Return to Humanities Calendar Archives
| Monday, May 5 | |
| 3:30 PM | Recasting Asia America Talk "Colonialism, Dispossession, Racism: Critical Pacific Islander Cultures," Gary Pak (Creative Writing, University of Hawai`i at Mânoa) and Amy Stillman (American Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor). Part of the year-long Recasting Asia America lecture series, sponsored by the Simpson Center for the Humanities. 3:30 PM, Communications 226. |
| 4:00 PM | History of Science Colloquia "Attribution of Scientific Eminence: The Evolution of P.M.S. Blackett's Nobel Physics Prize, 1933-1948," Mary Jo Nye. Refreshments and conversation begin at 3:30 pm. 4 pm, Smith 102. |
| 7:30 PM | Jewish Studies Lecture "Jewish Renewal in the American Spiritual Marketplace," Prof. Chava Weissler (Lehigh University). Part of the Samuel and Althea Stroum Lecture Series, on "Spirituality in America: the Jewish Renewal Movement." 7:30 PM, Kane Hall 220. Free and open to the public. |
| Tuesday, May 6 | |
| 3:00 PM | Russian Education Seminar "Russian Education, Between Yesterday and Tomorrow," Stephen Kerr (Associate Dean of the School of Education, UW). Kerr will address the deep challenges Russia's education system faces as it enters the 21st century. These include unresolved issues from its powerful (but troubled) past, and choices about the directions the system should take for the future. Social and economic pressures come into focus when looking carefully at how Russia's schools are coping with present-day problems. Marta Mikkelsen, Assistant Director of the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Center at UW, will provide a broad overview of the issues facing Central Asia since independence, including its role in the war against terrorism and the various arguments for and against long-term US engagement in the region. Sponsored by the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Program. 3:00 pm, Catering Room, Hixon Union Building, Whitworth College. |
| 3:30 PM | Women Studies Event "Remembering Audre Lorde," Phyllis Blackwell. Blackwell, Audre Lorde's sister, shares her memories of Audre's life, philosophies, and writing, and will read selections from Audre Lorde's poetry. Sponsored by the Department of Women Studies. 3:30-6:00 pm, Communications 202. |
| 3:30 PM | Japan Studies Lecture "The Art of the Japanese Tattoo from Kuniyoshi to Longfellow," Dr. Christine Guth. Charles Longfellow (1844-1893), son of the poet, was among the first American tourists to have his body decorated with Japanese tattoos. In Japan, elaborate pictorial tattoos had been a popular form of body décor among firemen, carpenters, and sailors since the 1830s. When Longfellow was tattooed in 1872, however, the Meiji government was trying to abolish this practice, widely associated in the West with primitive cultures. This effort failed in large part because Western tourists admired the tattoo as a form of Japanese art. Christine Guth received her PhD in Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1976. She has taught at numerous institutions, including Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University. Her chief research interest is the history of art collecting within Japan and across cultures. Both her Art, Tea and Industry: Masuda Takashi and the Mitsui Circle, published in 1993, and her forthcoming book Longfellow's Tattoos: Tourism, Collecting, and Japan (to be published in 2004 by the University of Washington Press) deal with these concerns. See her article in POSITIONS 8.3 (Winter 2000) "Charles Longfellow and Okakura Kakuzo: Cultural Cross Dressing in the Colonial Context." Sponsored by the Japan Studies Program, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; the Division of Art History, School of Art; and the Asian Art Council, Seattle Art Museum. 3:30 pm, Art Building Room 03. |
| 3:30 PM | Asian Studies Lecture "Death, Memory, and Building: The Non-Cremation of a Cambodian Monk," John Marston (Southeast Asian Studies, El Colegio de México in Mexico City). The paper looks at a general Theravada custom of the prolonged preservation of the bodies of distinguished figures in the monkhood and then examines the specific case of ceremonial preservation in a rural Cambodian wat. It explores how a particular meaning was constructed for the practice in relation to the personal dynamics of the wat, its need for continuity with pre-Pol Pot customs, and the ongoing project of re-building the wat community. For more information, contact the Southeast Asia Center at 206-543-9606. 3:30-5:00 pm, Loew 116. |
| Wednesday, May 7 | |
| 12:00 PM | Digital Media Lecture "Disciplinary Games: Theories and Practices of Game Studies," Espen Aarseth (University of Bergen, Norway). Aarseth is one of the foremost theorists of computer games. His book Cybertext was published in 1997 by Johns Hopkins Press. He is the editor in chief of Gamestudies.org and the originator of cybertext theory. His presentation will investigate the cultural field of computer games and examine current issues and theories, such as what computer games are, the games-vs-stories debate, and what kind of roles games could play in the future of entertainment and digital culture. Sponsored by the Digital Media Working Group. Noon, Location TBA. |
