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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 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, a conference on medieval Chinese poetry, and an analysis of environmental law. This series culminated in our annual interdisciplinary 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-Boulder
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-Boulder, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
4:00 pm.

September 24

Suzaki Paradise – 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-Boulder, 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-Boulder, 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-Boulder, Center for Asian Studies, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General of Japan at Denver.
7:00 pm.

September 30 – October 1

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

A concert of min’yo folk music and dance featuring Takeda Masahiro and Takeda Hiroko, award winning folk performers and professional min’yo 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’yo songs and examine the meanings and significance in their words and music.
September 30 – 7:30 pm; October 1 – 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 “Q” Basir. 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-Boulder. 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-Boulder. 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-Boulder. 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.  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.  The burgeoning of women's writing in the wake of the 1979 revolution might at first appear as a paradox.  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.  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 “Mariko,” 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’s 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—middle and high school teachers—and is open to the public – 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 http://www.colorado.edu/cas/workshops 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 “Spring Into Shakespeare!” 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 – 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 (University of Colorado Boulder) and Ping Wang (Princeton University). Sponsored by the President’s Fund for the Humanities, UCB Chancellor’s Office, UCB Vice-Chancellor for Research’s Office, Graduate Committee on Arts and Humanities, Center for Asian Studies, A&S Dean’s 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’s 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.  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 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.  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.  In this talk, Dr Seema Khanwalkar will present her analysis of the widespread debate among academics, women’s 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.  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 Speaker Series

Lecture by two experts on Chinese law, Benjamin L. Liebman, Robert L. Lieff Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Chinese Legal Studies at Columbia University and Alex Wang, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Boalt Law School at the University of California, Berkeley and previously a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) based in Beijing and director of NRDC’s China Environmental Law & Governance Project in China.
Dr. Liebman's talk is titled "Stability Without Law? The State of Legal Development in China": Over the past decade, concerns about social stability have resulted in a slowing in the pace of legal reforms in China. Many inside and outside of China have questioned China's commitment to deepening legal reforms. As China's leadership transition is completed in March, Professor Liebman will discuss both recent trends in the legal system and the likely future trajectory of reform.
Dr. Wang's talk is titled "A Green Leap Forward? Governance, Law & Environmental Protection in China": China is facing some of the most serious environmental problems the world has ever seen.  In recent years, Chinese leaders have instituted a range of environmental laws and policies to uncertain effect.  This talk will focus on recent developments and assess the factors that will determine whether China can ultimately resolve its environmental crisis.
This event is free and open to the public. Presented with support from Colorado Law.
5:00 pm.

March 15

Reforming Welfare Regimes in Russia and China: The Enduring Impact of the Socialist Social Contract
CAS Speaker Series

Lecture by Professor Thomas F. Remington of Emory University. Remington’s research focuses on whether what business elites and average citizens wanted with respect to their welfare services was being heard by the government.
11:30 am.

March 20

Community Rebuilding Efforts in the Post-3.11 Japan
CAS Brown Bag

Come and hear a first hand account of relief work in the wake of the 3.11 triple disaster in North Eastern Japan. What were the immediate challenges faced by victims and relief workers? What are the long term issues? How does a country with highly developed technology and top notch disaster preparedness deal with a natural disaster that exceeds all expectations and breaks all simulated models? A brown bag event featuring Jim Peterson, missionary in Japan with the Evangelical Covenant Church for the last twenty years. Mr. Peterson was born and raised in Japan, earned his B.A. from University of Washington, Jackson School of International Studies (Japan Regional Studies), his M. Div. from North Park Theological Seminary, and his D. Min. from North Park Theological Seminary. Mr. Peterson currently lives in Tokyo, Japan with U.S. base in Colorado Springs, CO.
12:00 pm.

April 10

“Listening to Asia: When China talks, does anybody listen?”
CAS Speaker Series

Tim Weston, Associated Director of the Center for Asian Studies and Associated Professor of History, will serve as our panel moderator, which will include the following panelists:
Zulfiqar Ahmad, Independent Researcher and Writer, New Delhi
Peter Lighte, Vice Chairman, Corporate and Investment Bank, China, J. P. Morgan, New York City
Jim Walsh, Research Associate, MIT Security Studies Program, Cambridge
Tom Gold, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
For more information, please visit .
9:00 am.

April 11

Asian Language Night 2013
CAS Speaker Series

Come join us for our annual fun cultural event, featuring six Asian languages—Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi-Urdu, Japanese, & Korean. �鶹��Ժ of these languages will perform skits, songs, dances, etc. Free and open to the public— everyone is welcome! Sponsored by the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Center for Asian Studies.
5:30 pm.

April 18

Ecumenism in Tibet: Public Panel with Ringu Tulku
CAS Speaker Series

In nineteenth-century in Tibet, a circle of Buddhist luminaries compiled eclectic collections of texts from a wide range of traditions in order to preserve their distinctive lineages. These collections have been crucial to preserving Tibet's unique tantric heritage in the diaspora. What was the approach to ecumenism among these luminaries? How has this approach shaped Tibetan Buddhism as it has grown and taken root beyond the Tibetan plateau? A panel of scholars who are visiting CU Boulder for a conference titled, "Translating Buddhist Luminaries: A Conference on Ecumenism and Tibetan Translation" will address these questions. Our keynote speaker for the panel and conference is Ringu Tulku, an expert in ecumenism in nineteenth-century Tibet and the author of The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great.
7:00 pm.

April 23

Visions & Prophecies in Tibetan Buddhism: An Evening with Khenpo Sodargye from Larung Buddhist Academy
CAS Speaker Series

This event is a rescheduling of the canceled April 2 event. A lecture by Khenpo Sodargye, a prominent Nyingma teacher. The revelation of terma (literally "treasures") is a longstanding practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Treasures are texts and sacred objects said to be hidden in the Tibetan landscape and in the mind-streams of Buddhist masters. In this public lecture, Khenpo Sodargye of Larung Buddhist Academy in Serta shares his knowledge about what terma signifies, how it is revealed, and what kinds of dreams, visions and prophecies emerge in the mind-stream of a tertönor "treasure revealer." This event is free and open to the public.
7:00 pm.

April 25

Imagining China in Medieval Japan: The Case of Fujiwara no Teika
CAS Speaker Series

A lecture by Paul Atkins, Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair, Department of Asian Languages & Literature, University of Washington. For writers, clerics, officials, and others living in Japan around the turn of the thirteenth century, China—which they referred to using multiple dynastic names of the past and contemporary present—functioned simultaneously as the matrix of a shared regional culture and as a contrastive background against which patterns of Japanese cultural formation could be discerned. This lecture will discuss the imagining of contemporary and ancient China in various works written by the influential Japanese poet and courtier Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241), including his kambun diary, Meigetsuki, and the Tale of Matsura, a pseudo-historical poetic narrative written in Japanese and set in Tang China.
5:00 pm.