world's leading exponents of the sarod. A distinguished disciple of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, his performances masterfully combine the depth and rigor of the tradition of Hindustani classical music with an inspired imagination and emotional intensity. This workshop follows a 2-hour concert the preceding day, and is designed to give the public a chance to learn about Indian music and culture. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by AID-Colorado, CUSG Representative Council, and CAS.
10:30 am.

October 25

Japanese American Relations: A Personal Odyssey
CAS Speaker Series

A lecture by Mariko Terasaki Miller, first woman to be appointed an Honorary Consul-General of Japan, will talk about her childhood experiences in China during the Sino/Japanese war. Ms. Miller, whose distinguished personal history is documented in a biography entitled 鈥淢ariko,鈥 written by Kunio Yanagida, will also speak on the role her father Hidenari Terasaki played in negotiations between Japan and the United States prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War and the family鈥檚 internment by the Japanese authorities.
5:00 pm.

November 9

Water, Conflict and Coexistence in Israel/Palestine
CAS Speaker Series

Part of the "Israel-Palestine: Two People, One Land" program. Conducted by Barbara Petzen, Director of Middle East Connections, this pre-workshop is designed for educators鈥攎iddle and high school teachers鈥攁nd is open to the public 鈥 anyone who is interested in learning more about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Barbara Petzen will discuss the conflict over water resources and their control and allocation amongst Israel and Palestine and their neighbors and examine political, humanitarian, and environmental aspects of these questions, with special attention to the Jordan River valley and the Dead Sea, the status of the region's aquifers, and the rise of large-scale, export-oriented agriculture. This event is free and open to the public. If you have any questions, please contact Kunga Lama at Kunga.Lama@colorado.edu.
6:30 pm.

November 10

Complex Realities of Israel & Palestine
CAS Speaker Series

Part of the "Israel-Palestine: Two People, One Land" program. Conducted by Barbara Petzen, Director of Middle East Connections, this workshop offers an understanding of the complex realities of Israel and Palestine. You will learn historical and political background about the peace process and obstacles to peace. To register for the Saturday workshop, please fill out the form at听http://www.colorado.edu/cas/workshops听with the $30 registration fee. The workshop includes lunch, snacks and curriculum materials appropriate for use in the classroom. If you have any questions, please contact Kunga Lama at Kunga.Lama@colorado.edu.
8:30 am.

Spring 2013

February 6

A Bollywood Othello: Screening Vishal Bhardwaj's "Omkara"
CAS Speaker Series

A screening of the film, "Omkara," an Indian film adaption of Shakespeare's "Othello." The film was showcased at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. That same year, it won Best Artistic Contribution in Cinema of a Director at the Cairo International Film Festival. This screening will feature a discussion led by Laura Brueck, Assistant Professor of Hindi Literature and South Asian Studies, in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations. This screening is part of the 鈥淪pring Into Shakespeare!鈥 series that celebrates the work of William Shakespeare. For more information, visit . This event is free and open to the public.
7:00 pm.

February 21 鈥 22

New Perspectives on Medieval Chinese Poetry
CAS Speaker Series

A conference in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the UCB Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations. The two-day conference will begin Thursday with welcoming remarks by Steven Leigh, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at 9:00am. Speakers include ten major scholars on Chinese medieval poetry: Pauline Yu (American Council of Learned Societies), Stephen Owen (Harvard University), David Knechtges (University of Washington), Robert Joe Cutter (Arizona State University), Ding Xiang Warner (Cornell University), Timothy Wai KeungChan (Hong Kong Baptist University), Wendy Swartz (Rutgers University), Ronald C. Egan (Stanford University), Paul W. Kroll (91福利社) and Ping Wang (Princeton University). Sponsored by the President鈥檚 Fund for the Humanities, UCB Chancellor鈥檚 Office, UCB Vice-Chancellor for Research鈥檚 Office, Graduate Committee on Arts and Humanities, Center for Asian Studies, A&S Dean鈥檚 Fund for Excellence.
February 21 at 9:00 am; February 22, 9:00 am.

February 25

What are Friends for?: Friendships, Social Networks, and Generational Change for Professional Women in Bangalore, India
CAS Brown Bag

This brown bag event will feature a talk by Rachel Fleming, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology. As more women in Bangalore, India鈥檚 high-tech hub, enter professions in information technology and other high-skill sectors, their participation in new work environments and higher earnings mean that their social networks and spaces of socializing are shifting from previous generations. With these new social options come new personal dilemmas that lead women to seek support from increasingly varied friendship networks. Based on interviews with professional women and their mothers and grandmothers in Bangalore, this talk will engage the meaning of friendships for three generations of women.
12:00 pm.

March 1

CAS Symposium: Listening to Asia
CAS Speaker Series

Join us for the Second Annual Center for Asian Studies Symposium, an interdisciplinary inquiry into contemporary Asian societies and cultures.听 This year, we explore the sounds of love and war, the voices of the subaltern and the middle classes, and music and dance from throughout the region. Please visit http://www.colorado.edu/cas/news-events/events/annual-themes/2012-2013-listening-asia/listening-asia-cas-symposium-schedule听for a full schedule and presentation abstracts. Parking is available in Euclid Auto Park for a rate of $1.75/hour.
10:00 am.

March 8

CU Asian Studies Graduate Student Association Conference
CAS Speaker Series

Keynote speeches by Michael Puett, Professor of Early Chinese history at Harvard University and Sharalyn Orbaugh, Professor of Modern Japanese Literature at the University of British Columbia.听 In addition, peer-reviewed graduate student panelists will give presentations on a variety of Asia-related topics. For more information and detailed schedule, see .
8:00 am.

March 11

Rape and Sexual Violence in Contemporary India
CAS Speaker Series

The recent gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi on December 16, 2012 and her subsequent death attracted worldwide attention and provoked mass protests against sexual assault, not just in India but also in other countries in South Asia.听 In this talk, Dr Seema Khanwalkar will present her analysis of the widespread debate among academics, women鈥檚 groups, the media, and the broader public on the status of women in India. She argues that in all the debates, angry conversations, and media discussions in India, the imperative seems to be to find someone or some aspect of urban life to blame - popular culture, Bombay films, television serials, advertising, migrated populations, laborers, and unemployment.听 Dr. Khanwalkar seeks to go deeper and understand this event not just in terms of the rationale behind the crime, but the course that life seems to be taking in contemporary India in psychoanalytical terms, in the context of human relationships, interaction between and across gender, and changing notions of identity.
4:00 pm.

March 13

The Legal Environment and Law About the Environment in China
CAS Speak