UBC Asian Studies
@asia.ubc.ca
UBC’s Asian Studies Department is the flagship Asian Studies department in Canada and is widely acknowledged as one of the finest in North America.
https://asia.ubc.ca/
https://asia.ubc.ca/
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On Friday, January 30, join us for the 2026 Capstone Lecture, where our Professor in Korean History and Civilization, Dr. Don Baker will explore the remarkable lives of the Chŏng brothers, revealing valuable insight into life in late 18th- and early 19th-century Korea.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
This Thursday at 4:30pm: Dr. Jiajun Liang (University of California) will be discussing the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies, a tragic portrayal of civilian suffering in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Learn more:
Time Out of Joint: War, Memory, and the Limits of the Postwar in Grave of the Fireflies - Department of Asian Studies
Please join us for an online talk by Dr. Jiajun Liang, who will be discussing the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of Japanese animation, Grave of the…
asia.ubc.ca
February 2, 2026 at 7:01 PM
This Thursday at 4:30pm: Dr. Jiajun Liang (University of California) will be discussing the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies, a tragic portrayal of civilian suffering in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II. Learn more:
This Friday at 12pm: Join the talk by Dr. Millie Creighton (Department of Anthropology, UBC), who will discuss Japan-Palestine connections, and the Japanese residential community’s involvement with Palestinians. Learn more:
A Japanese Work Community in Palestine: Japan’s Foreign Interface through Heritage Tourism Architecture and Construction - Department of Asian Studies
Please join us for a talk by Dr. Millie Creighton (Department of Anthropology, UBC), who will discuss Japan-Palestine connections, and the Japanese residential community’s involvement with…
asia.ubc.ca
January 27, 2026 at 7:03 PM
This Friday at 12pm: Join the talk by Dr. Millie Creighton (Department of Anthropology, UBC), who will discuss Japan-Palestine connections, and the Japanese residential community’s involvement with Palestinians. Learn more:
Apply to a workshop for Ways of Undoing: Craft, Collaboration, and Videographic Practice, a three-year international initiative exploring how new practices can unsettle hierarchical structures in videographic scholarship. asia.ubc.ca/news/call-fo...
January 22, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Apply to a workshop for Ways of Undoing: Craft, Collaboration, and Videographic Practice, a three-year international initiative exploring how new practices can unsettle hierarchical structures in videographic scholarship. asia.ubc.ca/news/call-fo...
Please join us in welcoming our new Associate Professor of Teaching in Korean Language and Culture, Ho Jung Choi! He is a highly experienced educator and former director of Princeton University’s Korean Language Program, bringing expertise and leadership to our community.
asia.ubc.ca/news/asian-s...
asia.ubc.ca/news/asian-s...
January 21, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Please join us in welcoming our new Associate Professor of Teaching in Korean Language and Culture, Ho Jung Choi! He is a highly experienced educator and former director of Princeton University’s Korean Language Program, bringing expertise and leadership to our community.
asia.ubc.ca/news/asian-s...
asia.ubc.ca/news/asian-s...
On Friday, January 30, join us for the 2026 Capstone Lecture, where our Professor in Korean History and Civilization, Dr. Don Baker will explore the remarkable lives of the Chŏng brothers, revealing valuable insight into life in late 18th- and early 19th-century Korea.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
January 14, 2026 at 4:13 AM
On Friday, January 30, join us for the 2026 Capstone Lecture, where our Professor in Korean History and Civilization, Dr. Don Baker will explore the remarkable lives of the Chŏng brothers, revealing valuable insight into life in late 18th- and early 19th-century Korea.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
We're excited to welcome Chui Joe Tham, our new Geiss Hsu Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Ming Studies, who recently arrived from the University of Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy in History! Learn about her research, interests and path to academia.
Asian Studies New Postdoctoral Fellow Spotlight – Chui Joe Tham - Department of Asian Studies
In this Postdoctoral Fellow Spotlight, we introduce you to Chui-Joe Tham, our new Geiss Hsu Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Ming Studies! Prior to joining UBC, she received her Doctor of Philosophy…
asia.ubc.ca
December 19, 2025 at 9:30 PM
We're excited to welcome Chui Joe Tham, our new Geiss Hsu Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Ming Studies, who recently arrived from the University of Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy in History! Learn about her research, interests and path to academia.
Applications for the position of Lecturer in Japanese Language are due by January 5, 2026. Please share with qualified individuals in your network!
We are inviting applications for a Lecturer in Japanese Language, starting August 2026!
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
December 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Applications for the position of Lecturer in Japanese Language are due by January 5, 2026. Please share with qualified individuals in your network!
