CAS Newsletter

• Featured lecture on “US-China Relations and Governance”: On April 14th, 2021, Dr. Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) delivered a virtual lecture on the topic of “US-China Relations and Global Governance”. This lecture took place at a critical historical moment when high-ranking US and Chinese government officials just held their face-to-face talks in Alaska and just after the announcement that John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and formerly the Secretary of State was set to visit Shanghai to discuss climate issues. Read more about the lecture and watch the lecture recording.
• Asian Culture Forum: On April 24th, CAS held the 9th Asian Culture Forum. The forum addressed Japanese Culture and Society in Hayao Miyazaki‘s Animations and Movies. Nami Kroska, visiting professor in Japanese in the School of Arts and Humanities examined what Hayao Miyazaki wanted to express in his animations and movies, and the impact of his works on Japanese culture and society. Watch the forum recording here.

"Intercultural communication and US higher education: How US students and faculty can improve international students classroom experiences"

About two years ago, Dr. Carie S. Tucker King, CAS's affiliated faculty, Clinical Professor of Instruction and Associate Director of Rhetoric in the School of Arts & Humanities and her graduate student Kylar Bailey, a 2018 A&H Communication graduate of UT Dallas, conducted a research study on the educational experiences of UTD International Students. For this research, Dr. King and Bailey studied intercultural-communication theories and completed an IRB-approved project in which they interviewed four international students (all graduate students) and asked “How can US Faculty and Students Better Help International Students Succeed in the Classroom?” In April 2021, the results of their work were published by the International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Dr. King and Kylar hope to share their findings with those who are interested in this research. They have received a free 50-day link to the new publication. You can read their article by clicking the link.

Dr. King and Kylar presented their findings in Fall 2018 via the Center for Teaching and Learning. They hope to replicate the study in the future, perhaps in a full class, to see if COVID and time have changed any of the students’ responses or if undergraduate students have different perspectives.

Join us on May 26-27, 2021, for the 5th annual Comets Giving Days!

Over the years, Comets Giving Days have become a UT Dallas tradition for alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the University to COMETogether to make a difference for UT Dallas.

Center for Asian Studies is a proud participant of 2021 Comets Giving Days. Your gift will allow us to fulfill our mission!. You may give your gifts here.

Gifts of any amount matter and any contributions are appreciated!

"May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress. In 1977 Reps. Frank Horton of New York introduced House Joint Resolution 540 to proclaim the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. In the same year, Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 72. Neither of these resolutions passed, so in June 1978, Rep. Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007. This resolution proposed that the President should “proclaim a week, which is to include the seventh and tenth of the month, during the first ten days in May of 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” This joint resolution was passed by the House and then the Senate and was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978 to become Public Law 95-419 (PDF, 158kb). This law amended the original language of the bill and directed the President to issue a proclamation for the “7 day period beginning on May 4, 1979 as ‘Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.’” During the next decade, presidents passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week until 1990 when Congress passed Public Law 101-283 (PDF, 166kb) which expanded the observance to a month for 1990. Then in 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 (PDF, 285kb) which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants."

(Source: http://www.asianpacificheritage.gov/. Click this link for more information)

CAS International Advisory Council is composed of 21 members from different countries. The members are either distinguished scholars/educators in Asian studies/higher education or successful entrepreneurs in different fields. They are generously providing their advice regarding projects, programs, speakers and partnerships and support.

1. Non-credit Asian language courses in summer will start on June 7. Courses include Mandarin Chinese (four levels from beginning to advanced), Japanese (one level), Hindi(two levels) and Korean (one level). The courses will still be virtual. You can check the course schedules and register here.
2. UT Dallas will return to pre-pandemic operations and scheduling in fall semester, with most courses taught in person and with full-capacity classrooms. Read the President and Provost's message here.

Gypsies on the Ocean

Semporna is located in Tawau County, Sabah, East Malaysia. This place is ranked third in the world as a diving paradise. The sea water there is crystal clear. Corals, unique fishes, stone flowers and some endangered marine life can be seen everywhere. Most of the Bajau people living in this area do not have houses on land. They either drift on boats or live in stilt houses on the reef. Fishing is the only way to survive. Although most of them were born in Malaysia, they do not have Malaysian resident status. Some of them are descendants of Philippine refugees. so most of them don't have identity and are stateless. They follow the little-known marine life pattern left by their ancestors, take the ocean as their home, migrate around, and are called "gypsies on the ocean."

(Photos below taken and provided by Ms. Jing Shen)

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