| 3:30 PM | Central Asian Studies Lecture "Regional Cooperation and the Process of Democratization in Central Asia," Victoria Levinskaya (Fulbright Scholar). Levinskaya is a Visiting Fulbright Scholar from Uzbekistan at the Catholic University of America. She has given several lectures around the United States and at the Catholic University including "Globalization and Sustainable Developmet"; "Water in Central Asia: Cooperation and Conflicts" at UC Berkeley; "Measuring of Strengths and Weaknesses of Civil Society in Uzbekistan" at Indiana University; and "Development of Civil Society in Uzbekistan" at Kent State University. Sponsored by the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Program. 3:30-5:00 pm, Thomson Hall Room 317. |
| 5:30 PM | Canadian Studies Lecture "Canada: A Future of Political Uncertainty," The Honorable Howard Pawley, Former Premier of Manitoba. We are pleased to present Howard Pawley, former Premier of Manitoba and recent recipient of the Order of Canada. Mr. Pawley is a visiting faculty n the Jackson School of International Studies this spring quarter. He will be addressing Canadian political issues today and the future of Canadian politics. This is a dinner lecture. Pre-Registration is necessary. The cost is $25 per person. Spaces are filling up quickly. Contact the Canadian Studies Program at (206) 221-6474 or canada@u.washington.edu. Sponsored by the Canadian Studies Center, the Jackson School of International Studies, The Canadian Consulate, and The Canada-American Society. 5:40 pm, Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall. |
| 7:00 PM | German Film Series "Himmel ueber Berlin / Wings of Desire" (Wenders, 1987) Wim Wenders' acclaimed film, which explores both sides of divided Berlin, tells the story of angels charged with the divine task of observing their master's creation. Invisible to humans, the angels bear witness to the city's residents and offer comfort to the lonely souls they meet. After many centuries of this watchfulness, the angel Damiel falls in love with a circus performer and becomes dissatisfied with his heavenly task and his own immortality. Longing to experience the joys of everyday life, he becomes mortal and discovers through that a purely spiritual experience is not enough. The landscape of Wender's film transcends the rigid human boundaries of the divided city, offering a soaring reflection on humanity, as well as an intimate portrayal of Berlin and its people. German Film Series, sponsored by the UW Department of Germanics. All films in German with English Subtitles. Full schedule and updates available at: http://staff.washington.edu/jstoff/film.html. Wednesdays, 7 pm, Savery 239. |
| 7:00 PM | Film Screening "Two Family House," a film by Raymond De Felita, followed by a discussion led by Lyall Bush (former program director, Washington Commission for the Humanities). A tale of the 1950s about the dynamics of relationships in a tightly knit group of big-city Italians within their own turf, and what happens when Irish outsiders move in. When a young Italian fellow steps out of the mold to reach out to the unfortunate Irish mother-to-be, prejudice on many levals is revealed. This is a funny, touching and true picture of the problems people face in dealing with their own and imposed prejudices. Sponsored by the UW Faculty Auxiliary. For more information, contact Ruth Eller at (206) 365-6305. 7 pm, Faculty Club Conference Room. |
| 7:00 PM | Film Screening and Lecture "Historical Epic," presented by Professors Yomi Braester & Willis Konick. Part of "Have I seen this flick before?" a lecture and film series sponsored by the Cinema Studies Program, UW Comparative Literature Department. $5.00 per lecture if paid in advance, $10.00 at the door. For advance tickets or information call Jenny Thacker 206.616.4943 or email jenthak@u.washington.edu. 7-8:30 pm, Kane 110. |
| 7:30 PM | Jewish Studies Lecture "Gender and Jewish Renewal," Prof. Chava Weissler (Lehigh University). Part of the Samuel and Althea Stroum Lecture Series, on "Spirituality in America: the Jewish Renewal Movement." The majority of participants in the Jewish Renewal Movement are women, and there are a number of important women leaders as well. Does the preponderance of women participants simply reflect the feminization of various aspects of American religion? This lecture will suggest that other factors are also at work. One is the theology of the movement, which explicitly recognizes and articulates the importance of the Shekhinah, the feminine divine, seen by members as "eclipsed" in earlier Judaism. Interestingly, Renewal's use of this version of kabbalistic myth promotes a "complementary" rather than "egalitarian" vision of gender relations. Another aspect of the movement's appeal to women is the quest for "embodiedness" in spirituality. In common with certain other New Age spiritualities, Jewish renewal valorizes the physical. This is expressed in forms of worship that incorporate chanting, singing, and dancing. Participants describe this movement towards physicality as related to the reclamation of female experience. 7:30 PM, Kane Hall 220. Free and open to the public. |
| Thursday, May 8 | |
| 3:30 PM | China Studies Lecture "Patrolling the Revolution: Miltias and State-building in Modern China," Elizabeth Perry (Henry Rosovosky Professor of Government, Harvard University). Perry is a graduate of William Smith College, and received her MA from the University of Washington and PhD from the University of Michigan. From 1999-2002, she directed the Fairbank Center for East Asian Studies at Harvard. A Guggenheim recipient and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Perry is the author or editor of more than a dozen books on Chinese politics, including "Shanghai on Strike: The Politics of Chinese Labor," which won the Fairbank Prize of the American Historical Association. The talk will drawn on a forthcoming book which traces the evolution of revolutionary militias in China from their origins in the 1920s to the present. The fate of revolutionary militias, Perry suggests, serves as a window on changing state-society relations - not only in contemporary China, but in other post-revolutionary countries as well. Sponsored by China Studies Program, Jackson School. For more information, contact (206) 543-4391. 3:30-5:00, Communications 226. |
| 3:30 PM | European Studies Lecture "EU Enlargement and the Rationality of Empire," Arista Cirtautas. Cirtautas received her M.A. in History from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Political Science from UC Berkeley in 1996. She is the author of a book on Solidarity entitled Poland's Solidarity Movement: Revolution, Democracy and Natural Rights (1997) and of numerous articles on postcommunist Central Europe. Her current research interests include the European Union's eastern enlargement and the evolving practices of postcommunist citizenship. Sponsored by the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Program and the Center for Western European Studies. 3:30-5:00 pm, Thomson Hall Room 317. |
| 3:30 PM | Poetry Lecture "The Modernization of Vietnamese Poetry: A History from a Vietnamese Poet's Perspective," Hoang Hung, Award-wining Vietnamese Poet. The history of attempts to modernize poetry in Vietnam has to be read as a part of an ongoing effort to modernize Vietnamese society as a whole. It is a long story that started in the 1930's, and one that is far from finished. Hoang Hung will first focus on attempts to modernize poetry within Communist Vietnam after 1954, and will then talk about his own involvement in that process - a story that includes both prison camp and Paris in it. It is a story that is unified by his efforts to be a poet in a culture where poetry has meant a great deal. For more information contact The Southeast Asia Center, Jackson School of International Studies, at 206-543-9606. 3:30 - 5:00 pm, Thomson Hall 334. |
| 7:00 PM | Middle East Lecture "US Foreign Policy in the Middle East," Edward Said (Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University). Sponsored by the Graduate School. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Free tickets are available approximately two weeks prior to the lecture at University Bookstore outlets. 7:00 pm, 130 Kane Hall. |
| Friday, May 9 | |
| 9:15 AM | Linguistics Conference Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) 13 Conference. May 9-11, 2003. This conference features lectures by distinguished international linguistics scholars on issues pertaining to meaning in natural language. For more information and a full schedule, visit http://depts.washington.edu/salt13/. Sponsored by the Graduate School, the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, Germanics, and Computer Science, and the Simpson Center for the Humanities. |
| 10:00 AM | Middle East Studies Conference Eighteenth Annual Middle East History and Theory Conference, May 9-10. The conference provides a forum for graduate students and faculty in the humanities and social sciences to present papers related to Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture, art/architecture, literature, society, history and politics. For last year's conference program and activities, see the web page at cas.uchicago.meht. For more information, contact Patrick Wing, pgwing@uchicago.edu 1-773-363-0901, or Kaveh Hemmat at kavehhemmat@uchicago.edu, 1-773-263-9635. |
| 2:00 PM | Transnational Studies Lecture "Transnationalism, the State, and the Extra-territorial Citizen," Michael Peter Smith (University of California at Davis). Part of the "Public Spaces & the Public Sphere: Multidisciplinary Inquiries into Urban Change in the Asia Pacific" lecture series. For more information, call (206) 616-1190. 2-4 pm, Gould Hall 208J. |
| Saturday, May 10 | |
| 9:00 AM | Linguistics Conference Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) 13 Conference. May 9-11, 2003. This conference features lectures by distinguished international linguistics scholars on issues pertaining to meaning in natural language. For more information and a full schedule, visit http://depts.washington.edu/salt13/. Sponsored by the Graduate School, the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, Germanics, and Computer Science, and the Simpson Center for the Humanities. |
| Sunday, May 11 | |
| 9:00 AM | Linguistics Conference Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) 13 Conference. May 9-11, 2003. This conference features lectures by distinguished international linguistics scholars on issues pertaining to meaning in natural language. For more information and a full schedule, visit http://depts.washington.edu/salt13/. Sponsored by the Graduate School, the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, Germanics, and Computer Science, and the Simpson Center for the Humanities. |