Bring your lunch and get familiar with the traditions, cuisin and sighseeing of Uzbekistan

Featuring the young adult novel All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney

Join us this year for another Muslim Journeys series, centered on the theme of encounters: encounters between friends, encounters between strangers, encounters between people of different faiths, and encounters between individuals and their own faith practices.  Our first event, featuring the young adult novel All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney will be held in late October in a hybrid form.  Look for more sessions in 2022, including an event in conjunction with the Libraries' Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, a talk from a literary translator, a film screening, and more.

Discussion led by Leila Tarakji (MSU).  Register in advance here.
 

Presented by the Michigan Sangeetha Natya Academy, in collaboration with the MSU College of Music and the Asian Studies Center.

 

With featured performers Smt. Vani Dhanya Rao (Bharathanatyam); Smt. Anagha Huprikar (Kathak); Smt. Manasi Mishra (Odishi); Smt. Sailaja Pullela (Kuchpudi).

Arabic language practice and culture presentations.

27th Joseph and Lucy Lee Memorial Lecture

Speaker: Professor LY Wei, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University

Ancient Xi'ian, also known as Chang'an, was the cradle of Chinese civilization. Thirteen dynasties established their capitals in ancient Xi'an. It was the city with the longest history of being a dynastic capital in China (longer thatn Luoyang, Nanjing, and Beiming). It was the starting point of the Silk Road. It was also the largest in the world during the 6th-10th centuries. 

Many historical sites remain in present-day Xi'an. Six, including the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, have been named as UNESCO World Heritage sites. This lecture will introduce ancient Xi'an's history and culture by discussing famous historial sites, food, theater, arts, and literature. 

The Joseph and Lucy Lee Memorial lecture series is an annual event in memory of Joseph Lee - Professor of Chinese Literature and Culture in (now LiLaC) at Michigan State University - and Lucy Lee, an alumna of MSU and a steadfast supporter of MSU ad the Asian Studies Center.

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Speaker: Dr. Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley, Research Associate, Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS, University of London. Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley is Research Associate, Centre of Taiwan Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She was Secretary-General of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) from 2012 to 2018 and is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Taiwan Studies (IJTS).

Democratization is arguably Taiwan's most significant achievement since 1945. Yet most studies have failed to devote sufficient attention to the cultural dimensions of the process, which I term 'cultural democratization.' This talk addresses the impact of democratization from the perspective of culture by using the development of Taiwan cinema as a case study. I take three approaches—historical, structural, and agency-focused—to examine how culture in Taiwan has democratized since the 1980s.

Co-Sponsored by the Asian Studies Center Global Virtual Speaker Program through the Joseph Lee Endowment and Office of China Programs

 

Shellen Wu, Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee

The interwar years saw extraordinary outbursts of political foment from Berlin to Shanghai, mixing together in a toxic brew the rise of mass culture and calls for socialist revolution. In furious backlash, rightwing movements around the world promised a restoration of national glory and agrarian idyll. Yet, beneath the polarization of the political discourse, both left and right leaning governments and non-governmental agencies like the Rockefeller Foundation promoted agricultural science as a solution to rural problems.

Dr. Shellen Xiao Wu is associate professor of history and director of the Asian Studies Program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her first book, "Empires of Coal: Fueling China's Entry into the Modern World Order, 1860-1920" was published with Stanford University Press in 2015.

This event is organized by Dr. Sidney Lu, Associate Professor, MSU Department of History and is sponsored by the MSU Asian Studies Center (ASN). The talk is a part of the ASN Global Virtual Speakers Program..

Arabic language practice and culture presentations.

A discussion of issues, research tools, and management options - from local, to regional, and even global perspectives.

Arabic Diwan is a gathering of Arabic students who are in the Arabic program, where they speak the language and learn about the culture in a relaxed environ­ment with our Fulbright teaching assistant. Students from all Arabic language levels are encouraged to attend. Also, we extend the invitation to the Arabic speaking students at the English Center. 

For more information please contact Fatima Alaiwi, fatima_bh(at)msn.com.