USC-UCLA Joint East
Asian Studies Center
Southern California East Asian
Calendar of Events and Exhibitions
Please send announcements of appropriate events to
Special Update: Noted Chinese dissident Wang Dan will speak at UCLA on Friday, May 22.
Ongoing (to June 8)
"Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958-1968"
Yayoi Kusama is known for combining surrealism and abstract expressionism together with
minimalism and pop art. She created collages, paintings, objects and installations. This
is the
first U.S. museum exhibition to focus on her work. Some 80 works are included in this
exhibition.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036
Free parking is available after 5 pm in the lot directly opposite the entrance.
Ongoing (to July
15)
"The Creative Voices of Reason: PhilippinePainters, Poets and Craftsmen''
This Pacific Asia Museum
exhibit celebrates the centennial of Philippine independence
and features the work of Fernando Amorsolo.
Pacific Asia Museum
46 N. Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, California
[626] 449-2742
May 1, 9 am - 5 pm
"Global Movements, Local Realities: Asian/Asian American
Family, Identity,
Religion, and Gender Politics in a Transnational Age"
Glendale Room, University Student Union
California State University, Los Angeles
Opening Panel:
"Global Movements, Local Realities: Models for Asian and Asian American Studies"
ChorSwang Ngin
Anthropology, California State University, Los Angeles
"The New Asian American Family in a Post-Industrial Age"
Larry Hong
Sociology, California State University, Los Angeles
Panel: Identity and Representation
Lena Chao
Communication Studies, California State University, Los Angeles
Guy Aoki
Media Action Network for Asian Americans
Amina Adan
Orange Coast Community College
Chungsheng Bai
California State University, Los Angeles
Panel: Asian and Asian American Religion
Philip Goff
History, California State University, Los Angeles
Keng Fong Pang
Center for Southeast Asia Studies
Sharon Suh
University of Southern California
David Yoo
Claremont McKenna College
Panel: Gender Politics
Ping Yao
History, California State University, Los Angeles
Rita Burgose
Labor Community Strategy Center
Susie Ling
Pasadena City College
Siyon Rhee
California State University, Los Angeles
Closing Panel
Eui-Young Yu
California State University, Los Angeles
Jun Liu
California State University, Los Angeles
Enrique Ochoa
California State University, Los Angeles
This is the third in a series of five symposia on "Re-Visioning Asian and Asian
American Studies" which is made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation
under its initiative Crossing Borders: Revitalizing Area Studies.
For further information, contact
Eri Yasuhara at (213) 343-4004 (eyasuha@calstatela.edu)
ChorSwang Ngin at (213) 343-2442 (cngin@calstatela.edu).
California State University, Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, California 90032
May 2
"1998 California Chinese History Graduate Student Symposium"
Featuring graduate students in the Departments of History from UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC
San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, and Stanford University
May 4,
3-5 pm
"Networks of Modernity: Japanese Urban Rail and the Culture of Everyday
Life"
James Fujii
East Asian Languages and Cultures, UC Irvine
Hacienda Room, UCLA Faculty Center
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies
(310) 825-8681
May 4,
Luncheon
"A Luncheon Discussion with the Honorable Dato'Seri Rafidah Aziz,
Minister of Trade and Industry, Malaysia"
Minister Aziz is expected to discuss the current economic crisis in the region
and prospects for recovery and investment opportunities in Malaysia. She will
also address issues before the next APEC meetings in Kuala Lumpur.
This event is sponsored by the Asia
Society's California Center. Call 213-624-0945 for
time and reservations.
May 6,
3:30 pm
"Seventeenth-Century Chinese Painting Criticism Reconsidered"
Katharine Burnett
Art History and East Asian Languages and Cultures, UC Davis
11382 Bunche Hall, UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies
(310) 825-8683
May 7
"Politics in Hong Kong: Democracy in Retreat?"
James T.H. Tang
University of Hong Kong
Discussant: Ambassador Burton Levin
James Tang is co-author of "Hong Kong: Challenges of Change." This work is
available
on the Asia Society's website:
http://www.asiasociety.org/publications/update_hongkong_challenges.html
The talk is sponsored and hosted by the Asia Society's California Center. Call
(213) 624-0945 for information.
