College of East Asian Studies

More than 60 students gathered in Beckham Hall for the College for East Asian Studies Student Conference, “Environment in Asia,” co-sponsored with the Center for Global Studies and the Center for Pedagogical Innovation on March 25. Professor of Government Mary Alice Haddad, Associate Professor of Music Su Zheng, and Associate Professor of Film Studies Lisa Dombrowski offered their discipline as a lens through which to view environmental concerns in the region— from using political action to regulate pollution, to music videos that call attention to smog concerns, to films that highlight the surreal aspects of man-made structures that change the landscape. Following…

The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a visit of former Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki on Oct. 13 in the Mansfield Center for East Asian Studies. Several Wesleyan faculty, students and visitors attended the program, "Walk in the U.S., Talk on Japan." Fujisaki served as the Ambassador from 2008-12. While at Wesleyan, Fujisaki met with various business and academic groups to talk about a number of issues facing Japan and its relationship with the U.S. His team made presentations on topics ranging from Abenomics to military policy, followed by a question-and-answer session. Photos of the program…

The College of East Asian Studies (CEAS) received two major, multi-year grant awards to hire new faculty and improve library resources. The Korea Foundation has awarded the CEAS a $314,330 five-year grant to support the hiring of a tenure-track faculty member in Korean political economy. The mission of The Korea Foundation is to promote better understanding of Korea within the international community and to increase friendship and goodwill between Korea and the rest of the world through various exchange programs. Located in Seoul, the foundation was established in 1991 with the aim to enhance the image of Korea in the…

Vera Schwarcz, the Freeman Professor of History and East Asian Studies, professor of history, delivered the 40th Annual Mansfield Freeman Lecture on April 16. She spoke in Daniel Family Commons on "The Human Dot on Yellow Mountain: Re-thinking 45 Years of China Study." (Photos by Dat Vu '15.)

Master printmaker Keiji Shinohara, artist in residence, will have three solo exhibitions in 2015." The title is "Keiji Shinohara: Woodcut." The first will be at the Odakyu Shinjuku Art Salon in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan March 11-17. For more information call 03-3342-1111 (Japan). The second show will be at Art Zone-Kaguraoka in Kyoto, Japan May 9-May 25. For more information call o75-754-0155 (Japan). The exhibition will return to the United States and be on display at the Visual Arts Gallery at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. throughout the month of October. In addition, Shinohara will be demonstrating Japanese Ukiyo-e printmaking…

Masami Imai, professor of economics, professor of East Asian studies, is the co-author of an article titled "Attribution Error in Economic Voting: Evidence from Trade Shocks," published in the January 2015 edition of Economy Inquiry, Volume 53, Issue 1, pages 258-257. Rosa Hayes '13, currently a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also is one of the paper's co-authors. This article exploits the international transmission of business cycles to examine the prevalence of attribution error in economic voting in a large panel of countries from 1990 to 2009. Masami and his co-authors found that voters, on average, exhibit…

Japanese-born choreographer/dancer Eiko Otake, visiting instructor in dance, recently accepted a three-year appointment in the Dance Department and College of East Asian Studies. Otake has a 13-year performance history at the Center for the Arts, which began with a three-hour performance of "Offering," Eiko & Koma’s response to 9/11, in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. Since then, Otake has visited campus many times as a Center for Creative Research Artist-in-Residence, and then as a Wesleyan University Creative Campus Fellow to teach, to offer workshops, to curate events, and to give lectures. Since 1972, Otake has collaborated with Takashi Koma…

Vera Schwarcz, the Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies, professor of history, is the author of a new book titled Colors of Veracity: A Quest for Truth in China, and Beyond, published by the University of Hawai'i Press in November 2014. In Colors of Veracity, Schwarcz condenses four decades of teaching and scholarship about China to raise fundamental questions about the nature of truth and history. In vivid prose, she addresses contemporary moral dilemmas with a highly personal sense of ethics and aesthetics. Drawing on classical sources in Hebrew and Chinese (as well as several Greek and Japanese texts), Schwarcz…

Uncover the hidden stories of East Asia’s religion and folklore at a new exhibit, "Not of This World," at the College of East Asian Studies' gallery. To inaugurate the new College of East Asian Studies, students curated this exhibition of the most compelling artworks from the college's collection. "Not Out of This World" is on display Sept. 10-Dec. 5 and features aesthetically pleasing pieces that reveal spiritual worlds filled with love, betrayal and faith. A ghost woman who searches for her husband, an immortal trapped in a peasant’s body, and a wheel that spins prayers are examples of the East Asian artwork displayed that weave the supernatural with mystical elements.…

CEAS Hosts “Environment in East Asia” Student Conference

Former Japanese Ambassador Fujisaki Visits Wesleyan

Grants Support New CEAS Faculty Positions, Japanese Language Databases

Schwarcz Delivers 40th Annual Mansfield Freeman Lecture

Shinohara’s Solo Exhibitions to be Displayed in Japan

Imai’s Paper Examines the Prevalence of Attribution Error in Economic Voting

Choreographer Otake Begins 3-Year Appointment with Seminar, Exhibition

Schwarcz Addresses Moral Dilemma, Ethics in China in Colors of Veracity

East Asia’s Religion, Folkore Shared at New Student-Curated CEAS Exhibit