News

In posters, the propagandistic function of art under Mao is most clearly revealed. Widely distributed and cheaply available, the posters produced during the Cultural Revolution era address (or elide) problems and goals, instruct viewers on everything from army conduct to birth control, and celebrate the revolutionary spirit in the lives of the people and in the person of Chairman Mao. The posters on view offer a sampling of this revolutionary vision from 1969 to 1978, with one final poster from 1985 illustrating the change in the post-Cultural Revolution era.

China is the epicenter of rapid urbanization, provoking responses from artists, photographers, and filmmakers whose focus ranges from optimistic expansiveness to radical dislocation. In this two-day international symposium, leading curators, critics and scholars will look at artists working in different mediums as they react to the new Chinese megacity.

As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Center for Japanese Studies, Harumi Murakami will present a reading and lecture in Japanese and English, to be followed by a conversation with Roland Kelts. The presentation will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2008, at Zellerbach Hall on the Berkeley campus.

IEAS is pleased to announce a three-year Cross-Straits research project will culminate in a major scholarly publication intended to fill a critical gap in existing English-language scholarly understanding of the relationships across the Taiwan Strait. Cross-Straits relationships between the Mainland and Taiwan are among the most critical issues in today's East Asia. Despite much journalistic coverage and editorial commentary, in-depth scholarly examinations of the many facets of related issues are yet to be undertaken in North American academia.

Mission Statement

The C.V. Starr East Asian Library - the first freestanding structure at a United States university erected solely for East Asian collections — opened its doors to the public on Monday, March 17. Housing nearly one million volumes, the facility occupies a prominent, central-campus location next to Memorial Glade and Doe Library, reflecting Berkeley's role as a worldwide Pacific Rim hub for scholars of East Asian studies. The building brings together under one roof the vast collections that have been stored at several locations on and off campus.

Thai painting (19th century) depicting the Buddha flanked by his two chief disciples, Sāriputta and Moggallāna

The 2008 Numata Lecture in Buddhist Studies will be given at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 20th by Dr. Rupert Gethin. Gethin is the Numata Visiting Professor in Buddhist Studies at U.C. Berkeley for Spring 2008. He is a Reader in Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) President of the Pali Text Society.

The Institute of East Asia Studies is pleased to announce a call for graduate student participation in three interdisciplinary projects aimed at strengthening Korean studies on the Berkeley campus, funded by an institutional grant from the Academy of Korean Studies.

The Center for Korean Studies announces its 2008-2009 Koret Foundation fellowship for continuing graduate students in Korean studies. This award is open to graduate students in any department specializing in a field related to Korean studies.

The Koret Foundation Fellowship may be combined with other fellowships or sources of student support.

A scholarship fund has been created honoring the life and work of Fred Wakeman. For more information, see the announcement from David Hollinger.

After twenty four years as Editor of IEAS Publications, Joanne Sandstrom retires on June 28. During her distinguished career Joanne applied her expert editing skills and knowledge of academic book production to bring to fruition literally hundreds of titles in the Institute's China, Japan and Korea Research Monograph Series, the Research Papers and Policy Studies, and other ongoing Institute publications.

IEAS announces a new program for mid-career professionals in business, law, government, industry and related fields to become Fellows at the Institute in order to broaden their perspectives on East Asia and to pursue their career development goals through the resources available at Berkeley.

On September 2, the Center for Japanese Studies hosted Japan's blue-ribbon commission on constitutional reform, which is conducting research into revising the constitution, including considering the possibility of revising Article 9 that states that Japan will not maintain military forces or other war potential. Two articles on this event appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle: