CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN STUDIEST H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F K A N S A S

NEWSNOT E SFOCUS ON OUTREACH

SPRING 2011 (785) 864-3849CEAS@KU.EDU

WWW.CEAS.KU.EDU

New York Elementary 6th graders give a traditional Tibetan greeting with visiting Tibetan students from the Mayul School, Qinghai Province, China.

A student visits the Chinese table at the South Junior High annual Asia Kick-Off.

Lawrence Arts Center visitors view drawings by Jimmy Mirikitani following a free screening of the award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitani.

The art, culture, business, history, and politics of East Asia are ever-present in our lives here in the Midwest.

Through news reports, trade and investment, or emerging communities of East Asian immigrants building new lives in our cities and towns, Kansans will increasingly interact with their counterparts from China, Korea, and Japan. The mission of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas is to produce specialists in East Asian languages and cultures and provide expertise on East Asia to the state, region, and nation. On campus, CEAS supports teaching, curriculum development, faculty and student research, the library, and media resources. CEAS outreach programs enrich the educational experience of our students, provide training and educational materials for K-12 teachers and educators at other post-secondary institutions, and make the university’s East Asian resources, including faculty expertise, available to the community, business, government, and the media. The best part of our job is outreach! Lucky for us, it is also mandated through our grant from the U.S. Department of Education. We invite and encourage teachers, students, and community members interested in presentations, curricula, and partnerships, or those who simply have questions or curiosity about East Asia, to call upon our staff. All of our events, whether academic or cultural, are free and open to the public. Inside, you will find descriptions of our many outreach activities and contact information for our committed outreach staff. We look forward to working with you soon!

Middle schools throughout Kansas will soon receive a free copy of The Fastest Pig II: Journey to the West, a

new graphic novel written by Randi Hacker and designed and illustrated by Julian Rivera. Fastest Pig II continues the story of Jimmy Lin, a Midwestern boy straddling two cultures: small-town Kansas and mainland China. While visiting China for the first time, Jimmy and his friend Grace see the usual spots—the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square—as well as rural life, a traditional Chinese wedding, and even the legendary Monkey King. Fastest Pig II is printed in English and Mandarin Chinese. Young readers can compare, frame by frame, the corresponding English and Chinese texts. The project was supported by the Freeman-funded Undergraduate Asian Studies Initiative, the Kansas Consortium for International Education in the Schools, and CEAS.

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Students get a Korean language lesson from KU graduate students.

OUTREACH TO K-12 SCHOOLS & TEACHERS

Randi Hacker, CEAS Education Outreach Coordinator, travels the region to teach East Asian languages and cultures

to elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as professional development workshops for teachers. Below are some of the most popular presentations:

Five Days of Chinese: Developed for students in grades K-4, this interactive program teaches basic Chinese vocabulary, numbers, and colors, and finishes up with a story about the Chinese zodiac.

Introduction to Chinese: For grades 5-12, this presentation introduces older students to the tones and writing system, along with some vocabulary.

East Asian Story Time: This presentation for younger students brings a native speaker of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean to the class to teach some vocabulary, and then read a story side-by-side with an English speaker. Stories are The Rainbow Fish (Korean), Where Are You Going? (Japanese), and A Kiss for Little Bear (Chinese). Story time ends with a fun activity.

The Song of Mulan: Designed to complement the 6th-grade Ancient Civilization unit, this program focuses on the historic Mulan, teaches basic spoken and written vocabulary, and then gives students a chance to hear the poem in Chinese and English.

Furoshiki Wrapping: Designed for middle and high school students and educators, participants learn to wrap gifts using traditional Japanese furoshiki techniques.

Brush calligraphy: Each year, CEAS brings a calligraphy expert to the Kansas City Art Institute to work with students in its art history classes.

Other presentations in the past have covered topics such as calligraphy, Korean children’s games, martial arts, taiko drumming, and Mongolian language and culture. Teachers interested in bringing East Asia content into their classrooms should contact Randi Hacker at rhacker@ku.edu, (785) 864-3832.

Teacher Workshops

CEAS offers an array of professional

development opportunities for K-12 teachers and librarians. In summer 2010, CEAS collaborated with the KU Center for Economic Education to offer a credit-bearing course for teachers, “Teaching about East Asia

and the Global Economy: 1200 to the Present.” CEAS and CEE will team up again in June 2011 for another teacher course, “The Rise of East Asia in the Global Economy.”

Other professional development opportunities include workshops at the Greater Kansas City Japan Festival, which have explored topics such as origami and taiko drumming; a workshop for art teachers focused on Korean ceramic techniques; and partnerships with other KU area studies centers, such as the upcoming symposium at the Lawrence Arts Center, “Arts, Music, and Migration,” on April 16.

The Kansas Consortium for Teaching about Asia (KCTA), housed in CEAS, offers a credit course for educators, “East Asian History and Culture for Teachers.” The seminar consists of classroom work, field trips to nearby East Asia art exhibits, and when possible, study abroad tours to China, Japan, and Korea. For more information on KCTA seminars, visit www.kcta.ku.edu.

Visiting artist Katie Baldwin demonstrates Mokuhanga Japanese woodblock printmaking techniques at the Lawrence Arts Center.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Prof. Victor Mair (University of Pennsylvania) spends time with an old Chinese typewriter that belonged to the late Prof. Wallace Johnson. Mair, a renowned Chinese language scholar and historian, delivered the 2011 Wallace S. Johnson Memorial Lecture in Medieval Chinese Culture.

CAMPUS OUTREACH

Leslie von Holten, CEAS Program Coordinator, organizes campus outreach events for students and faculty. Activities

range from the casual Tea & Talk lecture series, annual events such as the Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies, and cultural celebrations like the Mid-Autumn Moon Viewing Party, to formal academic conferences, symposia, and special visits from international scholars.

Campus events are aimed to both increase awareness of East Asian studies at KU and support scholars already working in the field. By stimulating a culture of academic inquiry and collaboration among undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty across all disciplines and schools, East Asian studies will remain an exciting, engaging, and growing area of research.

Ideas for campus events come from a variety of sources: Faculty members working on new projects; grant-funded research themes (ie, Heartlands & Migration, Nations & Identities); current events; annual cultural celebrations; and visiting scholars from around the globe, among others.

Members of the community are always welcome to attend campus events. For more information, or if you have an idea for an event, contact Leslie von Holten at lvonholt@ku.edu, (785) 864-1457.

Community outreach and collaboration presents the CEAS staff with many rewarding and fun opportunities. Recent

partnerships with KPR 91.5 FM Kansas Public Radio, the Lawrence Arts Center, the Lawrence Public Library, and Liberty Hall movie theater in 2010-2011 allowed us to explore and share expertise on such diverse topics as Japanese woodblock printmaking, North Korean politics, the legacy of U.S. internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, and the cultural implications of the Three Gorges Dam in China.

Need a small East Asia fix? Tune in to our weekly 1-minute radio broadcast, Postcards from Asia, hosted by Randi Hacker. Each week she brings listeners a glimpse of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or Mongolian culture from the contemporary to the ancient, from the exotic to the familiar. Postcards are broadcast locally on KPR Wednesdays at 9:58 pm and Saturdays at 1:04 pm. You can also access them on our website, http://www.ceas.ku.edu/resources/audio.shtml.

Every other summer, CEAS joins with the Lawrence Public Library to co-sponsor a summer reading group. Past groups have explored nonfiction and fiction focused on the city of Beijing and sports in China (2008) and North and South Korea (2010). KU faculty members John Kennedy (Political Science) and Megan Greene (Director, CEAS), and U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) David Lambertson have been among our invited discussion leaders.

Local organizations interested in collaborating on a project or in need of East Asia expertise should contact Leslie von Holten at lvonholt@ku.edu, (785) 864-1457.

Tibetan students studying English at KU meet with KU students who have studied in Tibet.

KU CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN STUDIESUNIVERSITY OF KANSAS 1440 JAYHAWK BLVD., Bailey 201 LAWRENCE, KS 66045

Would you like e-mail event reminders? Contact Leslie vonHolten, lvonholt@ku.edu

International Health Care Forum: “The Reality and Challenges of Delivering Medical Assistance to Developing Countries”Tuesday, April 12 || 12:00–1:30 pm || Pine Room, Kansas Union (live broadcast from the KU Medical Center) Medical doctors and public health officials will discuss experiences in delivering health care to populations in developing countries.

Brownbag Lecture: Li Hong Hai, documentary filmmakerWednesday, April 13 || 12 noonWalnut Room, Kansas UnionBring your lunch and join us for an informal discussion with Li Hong Hai, founder of Time Documentary film company and director of The Furthering of 8848, about the first Chinese mountain-climbing team to scale Mt. Everest.

Teachers’ Workshop: The Arts, Music, and MigrationSaturday, April 16 || 8:00 am-2:00 pm || Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.Open to K-12 educators, this workshop will explore how migration affects the development of art and music in East Asia and around the world. Sponsored by CEAS and the KU Centers for Russian, East European, and Eurasion Studies, Latin American Studies, and the Kansas African Studies Center. Pre-registration required. Contact Adrienne Landry, alandry@ku.edu.

UPCOMING CEAS EVENTSA l l C E A S e v e n t s a r e f r e e a n d o p e n t o t h e p u b l i c .

Tea & Talk: In the Matter of Cha Jung HeeThursday, April 21 || 4:00 pmPine Room, Kansas UnionShort film and discussion. Why would an 8-year-old Korean girl be asked to keep her true identity a secret from her new American family? (64 minutes, with brief discussion to follow) Kelly Chong (Sociology) will lead the discussion.

Godzilla & Friends VI: The Monster MashFriday–Saturday, May 6–7 | Varying times | Henderson Center, Room 112, Washburn University, TopekaAnnual Godzilla festival held at Washburn University. Includes contests & prizes. Saturday guest speaker is Godzilla historian Bill Tsutsui. For more information, contact Bill Schafer, bill.shaffer@washburn.edu.Friday 7 pm: Destroy All Monsters (1968)Saturday 10 am: Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster (1964)Saturday 1:30 pm: House of Frankenstein (1944)Saturday 3:30 pm: How to Make a Monster (1958)Saturday 7 pm: A Godzilla Surprise!

Panel Discussion: “Celebrating Tsinghua University’s 100th Anniversary: Higher Education in China”Saturday, May 7 || 3:00 pmEdwards Auditorium, 12600 Quivira Rd., Overland ParkA panel of higher education experts and Tsinghua alumni will discuss the history of Tsinghua University and explore the past, present, and future of higher education in China.