USC-UCLA
Joint Center for East Asian Studies
Southern California
East Asian Calendar of Events and Exhibitions
April 1999
Lectures, Conferences, and Performances | Ongoing Exhibitions |
Click here for where to send event, performance, or exhibition announcements.
Please note: Underlined names or phrases indicate links to that organization's website. You may click on such links to visit that site for more information about the event or exhibition. Use your browser's back button to return to the USC-UCLA Joint Center website. Click here to get directions to UCLA. Most UCLA lectures are free and open to the public (on-campus parking costs $5).
Ongoing through April 25, 1999
"Estelle Akamine (Okinawa/Hawaii- dimensional weaving)"Pacific Asia Museum
(Located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, one half block north of Colorado Boulevard in downtown Pasadena.)
Tel: (626) 449-2742; Fax: (626) 449-2754Ongoing through September 5, 1999
"THREADS OF LIGHT: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum"
The major exhibition "Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum" presents 30 works of art representing the pinnacle of contemporary Chinese Embroidery. Each an incredible profusion of textures, color and glancing light, these are the works of the renowned Suzhou Embroidery Resarch Institute (SERI), located in the city of Suzhou, China's most famous center of embroidery since at least the 11th century.
Most astonishing among the works on view are a series of 13 large-scale embroideries based on photographs by Robert Glenn Ketchum, one of the leading landscape photographers in the United States. Seeking ways to explore texture and incorporate greater dimension in the medium of photography, Ketchum first approached SERI and director Zhang Meifang in 1986 to explore the re-creation of several of his best known images into embroidery.
UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History
Museum Hours: Weds. - Sun., noon to 5 p.m.; Thurs. until 8 p.m.
(Closed Mon. and Tues.). Admission is free.
Located just west of Royce Hall. Take Sunset Boulevard to Westwood Plaza and get a parking permit - $5 - for lot 4 or 5.
(310) 825-4361
Lectures, conferences, and performances
April 2, 1999
Workshop on New Entrants versus Incumbents in Biotechnology: Lessons from Japan for the U.S.
Women's Faculty Club at the University of California, Berkeley
[UCLA's School of Public Policy and Anderson Graduate School of Management are among the organizers and sponsors of this workshop, hence its inclusion in our "Southern California Calendar.]
You are invited to participate in a workshop examining new evidence from Japan on the ability of incumbent firms to commercialize new scientific breakthroughs in bioscience. The workshop addresses how the Japanese experience can inform the U.S. community about likely impacts of shifting more of the total biotech activity in the U.S. from new biotech firms to large incumbent firms. With a merger wave well underway in the U.S., it is a good time to raise issues related to both commercialization by pre-existing firms and combinations of pre-existing and new biotech firms. Are scientists of very different ability associated with these different kinds of firms? Does the linkage to science change in some basic way? How are decisions made about strategy of the firm?
This small and informal workshop will explore what is known about these issues, including changes in the life cycle of an industry that may directly impact how commercialization takes place--slower pace of formation of new firms, slower entry rates by existing firms, less venture capital available to the industry, and a lower rate of going public (making venture capital investments less likely to pay off for the investors). We again can rely on a natural experiment, comparing Japan to the U.S., since in Japan most of the institutional constraints that operate only later in the industrial life cycle in the U.S. are operative right from the very beginning of the industry (e.g., little venture capital and low probability of going public).
The workshop will have four panels: one on entry into biotech in Japan of primarily incumbent firms, the second on university contributions to firm success in Japan, the third on innovation in incumbent firms within the framework of financial and societal institutions, and the last a mixed industry/government/academic panel on the general issues raised including the generalizability of the Japan results. Each panel except the last will be followed by a discussant; all panels will be followed by general discussion. Details of the content and participants are in the program which is available by clicking here.
Pre-Registration is free and required to attend the workshop, have lunch, and obtain a day parking permit. If you wish to attend, please fax back the form available by clicking here.
April 5, 1999
"A Rhetoric of Emotion: Playing With Meaningless Words in Japanese"
Senko K. Maynard
Japanese Language and Linguistics, Rutgers University3 - 5 pm
Hacienda Room, UCLA Faculty CenterSponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies (310) 825-8681
This event is open to the public and is free of charge (on-campus parking is $5).April 9 and 10, 1999
"Text and context in Islamic Societies"
The international conference will take place after Chancellor Carnesdale presents the Levi Della Vida Medal to two distinguished scholars of Islamic studies: Josef van Ess and Andre Raymond.Friday 3:00 pm
California Room, Faculty CenterSaturday 9:15 am
Sponsored by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies and UCLA's International Studies and Overseas Programs (ISOP)
April 10, 1999
"China: The Silk Road"
11:00 am "The Lost Scroll" Travel down the exotic and mystical Silk Road to China with the Los Angeles Children's Ballet Theatre in search of knowledge, wisdom, and adventure. 12:00 pm "Tales from China" Storyteller Michael Katz narrates folktales, fairytales, and myths from China. 1:00 pm "Art Workshops: Dragon Puppets" (ages 3-6) Make your own unique dragon hand puppet with artist Theresa Robinett. "Art Workshops: Chinese Lanterns" (ages 7-12) Build your own Chinese lantern with paper and wire under the direction of artist Nancy Yee. 2:00 pm "Dances of the Silk Road" Inspired by ancient paintings in stone temples carved in the mountains of Western China, Alice Lo explores the connections between East and West through folk dance.
UCLA Armand Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201
Tel: (310) 443-7000; TTY: (310) 443-7094April 10, 1999
"Rai San'yoh's Poem Calligraphy on Gion Nankai's Bamboo Robe: Double Layered Meaning"
presented by Sadako Ohki
Associate Curator of Japanese Art"Dong Qichang and Euclidian Geometry"
presented by Chin-Sung Change
PhD Candidate of Chinese ArtSaturday, 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Room 200 Street Hall
56 High Street
History of Art
For more information, please call Sadako Ohki at 432-0629April 13, 1999
"The Domestic Politics of China's Accession to the WTO"
Dr. Yong Wang
Professor, School of International Studies
Beijing University
Joint Visiting Fellow, Pacific Council on International Policy & USCTuesday
12:30 to 2:00 PM
Center for International Studies Seminar Room
Social Sciences Building Room B-40
University of Southern CaliforniaSponsored by USC East Asian Studies Center and Center for International Studies.
April 15, 1999
"Uesugi Shinkichi: The Emperor and the Masses"
Walter Skya
History, Loyola Marymount University7:45 pm
6275 Bunche Hall, UCLAA session in the Southern California Japan Seminar and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the USC-UCLA Joint Center for East Asian Studies. Pomona College's Samuel Yamashita coordinates the seminar.
April 18, 1999
"Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum"
11:00 am - noon Members' Curatorial Walkthrough Conducted by Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum.
Reservations required. Membership and Information (310) 206-0306.2:00 - 4:00 pm "Kids in the Courtyard" Series: Lighting the Way.
The lanterns of Suzhou are renowned for their beauty and exquisite illumination. Light up your life with a handmade lantern fashioned after those of Suzhou! Event is free of charge. No reservations required.UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History
(Located just west of Royce Hall. Take Sunset Boulevard to Westwood Plaza and get a parking permit - $5 - for lot 4 or 5.)
(310) 825-4361April 19, 1999
"Traditional Laotian Textiles with Carol Cassidy"
Ms. Cassidy has played a central role in reviving the lost art of traditional Laotian silk weaving. She was first sent by the United Nations to Laos in 1989 as part of an effort to modernize the textile industry. Her genuine passion for preserving the weaving traditions eventually led her to start her own weaving center, Lao Textiles, in 1990 in Vientiane, Laos, where she currently resides.Carol's weavings are in the collections of the Textile Museum,Washington DC, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Asia Society in New York. Please join us for a rare evening viewing of textiles that combine traditional weaving methods, Laotian motifs, and contemporary design.
7:00-9:00 PM
please call (213) 624-0945 for more informationSponsored by the Asia Society
April 21, 1999
"Arms Control -- A Chinese View"
Gu Guoliang,
Director, Arms Control & Nonproliferation Center
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences2-4 pm
Bunche 11382Sponsored by UCLA International Studies and Overseas Programs' Center for International Relations. Call (310) 825-0604 or visit CIR's website for more information.