May 8,
3-4:30 pm
"The Gospel as Transformer of Korean Culture?"
Chai-sik Chung
School of Theology, Boston University
4269 Bunche Hall, UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies
(310 825-3284) and the
USC/UCLA Joint Center in East Asian Studies
May 10 Opening Day
of the Exhibition
"From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textiles of the Southern Philippines"
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) 825-4361
May 11,
3-5 pm
"Body and Territory in Taiheike: War Tales and Warrior Society in Late
Imperial Japan"
Hitomi Tonomura
History, University of Michigan
Sierra Room, UCLA Faculty Center
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Japanese Studies
(310) 825-8681
May 12, 5:30- 9:30 pm
"Japonism in Art and Fashion"
part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's "Evenings for Educators"
series
This session is the last in the 1997-98 series.
Curriculum materials and hands-on experiences are featured at these events which are
intended for K-12 teachers in Los Angeles-area public and private schools.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036
The cost is $10 per session or $64 for the year-long series. Salary credit is
available for all public school teachers in Los Angeles County.
For ticket information, call (213) 857-6110. For other information contact the
LACMA Education
Department at (213) 857-6512.
May 15,
3 -5 p.m.
"Historiography and Politics in Pre-Colonial & Post-Colonial Korea"
"Chong In-bo's Historiography and Politics"
Han-yong Pak
Korea University
"An Chae-hong's Search for Modernity in Korea's Past"
Chong-myong Im
Korea University
Discussant: Henry Em
East Asian Languages and Cultures, UCLA
4269 Bunche Hall, UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies
(310 825-3284)
May 14-21
13th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival
Presented by Visual Communications
Theatre B,
Director's Guild of America
7920 Sunset
Blvd., Los Angeles (one block west of Fairfax Ave.)
Events Line
(213) 680-4462; Email: viscom@vc.apanet.org
Many of the
films exhibited during the festival focus on the experiences
of Asian
Americans. In addition to the films, there is a panel on Hong Kong
and
Hollywood and an evening devoted to Toshiro Mifune. Among the
films set
in East Asia are the following:
(film
descriptions provided by Visual Communications)
Saturday, May 16 noon Theater B (DGA)
"Politics of the Private"
Celia Pan, 1997
"Shot in Beijing, China with a digital camera, this documentary is a
poignant yet humorous portrait of two young idealists and their stifled
dreams incontemporary China. It provides a revealing look into the lives
of young urbanChinese who are searching for their own place in a
changing society." 21 minutes
"No Milk, But There's Always Coke"
Ernesto M. Foronda, 1998
"A young man chastises his mother for participating in a beauty pageant.
Behind the monologue is a backdrop of a 1960s Coca Cola industrial film
shot in the Philippines." 6 minutes
Sunday, May 17 noon Theater B (DGA)
"Milagros"
Marilou Diaz-Abaya, 1997
"Milagros is the name of the title character, who decides to leave her job
as a Manila stripper to go work for the landlord with whom her recently
deceased father had incurred a huge debt. The landlord has three sons,
and Milagros creates a lasting impression on these four men. In turn, the
viewer is treated to a complex network of characters, which includes
Milagros’ mother, her common-law husband, and the elder son’s wealthy
wife, who wishes to attend auniversity in the United States. Attempting
to anchor these stormy lives is Milagros, who remains positive and is
true to her feelings. MILAGROS chartsthe passage of a family from a time
of relative innocence toward a time whennothing can ever be the same,
when experiences which come with age bring rageand thoughts of revenge
even as they teach redemption and hope." 131 minutes
Sunday, May 17 1pm Theater A (DGA)
Panel: Hong Kong in Hollywood: Facing Off for a Better Tomorrow"
Presented by the Directors Guild of America and Visual Communications
"Currently, a new wave of Hong Kong filmmakers are being wooed by
Hollywood studios to make films here in the United States. Hong Kong
veteran filmmakers including John Woo, Stanley Tong, Ringo Lam and Tsui
Hark have made major studio films or have established production deals
with studios in the U.S.within the last two years. With the number of
Hong Kong directors and actors working in Hollywood on the rise, there
are many provocative questions about the impact of this trend on mainstream
Hollywood pictures and the Hong Kong native film industry. This panel
discussion will include directors and producers who will discuss this historical
moment in Hollywood history and look at its impact on mainstream Hollywood
as well as on Asian Hollywood and in the general market."
