The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures will be holding Japanese conversation tables at the dates listed below. We are looking for both native speakers and students of Japanese to attend. For native speakers, this is a great opportunity to get to know some American students. For students of Japanese, this is a great opportunity to practice your Japanese and meet some people from Japan! If you are looking for a language partner, this can be a good way to meet someone who is interested.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures will be holding Japanese conversation tables at the dates listed below. We are looking for both native speakers and students of Japanese to attend. For native speakers, this is a great opportunity to get to know some American students. For students of Japanese, this is a great opportunity to practice your Japanese and meet some people from Japan! If you are looking for a language partner, this can be a good way to meet someone who is interested.

Dr. Mrinalini Rajagopalan will introduce her new research on the remarkable rise of Begam Samru and her role as architectural patron in 19th century India. Despite her modest beginnings as a dancing girl in the Mughal courts, Begum Samru amassed considerable territory and power through her association with Walter Reinhardt—an Austrian soldier who managed a mercenary army in Northern India. Following his death in 1778, Begum Samru inherited his large estate in Delhi, his independent territory of Sardhana, and his standing army.

Next week a good friend of the Asian Studies Center, Prof. Yaojiang Shi of Shaanxi Normal University, will be visiting the University of Pittsburgh. Most recently, Dr. Shi has been working with a team of ASC faculty on two studies to help alleviate malnutrition and other public health issues in northwest China. We have invited him to give a talk on the current condition of public health in northwest China—one of China’s poorest regions—and efforts to improve public health and government policy in the region. At prof. Shi's request, the entire session will be conducted in Chinese.

In recent months the Chinese have greatly increased their visibility and economic involvement in Europe. China is now the EU’s second leading trading partner and the EU is China’s first. EU leaders are increasingly attentive to Chinese views on a number of issues, including a range of economic and strategic topics. Panelists on this Conversation will explore both the current state of EU-China relations, the implications for Transatlantic ties and future directions of this dynamic relationship.

Do you love traveling and experiencing new cultures? Have you considered teaching English abroad? Join Pitt alumni Thea Berthoff (TAPIF, France), Matthew Eppley (Peace Corps, Ukraine) and Dr. Carlitz (Asian Studies Center) as they discuss their international experience and share tips on how to prepare yourself to teach English in a foreign country.

Do you love traveling and experiencing new cultures? Have you considered teaching abroad? Join Pitt alumni Thea Berthoff (TAPIF, France), Matthew Eppley (Peace Corps , Ukraine), and Dr. Katy Carlitz (Asian Studies Center) as they discuss their international experience and share tips on how to prepare yourself to teach English in a foreign country.

Interested in learning how to play taiko? Cost is $25 or $15 for students/JASP members. To register and for more information, visit our website: http://pittsburghtaiko.com/beginners-workshops

Join us for a screening of Lessons in Dissent, a documentary centering on the student activist Joshua Wang, one of the leaders of the democracy protests in Hong Kong. Afterward, Matthew Torne, the director of the film, will be available to answer questions on his experiences filming the documentary. Professor Michael Goodhart of the Department of Sociology will join Matthew Torne in a discussion panel of recent global social movements.

East Asia is an important historical case for international health between the 1920s and the 1960s. Prior to WWII, various organizations like The Far Eastern Association of Tropical Medicine (FEATM, 1910-1938), The League of Nations Health Organization (LNHO, 1921/24-39), and International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation (1913-51) all tried to dominate the arena. The competition ended in the second-half of the 1940s when new forms of medical aid appeared and the World Health Organization (WHO) was created in 1948.