CAS Newsletter
September 2023
From the Director
THE INEVITABLE BENEFITS OF CHANGE
The term “Axial Age”(ca. 600-300 BCE) refers to a period of profound change in philosophic and religious thought throughout Asia and Europe. It is tempting to imagine three of the world’s foundational thinkers – Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca. 540-480), Confucius (ca. 550-479), and the Buddha (ca. 564-483) – walking this earth at the same time. They shared many ideas: All three emphasized the unrelenting change that characterizes the physical world. Impermanence (अनित्य) is central to Buddhism, Hinduism and the other major schools of Indian religious and philosophic thought.
Both Heraclitus and Confucius use “rivers” as metaphors to describe the role of change in human affairs. Confucius compared the flow of time to the flowing river water. Modern scientific thought, that transcends all cultural barriers, has affirmed the ancient insight that, in Heraclitus’ words, “Everything is moving, nothing is still” [“τὰ πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει”]. You, I, we cannot bring back yesterday any more than we can recall waters that have flowed on.
Healthy individuals, organizations, and cultures regard change not as a threat to their comfort but as a source of energy and innovation. The convergence of cultures always produces change in the form of new ideas and new ways to express them. Asians and Asian Americans – from newly arrived immigrants to multi-generation families – have played a continuously positive role in the transformation of UT Dallas from a small commuter university to an internationally respected research, educational and cultural force. Our mission is to celebrate such interactions and the changes that they initiate.
The Center too is changing. On September 21, we will begin a newly endowed Lecture Series – the annual Carmen R. and Joseph G. Schneidler Lecture on Asian Culture. The inaugural speaker, Chitra Divakaruni is a legend among Indian American writers. Since her spectacular debut – a volume of short stories, Arranged Marriage, that received the 1994 American Book Award – she has published more than twenty novels, short stories and poetry. Among my personal favorites are her boldly imaginative retellings of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Her lecture and reading from her most recent novel, in turn, will initiate an annual program to bring 3-4 Asian American authors/creative artists to campus every year. This year we celebrate Indian American authors. Next year? We are open to your suggestions.
Look for other dimensions of our evolution to continue: While still celebrating Asian arts and culture, we are increasingly emphasizing Asian achievements in science, technology and medicine; moreover, as you can see from the new “authors and artists” series, we are intent on building Asian American Studies at UTD. Help us make our ever changing, never static university a uniquely welcoming center for Asian American students, faculty, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs. We invite you to recommend events to sponsor, speakers to invite, and issues to address.
Yes, the UTD “whoosh” represents the sound that a comet would make if a comet moving in space made a sound. On earth, it represents as well the sound of dynamic change flowing like a river of curiosity toward an ocean of excellence.
- Dennis M. Kratz
Two Big Features
Inaugural Carmen R. and Joseph G. Schneidler Lecture on Asian Culture
September 21, 7:30 PM
Jonsson Performance Hall (JO 2.604) in the Erik Jonsson Academic Center (JO) at UT Dallas
Among the most admired Asian American writers of the 21st century, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston. Her novels and short stories address profound issues ranging from the experience of South Asian immigrants to India’s turbulent struggle for independence. She is known for portraying the challenge of balancing the desire for independence with societal obligations facing women – as in the charismatic women of her current novel Independence, and in her bold retellings of the foundational Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana from the perspective of Draupadi and Sita.
Co-sponsor:
Crow Museum of Asian Art
US India Chamber of Commerce DFW
Participating sponsors:
Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology
Hobson Wildenthal Honors College
Dallas Literary Society
Writing Into Our Many Bodies: Narratives of Diaspora and Home
October 11, 7:30 PM
Jonsson Performance Hall (JO 2.604) in the Erik Jonsson Academic Center (JO) at UT Dallas
Jai Chakrabarti’s fiction masterfully weaves Indian and Jewish themes to depict the depths and heights of human experience. His hauntingly brilliant novel A Play for the End of the World, that received the National Jewish Book Award, explores the role of art in horrific circumstances, the persisting burden of survival, and the possibility of redemption. In his award-wining short fiction, "whether the setting is India or the United States…there is a universality to the characters’ concerns” (New York Times).
Co-sponsors:
Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies
Crow Museum of Asian Art
US India Chamber of Commerce DFW
Participating sponsors:
Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology
Hobson Wildenthal Honors College
Dallas Literary SocietyOther Upcoming Events
Dallas Huayun Chinese Orchestra Concert
September 24, 2:00 PM
SSA Auditorium (SSA 13.330) in the Student Services Addition Building (SSA) at UT Dallas
Join us for the Dallas Huayun Chinese Orchestra's annual concert where they will be presenting an enchanting exploration of the classic Chinese novel, Dream of the Red Mansion. In addition to repertoire pieces and solos, the orchestra will be featuring compositions by the celebrated Wang Liping, from the renowned 1987 television adaptation. This performance will weave the tales of romance and melancholy into a rich auditory experience. Join us for a mesmerizing journey through one of China's most cherished literary works, brought to life in sound!
11th Annual Anlin Ku Lecture
Jonsson Performance Hall (JO 2.604) in the Erik Jonsson Academic Center (JO) at UT Dallas
Prof. Bernard Faure (Columbia) will present the 11th annual Anlin Ku Lecture on Chinese Culture on the topic “New Perspectives on the Life of the Buddha." He is an internationally renowned scholar whose recent book 1,0001 Lives of the Buddha is the basis of his remarks.
The Anlin Ku Lecture series is co-sponsored with the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology and is generously supported and endowed by Jeffrey Robinson and Stefanie Schneidler
Faculty News
Welcome Dr. En Li
The Center for Asian Studies welcomes Dr. En Li, who joins the faculty of the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology as an Assistant Professor in Modern East Asian History.
She is a historian of late imperial and modern China, with a focus of social and cultural history of China and overseas Chinese communities. Her course offerings will include the histories of China and East Asia, as well as good Asian books and movies. She comes to UTD from a tenured position at Drake University, where she was honored with the University’s Arts and Sciences “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” Award in 2021.
In addition to articles and reviews, her publications include the book, Betting on the Civil Service Examinations: The Lottery in Late-Qing China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2023), highlights the significance of weixing, a highly organized lottery game where money was bet on surnames that would pass the civil service exams, and reveals critical development with Chinese culture and society in the late nineteenth century. Among her current projects is exploring the transnational history of Hula dance beyond Hawai’i.
When asked about moving to Texas, she replied, “I fell in love with Dallas the first time I visited the Sixth Floor Museum in the winter of 2020. Dallas reminds me of Guangzhou, the southernmost part of China where I grew up: diverse, energetic, a lot of good food, and also very hot in the summer. I look forward to contributing to both UTD and the Center for Asian Studies and also learning from all the excellent faculty members and curious students here.”
Dr. Ming Dong Gu
Dr. Ming Dong Gu, the Katherine R. Cecil Professor in Foreign Languages, has been invited by the International Confucian Association to deliver a keynote speech at the 2023 HEHE Civilization Forum ( 和 合 文 明 论 坛 ) with the theme of “Diversity of Civilizations and Modernization” to be held in Singapore to mark the 30th anniversary of the International Confucian Association and the centenary of the birth of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore and Honorary Chairman of the International Confucian Federation, on September 8, 2023.
Research Scholars Arriving
Dr. Tirtha Mukhopadhyay
The Center welcomes Dr. Tirtha Prasad Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Postgraduate Studies and Aesthetic Theories at the University of Guanajuato (Mexico), who will spend the 2023-24 academic year as a Visiting Scholar in the Center for Asian Studies pursuing research for a book titled Asiatic and Indian Art: A Study of Colonial German & Jewish Orientalism. His visit is supported by his university and CONACYT (a research agency of the Mexican government). Dr. Mukhopadhyay, we are pleased to report, is also a UTD graduate, having received his PhD in Aesthetic Studies in 2005. He has published or edited six academic books, including Cezanne to Picasso and Aesthetics: A Cognitive Viewpoint.
Dr. Xuejing (Estelle) Bai
Dr. Xuejing (Estelle) Bai, Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University will be joining the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology and the Center for Asian Studies as a Visiting Professor and Research Scholar. A member of China Minority Dance Society, Professor Bai has co-authored and published two textbooks and several academic papers in her field of Chinese minority dance. The dance works performed and created by Professor Bai have won numerous awards both domestically and in the international arena. From 2017-2019, she was a member of the Dance Department at the University of Oklahoma. We look forward to enriching our students’ learning experience by expanding our credit and non-credit course offerings in Chinese ethnic minority dance.
Gong Fu Panda Camp
Future Event
- November 8 - Sindya Bhanoo and Nina McConigley
Center for Asian Studies at UTD
Email: asianstudies@utdallas.edu
Website: https://asianstudies.utdallas.edu/
Location: 800 West Campbell Road, JO 5.504, Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: (972) 883-2798
Facebook: facebook.com/AsianStudiesUTDallas
Twitter: @cas_utd