April 22, 1999
"1999 Korea Caravan: Current Affair on Korea- Special Presentation"
The Honorable Stephen W. Bosworth
US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
The Honorable Hong-Koo Lee
Korean Ambassador to the United StatesWelcoming remarks: Chancellor Albert Carnesale, UCLA
Moderator: Prof. Robert Buswell, UCLA
Discussant, Prof. Thomas Plate, UCLA10:00 - 11:30 AM
UCLA Faculty Center
California RoomSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies (310 825-3284) and the USC-UCLA Joint Center for East Asian Studies. This event is free and open to the public.
April 23, 1999
"Tribute, Sinocentrism and Frontiers: a View from the South of the Yalu"
Professor Andre Schmid
University of Toronto3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
243 Royce HallSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies (310 825-3284)
This event is open to the public and is free of charge (on-campus parking is $5).April 23 and 26, 1999
"Crossing Waves: Documenting Taiwan in the 1990's"
This program of Taiwanese documentaries were organized by the Chinese Taipei Film Archive and is presented by the UCLA Documentary Salon.
Friday, April 23, 7:00 PM
Sakuliu (1994), directed by Daw-Ming Lee. To Sakuliu, a young Paiwan tribesman, inheriting the knowledge of traditional Paiwan craftsmanship from his elders is critical in a world that is increasingly driven by selfish desires. The filmmaker follows the young artist on this quest of cultural revival throughout his various worlds, from Sakuliu's devotion to learning the Paiwan ways of wood sculpture, pottery and hunting, to his insistence that his own descendants maintain their identity as the Paiwan people.Songs of the Wanderer (1996), directed by Yang Ming-Hui. An indigenous filmmaker lays out the mosaics of hallucinatory minds when he visits the mentally ill in his native village. This film provokes serious questions about Taiwan's sinocentric culture and remains influential as the first insider's mapping of the psychological terrains of Taiwan's indigenous people.A Random Life (1998), directed by Tsao Wen-Chieh. A whimsical and passionate account of a mother-son relationship across theatrical divides -- the mother, a fading Taiwanese opera star (in the male role) and the son, an up-and-coming avant-garde theater troupe director and actor.Two Guys Go Hunting (1998), directed by Chen Shuo-Yi (Best Non-Commercial Film Award, First Taipei Film Festival). When the media "discovers them, two insect-hunting buddies pose as eco-conscious experts of Taiwan's exotic species, despite never having had a steady job or any formal education in entomology or zoology in their entire lives. Under the operative guise of "Nature's Outback Workshop," they devise original strategies to reap fame and fortune from their newfound celebrity. Crafty swindlers or gallant pioneers, the boys have a jolly good time on an adventure that eventually changes their lives.Monday, April 26, 7:00PM
I Love Taipei (1998), directed by Hsu Ming-Chun. Lin Che-Chuan may be a 3-year-old tyrant, but he knows how to seize a parking space in Taipei's cramped alleyways. His father, currently an insurance salesman, navigates through the city's frenetic pace and its endless makeovers with the aplomb of an urban guru. The film captures the Lin family in the nexus of a bustling Taipei, seething with unlimited possibilities and unknown dangers. Jammed into this short piece are competing visions of how Taipei has staked itself, with many trials against human conditions, to establish its status at the center of the world.Chen Tsai-Gen (1997), directed by Wu Yi-Feng. A community of elderly men from mainland China live out their years in Taiwan, in temporary shacks on top of a mass burial plot dating from the Japanese colonial period. A new friend steadily unearths their sweet and painful memories and forgotten dreams.Every Odd-Numbered Day (1995), directed by Tung Chen-Liang. Since the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, Kinmen has become its front line against the Communists on the mainland. Caught in the battleground where animosity between the two sides is exchanged and negotiated, Kinmen has thereafter endured more than 970,000 bombs hurled over from the Communists on every odd-numbered day. In the spirit of self-reliance, this award-winning production is directed and reenacted by Kinmen islanders. It lyrically recounts their homeland's experience of war and life after it became the Berlin Wall in the Taiwan Straits.All screenings take place at the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall, located on the northeast corner of the UCLA campus near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue. Parking is available for $5 in Lot 3 and can be purchased at the attendant booth at the entrance of Wyton Drive, just off of Hilgard Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. Sponsored by the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in cooperation with the International Documentary Association and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles.