This Friday: join our Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh as she delves into how kamishibai (paper theatre) plays were used in Japanese wartime propaganda.
Emotion and Entertainment in the Mobilization of the Japanese Empire, 1937-1945 - Department of Asian Studies
From the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, a storytelling medium called kamishibai was used extensively by the Japanese government in its efforts to mobilize all imperial subjects in…
asia.ubc.ca
December 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
This Friday: join our Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh as she delves into how kamishibai (paper theatre) plays were used in Japanese wartime propaganda.
Congratulations to our Professor of Pre-Modern Japanese Literature and Art, Dr. Joshua Mostow, on receiving this year's Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature for his book "Hyakunin’shu: Reading the Hundred Poets in Late Edo Japan"!
buff.ly/qHVv7XO
buff.ly/qHVv7XO
Dr. Joshua Mostow Receives Japan-United States Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature - Department of Asian Studies
Our Professor of Pre-Modern Japanese Literature and Art, Joshua S. Mostow, was awarded the 2025-2026 Japan-United States Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
asia.ubc.ca
November 24, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Congratulations to our Professor of Pre-Modern Japanese Literature and Art, Dr. Joshua Mostow, on receiving this year's Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature for his book "Hyakunin’shu: Reading the Hundred Poets in Late Edo Japan"!
buff.ly/qHVv7XO
buff.ly/qHVv7XO
Reposted by UBC Asian Studies
[Hybrid] How does U.S. immigration law create racial hierarchies through temporary visas? Find out during our second #SpeakerSeries event with Dr. Ming Chen on Nov 24, 11:45 AM–1:45 PM PT, IKBLC Dodson Room 302.
🔗 Register: migration.ubc.ca/events/event...
🔗 Register: migration.ubc.ca/events/event...
November 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
[Hybrid] How does U.S. immigration law create racial hierarchies through temporary visas? Find out during our second #SpeakerSeries event with Dr. Ming Chen on Nov 24, 11:45 AM–1:45 PM PT, IKBLC Dodson Room 302.
🔗 Register: migration.ubc.ca/events/event...
🔗 Register: migration.ubc.ca/events/event...
On November 19, join our Assistant Professor Naveena Naqvi for a talk titled “Paracolonial Thought in Afghan North India 1774-1857,” exploring how Afghan political communities in north India were polyvocal, decentralized, and actively shaping norms of civility. Learn more:
Paracolonial Thought in Afghan North India 1774-1857 - Department of Asian Studies
The research seminar of the Global History of Anticolonial Thought interdisciplinary research cluster presents the talk titled, Paracolonial Thought in Afghan North India 1774-1857, by Dr. Naveena…
asia.ubc.ca
November 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
On November 19, join our Assistant Professor Naveena Naqvi for a talk titled “Paracolonial Thought in Afghan North India 1774-1857,” exploring how Afghan political communities in north India were polyvocal, decentralized, and actively shaping norms of civility. Learn more:
We are inviting applications for a Lecturer in Japanese Language, starting August 2026!
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
November 13, 2025 at 12:01 AM
We are inviting applications for a Lecturer in Japanese Language, starting August 2026!
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
We're seeking an exceptional and experienced teacher of Japanese Language courses with interest and expertise in innovative curriculum design and pedagogy.
Apply by Jan 5, 2026. Details: bit.ly/japn-lecturer
On Friday, November 7, join Dr. Kelly McCormick (UBC History) as she discusses the untold stories of women photographers in Japan and reveals how photography has built community and pushed back against media depictions of women in Japan.
Contested Frames: Women, Photography, and the Politics of Seeing in Modern Japan - Department of Asian Studies
Join us for a talk by Dr. Kelly McCormick (University of British Columbia), who will discuss her book project on the history of Japanese women photographers and their untold stories. Kelly…
asia.ubc.ca
November 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
On Friday, November 7, join Dr. Kelly McCormick (UBC History) as she discusses the untold stories of women photographers in Japan and reveals how photography has built community and pushed back against media depictions of women in Japan.
Reposted by UBC Asian Studies
If your spooky movie season isn't over just yet (and why should it be? 👻 ), why not look beyond the jump scares and consider the powerful cultural metaphors that could lie within?
Dr. Ji-yoon An (@asia.ubc.ca) discusses her new course, Cinematic Monsters of Asia www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Dr. Ji-yoon An (@asia.ubc.ca) discusses her new course, Cinematic Monsters of Asia www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
What makes a monster? New UBC course delves into the rise of cinematic beasts
As people prepare to curl up with movies centred around monsters, goblins and beasts this Halloween weekend, one B.C. professor is encouraging viewers to look beyond the jump scares and consider the p...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 3, 2025 at 5:31 PM
If your spooky movie season isn't over just yet (and why should it be? 👻 ), why not look beyond the jump scares and consider the powerful cultural metaphors that could lie within?