Participants: Tim Chey, director, "Fakin' Da Funk;" Terence Chang, Producer;
Wenda Fong (Moderator), Wayne Wang, director, "Chinese Box"
Sunday, May 17 2:30 pm Theater B
"Rizal in Dapitan"
Amable "Tikoy" Aquiluz, 1997
"1998 marks the centennial year of the death of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Filipinonational
hero.
His novels—particularly Noli me tangere—positioned him as athreat to
Spanish colonial
rule of the Philippines, yet are now a basic partof the Filipino educational curriculum.
As well, Rizal's life has become part ofthe Filipino psyche, portrayed in films and
television,
in books, and even incomics. Director Tikoy Aguiluz’s intimate treatment of a
stressful
period of Rizal’s life (scripted by noted screenwriter Jose F. Lacaba) reflects much
research
and authenticity, yet doesn’t skimp on the intrigues that are a hallmark of classic
Filipino melodrama.
Set in 1892, "Rizal in Dapitan" chronicles the life Rizal during his four-year
internal exile in
Dapitan, a small town in Zamboanga. In Dapitan, Rizal meets Josephine Bracken, an
18-year-old
Eurasian travelling with her stepfather, whose interest in her is more than fatherly.
Rizal, in
spite of being branded a heretic by the local priest, is running a school for indigent
boys.
The affair with Josephine is condemned by the church and by his family, but it becomes
Rizal’s
obsession." 100 minutes
Sunday, May 17 5 pm Theater B
"Overstay"
Ann Kaneko, 1998
"An intimate exploration of foreign migrant workers in Japan. Four sets of young
people
from Iran, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines tell their unique stories--why they came to
Japan and how they have adjusted to an insular and traditional society. The film follows
migrants at work and at play, trying to make a new life while homesick for a familiar
culture.
The film is in Japanese, Urdu, Spanish, Farsi, Tagalog and English with English
subtitles."
75 minutes
Sunday, May 17 7 pm Theater B (DGA)
"Girls Fantasy"
Jun Murozono, 1997
"In this lyrical experimental short, a pair of schoolgirls slip in and out of reality
and fantasty
worlds as imagined by the filmmaker." 10 minutes
Sunday, May 17 9 pm
Theater B (DGA)
"Murmor of Youth"
Lin Cheng-sheng, 1997
"An uncommonly gentle and sage piece of filmmaking, "Murmor of Youth"
succeeds incapturing great beauty and unearthing significance in the seemingly
ordinary facets of life. Although there has been an exponential increase in films
dealing with gay issues from Asia recently, "Murmor of Youth" (from Taiwan)
seems
set apart from that bandwagon. This may be because this is a film about the
development of a loving relationship between two women (still quite rare in any
region’s cinema), but mainly because the point it makes is exquisite and universal:
Finding love where before there was only loneliness is a joy that which overrides
social mores. Two young women, both named Mei-li, are from vastly different worlds
and find work selling movie tickets in a tiny box-office. The booth becomes a shared
bubble where they find shelter from their oppressive home lives, and a sactuary from
the world around them. Evenly paced, well-acted and thoughtfully photographed,
"Murmor of Youth" gently unfolds to reveal the vulnerability of the two
Mei-lis."
106 minutes
Monday, May 18 7
pm Japan America Theater
"In Appreciation: Toshiro Mifune"
"In this special program, a select group of speakers will consider Mifune’s
considerable legacy, and we will screen a film containing one of his defining screen
roles."
Monday, May 18 8
pm Doizaki Gallery, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center
"Burma Diary"
Jeanne Hallacy, 1997
"'Burma Diary' explores the revolutionary movement fighting for democracy in Burma
and how young people are affected by the human rights abuses of Burma’s military
regime. The documentary chronicles four years in the life of Tint Aung, a member of
the student movement living in the jungle on the Thailand/Burma border. Through the
filmmaker’s personal friendship with him and his family, Tint Aung’s story is
told:
from his role in the 1988 uprising,to his struggle to survive in the jungle, and his
political
vision for the future—giving a passionate insight into the challenges and hopes of
the
democratic movement in Burma." 55 minutes
Tuesday, May 19 7 pm
Japan America Theater
"Motel Cactus"
Park Ki-Yong, 1997
Set in a Seoul love hotel, "Motel Cactus" looks at four couples and their evolving relationships.
Thursday, May 21 7
pm Japan America Theater
Closing Night Celebration
"The Soong Sisters"
Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, 1996
"The elite Soong family sends its three daughters to America for their
education. Beautiful and intelligent, the sisters are also ambitious, socially
calculating,
and motivated by money, power, and a sometimes ambiguous patriotism.
Ai-ling (Michelle Khan) marries rich industrialist H.H. Kung, who is for a time
the Minister of Finance, and who later flees to Hong Kong where his wealth and
power increase. Ching-Ling (Maggie Cheung) marries Dr. Sun Yat-sen who brings
down the Qing dynasty to found the republic and is forced to remain in exile in
Japan. May-ling (Vivian Wu) marries Chiang Kai-shek, whose rabid and repressive
anti-communism leads to the revolution and, after the Japanese are defeated,
to his own exile in Taiwan. Filmed mostly in China, "The Soong Sisters" was
completed in 1996, but remained on the shelf for over a year while the Chinese censors and
director Cheung struggled over the final version of the film. This version is the longest
available and is closest to Cheung and screenwriter Alex Law’soriginal intent—an
intimate
psychological biography set against the sweeping epic events encompassing the Soong
Sisters and their unwitting role in shaping modern Chinese history." 147
minutes
May 16,
2-4 pm
"World of
Art" Family Workshop at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History
Silk Scarves a
Sundry
Visit the
exhibition of textiles from the Philippines (see May 10, "The Rainbow's Varied
Hue" above)
and then
participate in a workshop intended for adults and children over age 12. You will be able
to
design your own
wearable creation. There is a $5 materials fee for museum members, $10 for
non-members. You
should call (310) 825-8655 for more information and to register for the workshop.
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) 825-4361
May 19, 1-3
pm
"Empresses and
Funerals, Pasta and Pigs: The Dream of the Hua and the Rise of Urban
Literature"
Stephen H. West
UC Berkeley
243 Royce Hall, UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies (310) 825-8683 and
the UCLA
Department of East
Asian Languages and Cultures
May 20,
3-5 pm
"Textual
Topography and Cultural Palimpsests: A Medieval Encyclopedia in China"
Stephen H. West
UC Berkeley
243 Royce Hall, UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies (310) 825-8683 and
the UCLA
Department of East
Asian Languages and Cultures
May 22,
4-6 pm
"The Chinese
Student Movement: Retrospect and Prospect"
Wang Dan
Recently released
Chinese dissident
Ackerman Union, 2nd
Floor Lounge (Room 2414), UCLA
sponsored by the USC-UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center
(310) 825-0007
click here to learn more about this event
and Wang Dan
May 22-23
Labor Rights and Labor Organizing in the Pacific Rim -- a
2 day symposium
Sponsored by the UCLA Southeast Asia Program and NAID Center
The conference will bring together union organizers, NGOs and academics from Asia,
the United States and Mexico, to discuss the consequences of Asian financial crisis
and its impact on labor organizing across the Pacific Rim. Contact Yun-Chung Chen at
ycchen@ucla.edu or 310-312-2069 for additional
information.