April 24, 1999
"Meet the author/Bookwarming- The Sacred Willow"
The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family by Duong Van Mai Elliott is an illuminating, unprecedented look at Vietnam's social, cultural, and political history as seen through the eyes of one family from the 1850s to the present. While most books published in the U.S. about Vietnam focus on what Vietnam has meant to Americans, this is the first book to tell what the history of Vietnam has meant to the Vietnamese. Duong Van Mai Elliott was born and raised in Vietnam. She attended Georgetown University and has worked for the Rand Corporation as an interviewer of Viet Cong prisoners of war
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N. Los Robles Avenue
Upstairs Auditorium
Pasadena
April 25, 1999
Beverley Jackson
Author of Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition2:00 pm
The Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
Tel. (714) 567-3600 - Fax (714) 567-3603
Email: info@bowers.org
April 26, 1999
Admission: $300/individual"Asia Society Southern California Center 7th Annual Dinner: California Business in Asia"
Asia Society Southern California Center's 7th Annual Dinner continues the tradition of highlighting the vital business links between California and the Asia Pacific region by honoring Edison International and its Chairman and CEO, John E. Bryson. The Chairman's Award will be presented to Mr. Bryson in recognition of Edison International's corporate role in facilitating business between California and the Asia Pacific region. David Coulter, Asia Society Trustee and former Chairman and CEO, Bank of America, will serve as the Dinner Chair.
$3000/table
For more information please contact the Asia Society at
(213) 624-0945
April 29, 1999
"China in Transition: Social and Economic Challenges"
Barry Naughton
Professor, International Relations & Pacific Studies, UCSDAnthony Saich Resident Representative, Ford Foundation, Beijing and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Vaclav Smil
Professor, Geography Department, University of Manitoba, CanadaChair
James Tong
Associate Professor, Political Science, Co-Director, USC-UCLA Joint Center for East Asian Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
Four distinguished China specialists who will provide insights on the social transformations occurring in China today. Panelists will address the role of migration, the changing nature of poverty in the countryside, the economic reform process, as well as challenges to growth, including population, energy consumption, pollution, and environmental degradation
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Milken Institute, Conference Center
1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA
Admission Fee: $15/pre-event
$20/at-door
Parking: Santa Monica Public Parking #1
Adjacent to institute. Please enter on Fourth St.Sponsored by: USC-UCLA Joint Center for East Asian Studies, Asia Society, and the Milken Institute.
April 30, 1999
"Exploding Ballads: Pop Music in Korea in the 1990's"
Prof. Keith Howard, SOAS
University of London
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Gamelan Room
1695 Schoenberg HallSponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies (310 825-3284).
April 30, 1999
"A Failed Revolution in Korean Writing: The Attempt to Latinize Korean in the Soviet Far East, 1929-1935"
Presented by Dr. Ross King
Associate Professor of Korean Language and Literature
Department of Asian Studies
University of British ColumbiaProfessor King's analysis focuses on published materials in Russian and Korean surrounding the movement to 'Latinize' the Korean script in the Russian Far East, 1930-1934. This movement, centered upon the 200,000-strong ethnic Korean minority in the Russian Far East, sought to abolish the Korean script for Koreans in the USSR and replace it with a more 'international' and 'revolutionary' Latin script-based writing system. It also occurred in the context of a union-wide movement to Latinize virtually all scripts in the USSR. His study concerns both the analyses behind the different Latinization schemes mooted, and the social, political and historical context in which this 'failed revolution' occurred. King's presentation will also make comparative references to parallel discussions of language and script reform in Korea itself.
Friday, 3:00 PM
Center for International Studies Seminar Room (location tentative)
Social Sciences Building Room B-40
University of Southern CaliforniaSponsored by Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California and the USC/UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center.
Where to send announcements:
Please send announcements of East Asia-related events, performances, and exhibitions to
Clayton Dube
USC-UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center
11266 Bunche Hall, UCLA
Los Angeles, California 90095-1487
email: <cdube@isop.ucla.edu>
fax: (310) 206-3555