Dr. Ji-yoon An (@asia.ubc.ca) discusses her new course, Cinematic Monsters of Asia www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Dr. Ji-yoon An (@asia.ubc.ca) discusses her new course, Cinematic Monsters of Asia www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Reposted by UBC Asian Studies
UBC CENES, FHIS, and Asian Studies are excited to collaborate on a careers workshop for our students! Check out our event "From Classroom to Career: Speaking Success with Language Learning". More details in the link below.
fhis.ubc.ca/events/event...
@arts.ubc.ca @ubc-fhis.bsky.social @asia.ubc.ca
fhis.ubc.ca/events/event...
@arts.ubc.ca @ubc-fhis.bsky.social @asia.ubc.ca
October 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
UBC CENES, FHIS, and Asian Studies are excited to collaborate on a careers workshop for our students! Check out our event "From Classroom to Career: Speaking Success with Language Learning". More details in the link below.
fhis.ubc.ca/events/event...
@arts.ubc.ca @ubc-fhis.bsky.social @asia.ubc.ca
fhis.ubc.ca/events/event...
@arts.ubc.ca @ubc-fhis.bsky.social @asia.ubc.ca
Despite growing conversations around equity, caste continues to be ignored in Canadian discourses. OVERCASTE is one of the first exhibits to focus on the lived experiences of caste in the BC Panjabi communities.
Join the opening reception + panel discussion on Thu, Oct 30!
Join the opening reception + panel discussion on Thu, Oct 30!
Overcaste: Exhibition and Opening Reception - Department of Asian Studies
Opening Reception and Panel: Breaking the Silence: Caste, Policy and Liberation Despite growing conversations around justice and equity, caste continues to be ignored in Canadian discourses. Dalit…
asia.ubc.ca
October 25, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Despite growing conversations around equity, caste continues to be ignored in Canadian discourses. OVERCASTE is one of the first exhibits to focus on the lived experiences of caste in the BC Panjabi communities.
Join the opening reception + panel discussion on Thu, Oct 30!
Join the opening reception + panel discussion on Thu, Oct 30!
Mark your calendars for next Saturday, November 1st, at 7:00 PM (PDT)! Speaker Kathryn Babayan explores gender in the archive, revealing how these records offer glimpses into domestic life and illuminate family culture and social relationships.
UBC
asia.ubc.ca
October 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Mark your calendars for next Saturday, November 1st, at 7:00 PM (PDT)! Speaker Kathryn Babayan explores gender in the archive, revealing how these records offer glimpses into domestic life and illuminate family culture and social relationships.
Join our Assistant Professor Kiran K. Sunar this Thursday, October 23 at 4pm for a talk on the many visual and material incarnations of the South Asian Sohni Mahiwal tale—a tragic riverine love story which has been retold and reimagined by various artists and tellers.
Visual + Material Culture Research Seminar Series - Fall 2025 - Museum of Anthropology at UBC
This interdisciplinary seminar series is for anyone with interests in visual and material culture across different departments at UBC and beyond. The seminar provides an...
moa.ubc.ca
October 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Join our Assistant Professor Kiran K. Sunar this Thursday, October 23 at 4pm for a talk on the many visual and material incarnations of the South Asian Sohni Mahiwal tale—a tragic riverine love story which has been retold and reimagined by various artists and tellers.
TOMORROW, Oct 18 at 4:00 PM (PDT): RSVP to learn more about the catalysts of change within an institutional framework.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
Learning and Transformation within the Boundaries of Tradition: An Institutional Analysis of Shi’a Political Jurisprudence - Department of Asian Studies
The Alireza Ahmadian Lecture in Iranian and Persianate Studies presents: Learning and Transformation within the Boundaries of Tradition: An Institutional Analysis of Shi’a Political Jurisprudence on…
asia.ubc.ca
October 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
TOMORROW, Oct 18 at 4:00 PM (PDT): RSVP to learn more about the catalysts of change within an institutional framework.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
Join our Sustainability Initiative Committee and the Hong Kong Studies Initiative on Thursday, October 23 for an evening of eco-documentary screenings and discussion that will illuminate the often-overlooked natural heritage of Hong Kong!