Friday, May 22
UCLA Faculty Center
9:00-9:20am Coffee/muffins
9:20-9:30am Welcome and Introductory remarks
Raul Hinojosa, Research Director, North America Integration and Development
Center, UCLA
9:30-10:00am The Global Impact of Asian Crisis
Keynote Speaker: Muhammad Hikam, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia
10:00-12:00 pm IMF program, State intervention, and their impact on Labor
Moderator: Raul Hinojosa
Panelists: Muhammad Hikam, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia
Rosario Bella Juan Guzman, IBON Foundation, Philippines
In-Sung Hwang, National Alliance for Democracy and Unification of Korea
12:00-1:10 pm Lunch
12:45-1:15 pm Lunch Talk: Organizing Across Borders and Cultures
Keynote Speaker: Maria Elena Durazo, President of LOCAL 11, Los Angeles
1:15-3:15pm Labor organizing in Southeast Asia and Southern California
Moderator: Anibel Comelo, Center for Labor Research and Education, UCLA
Panelists: Arief Djati, AREK foundation, Indonesia
Tian-Chang Chua, Labor Resource Center, Malaysia
Jay Mendoza, Director of Pilipino Workers Center, Los Angeles
Roy Hong, Executive Director, Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates,
Los Angeles
Chanchanit Martorell, Executive Director, Thai Community Development
Corporation
3:15-3:30pm Coffee Break
3:30-5:20pm Pacific Rim Solidarity: New Otani and Han Young Cases
Moderator: Jay Mendoza, Director of Pilipino Workers Center, Los Angeles
Panelists: David Monkawa, Assistant to President, LOCAL 11, Los Angeles
Jorge Hinojosa, National Council of La Raza, San Diego
Carmen Valadez, Labor Organizer, Tijuana
Young-Il Lim, Professor of Sociology, Kyungnam University, Korea
5:30 p.m. Concluding Remarks
Saturday, May 23
Room 2343, Public Policy Building, UCLA
9:30-9:45 Coffee/muffins
9:45-10:00 Welcome and Introductory remarks:Geoffrey Robinson, Prof. of Southeast
Asia Program
10:00-12:00 Southeast Asia in Crisis: Political Violence and Human Rights
Moderator: Geoffrey Robinson
Panelists: Arief Djati, AREK foundation, Indonesia
Muhammad Hikam, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia
Tian-Chang Chua, Labor Resource Center, Malaysia
Rosario Bella Juan Guzman, IBON Foundation, Philippines
In-Sung Hwang, National Alliance for Democracy and Unification of Korea
May 26,
?
"Asia Circle
Asia Access Discussion: Asian Financial Crisis and Lessons
from Mexico"
Sean Randolph
Director of California Office of Export Development
Location: Union Bank of California
The discussion will be followed by an informal reception.
Organized by the Asia Society's
California Center. Call 213-624-0945 for reservations.
May 28,
2 pm
"Written in
Flames: Self-Immolation in Sixth-Century Sichuan"
James Benn
East Asian Languages and Culture, UCLA
243 Royce Hall, UCLA
This talk is part of the China Workshop Series, organized by Steven Day. Contact him
for additional information.
May 29, 3-5 pm
"Rethinking the
Rhee and Park Eras"
Carter Eckert
Harvard
University
Young-Ick Lew
Yonsei University
4269 Bunche Hall,
UCLA
sponsored by the UCLA Center for Korean Studies (310 825-3284)
May 29, 8pm and May 31, 2pm
UCLA Spring Festival of Music
May
28-31, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology presents a festival
featuring music
from all over the world. On Friday, May 29, music from Japan
and and Korea
will be presented. On Sunday, May 31, music from China will
be presented. The
performances will be held in Schoenberg Auditorium. They
are free and open
to the public. For further information (including information
about other
performances in the festival), please call (310) 205-3033.
Music of
Japan
Ikuko Yuge, Director
Music of
Korea
Dong Suk Kim, Director
Music of
China
Chi Li, Director
May 30, 7:30 pm
"Asian Pacific Heritage Night"
A variety show featuring traditional Asian-Pacific performing arts by professionals and semi-professionals from the greater Los Angeles Asian-Pacific community.
Performing Art Center
California State University, NorthridgeFor tickets and information, call:
Juliet Chu (818) 709-3963
Alfred Foung (818) 368-4548
Angela Lew (818) 677-2600Sponsored by San Fernando Valley Chinese Cultural Association, China Institute-California State University, Northridge, and Asian Business Association
workshops and more