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East Asia Program

Representation and Resistance: The History of Chinese Coolies in 19th-Century Cuba (LACS Weekly Seminar Series)

May 2, 2022

1:00 pm

G-01 Stimson Hall

This talk by Mey-Yen Moriuchi (LaSalle University) explores the history of Chinese migration to Cuba, which began with the coolie trade in the mid-nineteenth century. Between 1847 and 1874, approximately 150,000 Chinese were brought to Cuba under termed contracts to fulfill a labor shortage on the sugarcane plantations. They suffered harsh conditions and were treated severely.

Chinese coolies were generally viewed as dutiful and submissive, and their voices have largely been confined to the margins of literature and history. However, the 19th-century testimonies and illustrations of Chinese coolies denounce the savagery and cruelty of the Spanish overseers, while simultaneously revealing that the coolies were not passive victims. The coolies demonstrated agency, courage, and resistance in the act of migrating, in their words, and rebellions.

Coolie labor played a major role in reshaping Cuba’s sugar economy and its existing systems of production. In addition, the amplified presence of the Chinese in Cuba challenged existing paradigms of race and nation. Cuban society was no longer black and white. The growing Chinese population forced a reconsideration of this traditional binary vision of society and, in the formation of a new Chinese-Cuban identity, complicated notions of what constituted cubanidad.

This event is co-sponsored by the Einaudi Center's East Asia Program.

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Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

East Asia Program

Princess Mako’s Revolution

Japanese monument
December 20, 2021

Kristin Roebuck, EAP

“It’s really striking to me when I look at family forms and how the royal family is this bastion of older norms that no one else in Japan is required to live by,” says Kristin Roebuck, assistant professor of history. “Why is it that the lawmakers who govern that institution think it’s so important that they want to maintain gender inequality at the highest symbolic level of society?”

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Accepting applications for 2022-2023 LB Korean Studies Research Scholar

international flags, white buildings, Albufeira, Portugal
December 2, 2021

CFA: post-doctoral or pre-doctoral research fellow in Korean studies

The Cornell East Asia Program is accepting applications for a post-doctoral or pre-doctoral research fellow in residence at Cornell (Ithaca Campus) for the 2022-2023 academic year. Advanced Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D. graduates whose research pertains to Korea can apply to this non-teaching research residency. Application deadline is February 11th, 2022.

Call for Applications: Cornell East Asia Program 2022-2023 LB Korean Studies Research Scholar

The Cornell East Asia Program is accepting applications for a post-doctoral or pre-doctoral research fellow in residence at Cornell (Ithaca Campus) for the 2022-2023 academic year. Advanced Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D. graduates whose research pertains to Korea can apply to this non-teaching research residency. Application deadline is February 11th, 2022.

The LB Korean Studies Research Scholars research program within the East Asia Program and the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University aims to cultivate new collaborations that advance scholarship, knowledge dissemination, teaching, outreach, and engagement with general publics for a deeper understanding of Korea in the contemporary world. The program is open to scholars whose research and teaching focuses on Korea, especially with a comparative, global, and/or interdisciplinary perspective.

LB Korean Studies Research Scholars can have backgrounds in any discipline, as well as conduct interdisciplinary research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In addition to more traditional Korean studies fields, we envision Korea-focused work in areas such as STEM, public health, urban planning, architecture, and others. Selection will be based on the potential of the candidate’s research to cultivate dialogue and nurture collaboration across academic disciplines, as well as integrate, synthesize, and build upon existing disciplinary contributions to Korean studies research, broadly conceived. Scholars will work within the East Asia Program and the Einaudi Center for International Studies as well as engaging with mentors and peers across Cornell.

Role

Scholars will join a dynamic interdisciplinary center that brings together deep scholarly expertise with broad interdisciplinary global concerns. Scholars will benefit from training and mentoring in academic publishing and public scholarship as they contribute to the East Asia Program’s vision to advance the interdisciplinary study of Korea. They will organize programming (such as pedagogical and research events and/or colloquia), coordinate with faculty and students, identify and liaise with global and community partners, and support the communications team to disseminate the initiative’s research and events. Scholars will spend roughly 50% of their time on their research, and 50% of their time on the LB KSRS initiative.

Position available:

  • Post-doctoral visiting scholar, or
  • Pre-doctoral visiting scholar

The LB Korean Studies Research Scholar may be either a post-doctoral visiting scholar (within 5 years of their Ph.D. conferral) or a Ph.D. candidate at an advanced stage of their doctorate (completing their dissertation). We are interested in candidates from Ph.D. programs outside of North America as well as in the U.S., and will offer visa support to those who need it (this program does not offer H1B visa status).

Support:

  • Academic year (August through May) stipend of USD29,000
  • Cornell University Health Insurance coverage (approximately USD3,500)
  • Research activities support of up to USD2,500 (for activities such as travel to archives or conferences, materials acquisition, publication costs, etc.)
  • Cornell Graduate School tuition coverage, if needed, for candidates from non-U.S. institutions and with non-U.S. residency  
  • Office and other facilities use
  • Full visiting scholar faculty access to Cornell university facilities and resources such as use of Cornell’s world-class Library collections and resources.

Expectations:

  • In residence at the Cornell Ithaca campus August 2022 through May 2023
  • Organize and convene Korean studies events and activities within EAP programming schedule
  • Carry out research, and acknowledge the LB KSRS program in any publications thereof
  • Give at least two presentations of research for the EAP and Cornell community
  • Participate in EAP and Center for International Studies initiatives that relate to the Scholar’s work or interests
  • No teaching required. However, if the Scholar wishes to teach, whether formally or informally, EAP will help identify and set up such opportunities.

How to Apply

The completed application, including two letters of reference, must be received by the application deadline of February 11, 2022. Applications should be submitted directly to  eap@cornell.edu. The subject line should read: “LB Korean Studies Research Scholar Application.”

  • A letter expressing interest in the program and explaining one’s qualifications for the position. In the letter, applicants must submit biographical information, including the expected (or actual) date that they will receive their PhD degree, as well as the full name and contact information of two references, one of whom must be the applicant’s doctoral advisor
  • Full CV in PDF format.
  • Description of proposed research (maximum of 2 pages, single spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, PDF format). The proposal should be free of disciplinary jargon.
  • A sample of your work, which may be a piece of writing, a portfolio of art work, teaching syllabi, or other relevant work. 
  • Two letters of reference, one of whom must be the applicant’s doctoral advisor, to be submitted directly by the references to: eap@cornell.edu. The subject line should read: "LB Korean Studies Research Scholar - Reference Letter." Please note that all references must be received by the application deadline on February 11, 2022. 
  • Select applicants will be invited to participate in an online interview with the selection committee.
  • Candidates will be notified of selection decisions March 2022.

For questions, please contact the East Asia Program manager, Joshua Young, at eap@cornell.edu.

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2021 Korean Noraebang Contest

December 7, 2021

7:30 pm

Goldwin Smith Hall, HEC auditorium

The Korean Language Program will be hosting its 12th annual K-Pop Noraebang Contest on 12/6 (Mon) at 7:30pm in Goldwin Smith HEC auditorium. Korean language students who passed the audition will compete for awards and the audience will vote. Free Korean t-shirts will be given to the first 30 audience members and through trivia during the event. Enjoy the special performances by LOKO and E.Motion at the opening and closing. This event is sponsored by the Joh Foundation and is open to the public.

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East Asia Program

Future Directions in the Study of Migration and Racial Justice: A Postdoctoral Symposium

December 8, 2021

4:00 pm

Uris Hall, G-08

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, in partnership with the Society for the Humanities, presents this symposium featuring five cutting-edge researchers whose work crosses disciplinary lines to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Join postdoctoral fellows Mohamed Abdou, Eman Ghanayem, Bamba Ndiaye, Eleanor Paynter, and Grace Tran for a discussion of their work in the fields of migration studies and global racial justice. Topics will include identity, colonialism and decolonization, indigeneity and dispossession, refugee studies and mobility, economic and social justice, and critical race theory. Learn how new approaches and developments are changing scholarship in these critical fields.

Einaudi Center director Rachel Beatty Riedl will introduce the event, and Viranjini Munasinghe (Department of Anthropology) will moderate.

Speakers

Mohamed Abdou, Global Racial Justice Postdoctoral Fellow, Einaudi Center"Non-statist Indigenous and Muslim Conceptualizations of Sovereignty: The Decolonial Inseparability of Race from Religion"

Eman Ghanayem, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Comparative Literature and Society for the Humanities"Being Native, Being Refugee"

Bamba Ndiaye, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Music and Society for the Humanities"From Mbas Mi to Mbëkk Mi: Covid-Induced Migration and Social Movement Advocacy in Senegal"

Eleanor Paynter, Migrations Postdoctoral Fellow, Einaudi Center"Witnessing Migration 'Crises': Race, Coloniality, and Asylum in Italy"

Grace Tran, Migrations Postdoctoral Fellow, Migrations Initiative"What’s Love Got to Do With It?: Transformative Effects of Vietnamese-American Engagement in 'Marriage Fraud' Arrangements"

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Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Laidlaw Scholars Info Session: support for first- and second-year research projects

November 30, 2021

5:00 pm

Tatkon Center, 105 RPCC

Learn about the Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership and Research Program. Open to first- and second-year students, this 2-year program provides generous support to carry out internationally-focused research, develop leadership skills, engage with community projects overseas, and join a global network of like-minded scholars from more than a dozen universities.

Join us to learn more about the program, its benefits, and the application process, as well as tips for approaching potential faculty research mentors and writing a successful application. Sponsored by the Tatkon Center for First-Year Students and the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies.

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Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

"Strange Parallels: Consecrated Chinese Buddhist Images in Context"

December 3, 2021

12:00 pm

Please join us for a talk by James Robson 羅柏松 (James C. Kralik and Yunli Lou Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University).

It has become increasingly well-known that religious statues throughout Asia have hidden cavities that are filled with various objects inserted during a consecration ritual. This talk explores the hidden world of these statues through a discussion of a large collection of statues from throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam), including some intriguing European examples. The history of such images has been the object of much research in Japan and Korea that this talk will also use to contextualize the Chinese Buddhist images. These statues provide a valuable glimpse of local religion, ritual practice, lay devotion, and sutra fragments. These statues also raise a host of significant interpretive questions for historians of religion, including issues such as the place of icon animation, idolatry, and iconoclasm in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese Religious history generally. The images discussed in this talk contain a niche carved into their back (or sometimes in the uṣṇīṣa, base, or pedestal) that is filled with a variety of objects, including relics, religious manuscripts and printed texts, medicinal herbs, desiccated insects, talismans with magical writing, and a “consecration certificate” or “vow text.” These statues are ubiquitous but have had a particularly intriguing history of visibility and concealment in East Asia and in Western scholarship. This talk will raise questions about why sacred images and icons such as these have been objects of extreme devotion for some, but also presented problems for priests, politicians, missionaries, philosophers, and academics who for various reasons have found them distasteful, attacked their validity and power, and have tried to hide them away or destroy them. Why, even in the face of ideological critique and iconoclastic destruction, have they persisted and proliferated?

The Cornell Buddhist Studies Seminar Series is co-sponsored by the GPSA-FC, the Departments of Anthropology, Asian Studies and Philosophy, by the South Asia Program, and by the Society for the Humanities. The talk is open to all interested; for accessibility queries please contact buddhiststudies@cornell.edu

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Program

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

South Asia Program

Paul Robeson, "The Black King of Songs, " and China

Book cover for "Arise Africa! Roar, China!" red with images of Paul Robeson and other Black artists
November 16, 2021

December 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Professor Gao Yunxiang, History, Ryerson University, explores a chapter from her new book Arise, Africa! Roar, China! Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (UNC Press, December 2021). 

In this lecture, Gao unpacks the dynamic yet scarcely noted relations between Paul Robeson (1898-1976), the world famous African American singer, actor, athlete, lawyer, and political activist, and China throughout most of the twentieth century.

Please register in advance for this meeting.

Sponsored by the East Asia ProgramEAP Graduate Student Steering CommitteeThe Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Global Racial Justice initiative.

 

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Mako Komuro Isn't The First Female Scion of Japan's Royal Family To Have Suffered From Mental Stress

Japanese monument
November 10, 2021

Kristin Roebuck, EAP

“If you add up that legal disability that’s unique to the imperial family’s women, with the intense media scrutiny, and the incredible degree of control that they’re subjected to from a very conservative, elderly, masculine government, I think those women are exposed to pressures that would actually be unfathomable to most people in Japan, or outside Japan,” says Kristin Roebuck, assistant professor of history.

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Is China a Part of Taiwan? - Shelley Rigger

Headshot of Shelley Rigger. She is an older woman with silver gray hair cut in a bob style wearing a black top. She faces the viewer with a smile. Background is out of focus green foliage.
November 9, 2021

The last of the Contemporary China Initiative series for Fall '21

The CCCI welcomes Shelley Rigger of Davidson University to address this question. 

There is a long-standing debate over whether Taiwan is part of China. Beijing insists that not only is Taiwan part of China, it is part of the People’s Republic of China. Watch the lecture video here.

Most Taiwanese reject the idea that the island they live on is part of the PRC, and they would prefer to remain outside the PRC state’s jurisdiction. But when it comes to China – the abstract, cultural, historical idea of China – the situation is more interesting. While some Taiwanese embrace an identity that relegates Chineseness to a minor role (or even dismiss it altogether), most of Taiwan’s 24 million people recognize a cultural and historical attachment to China. Where the two sides differ is over the meaning of that attachment for contemporary political arrangements. Few Taiwanese are swayed by the historical determinism and cultural essentialism that underlie the PRC’s case for “unification.” Rather, they believe that political identity and citizenship should follow the will of the people, not the dictates of history.

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