The Asian Studies Center welcome reception for students will be held on Thursday, September 13th from 3:00 to 5:30 PM in 4130 Posvar Hall. All students and faculty are welcome to join us to meet center staff and faculty, learn about upcoming events and opportunities related to Asia, including lectures and cultural programming, undergraduate internship and career workshops, language tutoring and study groups, language proficiency testing, volunteering, and more! Announcements will take place at 4:00 pm - refreshments will be served!

The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original "great game." But in the past quarter century, a new "great game" has emerged, pitting America against a newly aggressive Russia and a resource-hungry China, all struggling for influence over one of the volatile areas in the world. In Great Games, Local Rules, Alexander Cooley, one of America's most respected Central Asia experts, explores the dynamics of the new competition over the region since 9/11.

This professional development workshop for secondary school teachers focused on global social movements and their relationships to art and technology in various regions of the world.

Sunday, June 10 from 12 - 5 pm on the lawn at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Main, Oakland
Follow your dreams, Pittsburgh! Imagination and fun await you at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's 12th annual Summer Reading Extravaganza. Kick off your summer reading with free family fun, including entertainment, crafts and activities for kids and teens! The Asian Studies Center will host activity and book tables at this event.

Pittsburgh-native, Tokyo-based enka superstar JERO makes his New York debut at Japan Society! With his smooth voice and hip-hop stylings, JERO has breathed new life into this sentimental Japanese music genre often associated with themes of one’s hometown, lost loves and sake. Often referred to as the “Japanese blues” or “Japanese country music,” enka’s melodies and required vocal techniques make it a quintessentially Japanese musical style.

A forum on mental illness and substance abuse among Indian immigrants in North America. Organized by SV Temple, presented by Professor Balwant N. Dixit, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Followed by a panel discussion with Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, MD, PHD, Professor of Psychiatry & Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Ranita Basu MD, Psychiatrist, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare Systems, and Ms. Anagha Manohar, MSW. Special Guest Speaker: Uma Eyyunni M.D, Founder of “MOTHERS CRY” of Jacksonville, Florida

This annual event informs Pittsburgh-area high school students from underrepresented minority groups of international studies, study abroad, and internationally oriented career opportunities through panel presentations and small group discussions with African-American Pitt alumni and other international studies professionals.

Asian Studies & the Japanese language program are offering a series of Japanese language tables on campus for students of Japanese language. This session on “Practicing your acting/speaking—Preparing for oral proficiency tests” is designed for all level of Japanese language students. Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a speaking proficiency test which is conducted by ACTFL, the national organization for foreign language teaching. This proficiency test is being used worldwide by academic institutions, government agencies, and private corporations to assess one’s language skill.

The notion of cultural purity is demonstrably a myth, as any careful historical analysis of cultural expression anywhere in the world can reveal multiple origins, blends, syncretisms, hybridities that are the inevitable result of human contact.

The 23rd JAWS Conference will be held from Thursday 07 March 2013 through Saturday 09 March 2013, at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh PA, USA. Further details will be posted on the Conferences page as they are available.