Asian Studies Host Spring Events
Participants in an Asian New Year Celebration learned calligraphy, Chinese painting and Japanese origami, assisted by University students from both Chinese and Japanese classes and members of Asia Club and Asian Studies Honor Society. The event was one of several planned by the Asian Studies Program at the University during the spring semester.The Asian Studies program will host several events on campus during the spring semester to highlight Asian culture and raise awareness about Asian holidays. The first of these events, an Asian New Year Celebration Workshop, took place Feb. 21 and allowed students, staff, faculty and area residents to create their own New Year artwork. Activities, assisted by University students from both Chinese and Japanese classes and members of Asia Club and Asian Studies Honor Society, included calligraphy, Chinese painting and Japanese origami.
Asian Studies, Asian Studies Honor Society and Asia Club will host a Chinese Lantern Festival, where attendees can create and decorate their own lanterns, on Thursday, March 1, at 7 p.m. on the second floor of The DeNaples Center. Participants can make a wish and take the lantern home after decorating it or leave the lanterns on display on the 2nd floor of The DeNaples Center through March 9. After March 9, the attendees are encouraged to take their lanterns home for a year of prosperity.
The Asian Studies Spring Lecture Series will feature presentations by Kathryn Hemmann, Ph.D., from George Mason University and Ori Tavor, Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hemmann will discuss “Strong Female Characters: Gender, Gaming, and Digital Cultures in Japan” and Dr. Tavor will present “Designer Babies and the Ethics of Human Enhancement: A Confucian Perspective.” The event, co-sponsored by the Asian Studies Program, the Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Philosophy Department, and the Department of Latin American Studies and Women’s Studies, will take place on Thursday, April 12, at 11:30 a.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall.
Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors, is planned for Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m. on the Dionne Campus Green. The event will include authentic Indian cuisine and a variety of activities to celebrate the Hindu spring festival and the upcoming Asian Pacific American Heritage Month of May.
All events are free of charge and open to the public. For additional information, call 570-941-7643 or email asianstudies@scranton.edu.