Learn more and register:
Learn more and register:
Eco-documentary Screening + Conversation: City of Shells: Our Forgotten Oyster Reefs and Breathing Room - Department of Asian Studies
The program features two eco-documentaries about Hong Kong that walk us through the often-forgotten nature of the “concrete jungle.” City of Shells: Our Forgotten Oyster Reefs 香江遺礁, directed by Mike…
asia.ubc.ca
October 16, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Join our Sustainability Initiative Committee and the Hong Kong Studies Initiative on Thursday, October 23 for an evening of eco-documentary screenings and discussion that will illuminate the often-overlooked natural heritage of Hong Kong!
Learn more and register:
Learn more and register:
Explore the history of the Trans-Iranian Railway, Iran’s first national railway completed in 1938, and how it reshaped mobility, labor, and belonging!
Just announced! The Mirhady Lecture in Iranian Studies has returned with:
"Iran in Motion: Contested Histories of the Trans-Iranian Railway", featuring Mikiya Koyagi of U of Texas (Austin).
Oct 16 | 6PM | Register Now!
eventbrite.ca/e/iran-in-mo...
#sfuhistory #sfu #sfufass #mirhady
"Iran in Motion: Contested Histories of the Trans-Iranian Railway", featuring Mikiya Koyagi of U of Texas (Austin).
Oct 16 | 6PM | Register Now!
eventbrite.ca/e/iran-in-mo...
#sfuhistory #sfu #sfufass #mirhady
October 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Explore the history of the Trans-Iranian Railway, Iran’s first national railway completed in 1938, and how it reshaped mobility, labor, and belonging!
THIS FRIDAY: Join Dr. Michi Ann Saki (Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts) for a discussion on viewpoints and experiences of educational stakeholders engaged in offering Japanese language support to ethnic minority children in public elementary schools in Japan.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
Stakeholder Perspectives on Language Support for Ethnic Minority Children in Japan: Centering Voices That Matter - Department of Asian Studies
Join us for a talk by Dr. Michi Ann Saki (Visiting Scholar from Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts), who will discuss viewpoints and experiences of educational stakeholders engaged in offering…
asia.ubc.ca
October 14, 2025 at 6:03 PM
THIS FRIDAY: Join Dr. Michi Ann Saki (Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts) for a discussion on viewpoints and experiences of educational stakeholders engaged in offering Japanese language support to ethnic minority children in public elementary schools in Japan.
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
asia.ubc.ca/events/event...
Join us online on October 18th at 4:00 pm as Hamid Sajadi and Rumee Ahmed discuss the question of how transformation occurs in Shi’a political jurisprudence through the interaction between entrenched institutional structures and emerging demands.
Learning and Transformation within the Boundaries of Tradition: An Institutional Analysis of Shi’a Political Jurisprudence - Department of Asian Studies
The Alireza Ahmadian Lecture in Iranian and Persianate Studies presents: Learning and Transformation within the Boundaries of Tradition: An Institutional Analysis of Shi’a Political Jurisprudence on…
asia.ubc.ca
October 11, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Join us online on October 18th at 4:00 pm as Hamid Sajadi and Rumee Ahmed discuss the question of how transformation occurs in Shi’a political jurisprudence through the interaction between entrenched institutional structures and emerging demands.
Hear from Indigenous women from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh about their everyday experiences of gendered violence, displacement and representation of Indigenous women and Indigenous people in the national discourse.
RSVP to join the conversation online or in-person!
RSVP to join the conversation online or in-person!
Everyday Indigenous Experiences in the CHT, Bangladesh: Voices from Indigenous Women - Department of Asian Studies
This roundtable centers the voices of Indigenous women from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh as they speak about everyday experiences of gendered violence, displacement and…
asia.ubc.ca
October 11, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Hear from Indigenous women from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh about their everyday experiences of gendered violence, displacement and representation of Indigenous women and Indigenous people in the national discourse.
RSVP to join the conversation online or in-person!
RSVP to join the conversation online or in-person!
"More Swindles from the Late Ming" (2025), translated by UBC Asian Studies professors Dr. Christopher Rea and Dr. Bruce Rusk, presents sensational stories of scams from Zhang Yingyu’s criminal underworld, where women both led and exposed elaborate cons.
Read the full Q&A:
Read the full Q&A:
We're wrapping up National Translation Month with tales of women who mastered deception in Ming Dynasty China. buff.ly/mcgXG6G #NationalTranslationMonth #MingDynasty #FemaleSwindlers #HistoryUnveiled #ReadTheWorld
October 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"More Swindles from the Late Ming" (2025), translated by UBC Asian Studies professors Dr. Christopher Rea and Dr. Bruce Rusk, presents sensational stories of scams from Zhang Yingyu’s criminal underworld, where women both led and exposed elaborate cons.
Read the full Q&A:
Read the full Q&A: