EASC Newsletter: October 2001

Upcoming Events

Go To:

• East Asian Population Researchers to Visit Bloomington
• 2001-02 Colloquium Series
• East Asian Film Series

East Asian Population Researchers to Visit Bloomington

Students and faculty interested in the demography of East Asia will have the opportunity to meet with two special visitors in early November. Noriko Tsuya, Professor of Demography in the Faculty of Economics at Keio University, and Wang Feng, of the Sociology Department at the University of California, Irvine, will visit the Population Institute for Research and Training (PIRT) from November 5-8.

On Friday, November 5, at 1:30, Professor Tsuya will give a talk on "Gender, Employment, and Housework in Comparative Perspective: Japan, South Korea, and the United States." Tsuya's talk is co-sponsored by EASC, PIRT, the Sociology Department and the Office of International Programs. In addition, Professors Tsuya and Wang will be free to meet with interested students and faculty on both Friday, November 5, and Monday, November 8.

Tsuya and Wang are visiting Bloomington primarily to continue their work with PIRT Director George Alter on the Eurasia Project. The Eurasia Project is a transnational comparative study of historical demographic responses to economic stress, with research teams focusing on Belgium, China, Italy, Japan and Sweden. According to Alter, the project focuses on "how family systems manage economic crises, such as harvest failures and high food prices, and also events within families, such as the death of the breadwinner." The Eurasia Project will ultimately result in the publication of multiple volumes focused on the major demographic behaviors, including mortality, fertility and marriage. Alter, Tsuya and Wang are co-editing the volume on fertility.

Although their current collaboration has an historical bent, both Tsuya and Wang are also actively involved in research on contemporary issues. Tsuya is a prolific researcher and author of studies on fertility, the Japanese family and marriage in Japan. She is co-author of Marriage, Work and Family Life in Comparative Perspective: Japan, South Korea, and the United States, forthcoming from the University of Hawaii Press.

Wang is co-author, with James Lee, of One Quarter of Humanity: Malthusian Mythology and Chinese Realities, 1700-2000. The pair have "made a bit of a stir," according to Alter, by rejecting Malthusian assumptions about China's past demographic development and challenging the theory that state intervention is the primary cause of China's declining birth rate.

Students and faculty interested in meeting with Tsuya or Wang should contact PIRT's Administrative Coordinator, Teena Freeman, at 855-5631 or tgfreema@indiana.edu.

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2001-02 East Asian Colloquium Series

A cornucopia of knowledge is being presented again at the 2001-02 East Asian Colloquium Series. The Series is a biweekly opportunity for IU and visiting faculty and researchers to share new research, works in progress, and current affairs.

Three talks are still planned for this semester. On October 26, Terue Tokoro, of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), will give an overview presentation of JETRO's mission and activities. On November 16, Mark Tilton of Purdue University will present a talk entitled "Antitrust and Industrial Policy in Japan: The Cases of Telecommunications and Steel." Tilton will discuss his current research about how the industrial policy of Japan's past is much less successful in today's mature economy. Even as politicians call for reform, Japan has been slow to promote tough antitrust policy, for a variety of reasons. The talk will focus on political obstacles to stronger antitrust policy. (Click here for a full description of his talk) Tilton is a Research Associate of the EASC and is a welcome addition to the Colloquium schedule.

The first semester of the Series will end on December 7 with a report by EASC Director George Wilson on "The Atom Bomb and the End of World War II in Japan and America." WWII-era and postwar Japan has been a hot topic of late, with two Pulitzer Prize winners in two years. Until recently, says Wilson, "we didn't want to dwell on the ashes of the past." But he notes that the Bomb is an obvious issue at a time of increased global tension and fear of violence.

The full first semester schedule is available at http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/eaq/eaq01-02/eaq01-02.htm. The spring semester schedule will be posted once it is finalized. It is tentatively planned on a theme of "Paths of East Asian History," with a series of talks by historians, including IU Professors Richard Rubinger, Lynn Struve, and Jeffrey Wasserstrom, and IU graduate student Kate Edgerton. Visiting professors will include James Orr of Bucknell University and Harry Harootunian of New York University.

Colloquium Series talks are held in Ballantine Hall Room 004, from 12:30 to 1:15, with a light lunch provided. The November 16 talk by Mark Tilton will be held in the Hoagy Carmichael Room in Morrison Hall. For those who are unable to attend, the presentations are also archived online at the Colloquium website.

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"Family Night" Debuts as the East Asian Film Series Returns

The East Asian Film Series is opening another year of landmark contemporary East Asian cinema with a new venue and a variety of film flavors. From a brutal cop to a bumbling samurai, a family saga to meditations on memory, the Series has something for everyone.

A new special event, "Family Night," was introduced into the Series this year. "Family Night" premiered October 20 with A Chinese Ghost Story, an animated Hong Kong family film dubbed in English. A love story between the romantic Ning and his ghost girl, Hsiao Tsing, A Chinese Ghost Story is a fantastic journey for children, but also contains deeper reflection on Hong Kong's own political and cultural ghosts.

This year's films will be shown in Woodburn 101, a slightly smaller auditorium with newer equipment and a cozier atmosphere than last year's venue. All films start at 7:30 and are free and open to the public. According to Mary Hayes, who organizes the series, the Series tries to show a variety of lesser known films, including comedies, dramas, and action films. Each semester the Series shows at least two Korean, two Japanese, and two Chinese language films. Films are chosen by graduate students who specialize in East Asian cinema. "One of the great things about the series is we want to show films you can't just go see at the theatre," says Hayes.

The next film showing, on November 10, is Nowhere to Hide, a vivid portrayal of a tough Korean cop's obsession with a faceless murderer. The rest of this semester's schedule includes Samurai Fiction, Japan's first rock-and-roll samurai epic, and Yi Yi, Edward Yang's classic portrayal of a Taiwanese family searching for meaning. For more information on the Fall and Spring Film Series, contact the East Asian Studies Center.

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