A monthly book club hosted by the Center for Latin American Studies. Discussions are in Portuguese. All are welcome!

In this first lecture of the Asia Now 2022 fall lecture series, Dr. Keisuke Yamada and Dr. Andrew Niess discuss how early twentieth-century Japanese intellectuals, policymakers, and bureaucrats understood the nexus of sound, music, and labor in industrial management. Japanese authors considered how to contend with sō-on (noise) in factories, which, for managers, threatened productivity. We trace the development of kōjō ongaku (factory music) in response to sō-on in the context of the development of industrial management theory, such as Frederick Winslow Taylor’s “scientific management.” We demonstrate how such management strategies are aesthetic, in contrast with anaesthetic ones like soundproofing. Through this an/aesthetic framework, we analyze the global historical processes surrounding noise abatement and factory music as part of modern industrial management. To register to attend this event via Zoom, click here.

Bios:

Keisuke Yamada (Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 2020) is a Japan Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at the Asian Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of Supercell Featuring Hatsune Miku (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). His other peer-reviewed work has appeared or is forthcoming in Asian Music, the Asia-Pacific Journal, Ethnomusicology Forum, Japan Forum, Japanese Studies, the Journal of Japanese Studies, and the Oxford Handbook of Economic Ethnomusicology, among others.

Andrew Niess, PhD is an independent researcher, editor, and instrument maker. He received the 2020–21 Mellon Dissertation Fellowship at the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities. His publications are forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of Protest Music, Ecopedagogies: Practical Approaches to Experiential Learning (Routledge, 2022), and the Journal of Japanese Studies.

The Overlooked Racism?
Xenophobia Against East Europeans in Anti-racist and Postcolonial Debates in Germany
Racism against East Europeans has a long history dating back to the eighteenth century. It was particularly pronounced in Germany with its long-standing entanglements and quasi-colonial relationship with Eastern Europe. Even beyond 1945, structural discrimination and everyday humiliation exist.
Still, East Europeans’ experiences with xenophobia are a blind spot in the current anti-racist and postcolonial debates. Petersen argues that the political and economic Eastern enlargement of the European Union must be followed by an eastward enlargement in the current dispute on racism.
Hans-Christian Petersen, historian and research fellow at the Federal Institute for Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (BKGE) in Oldenburg (Germany). Advisor for two projects of the research network “Ambivalences of the Soviet: Diaspora Nationalities between Collective Experiences of Discrimination and Individual Normalization, 1953-2023.“ Main Research Interests: Urban history and social space, Russian German history and transnational history of migration, racism against East Europeans (Antislavism), German “Ostforschung”.

Pittsburgh and Rio de Janeiro share similar histories of Black communities’ cultural resistances and struggles for rights. Hosted by the Center for Latin American Studies and the World History Center, the goal of this event is to discuss the ways in which the urban landscapes of both cities are shaped by difficult cartographies, especially when related to racism and slavery. We also aim to discuss how scholars and community activists can collaborate in building strategies to make the topic accessible to the public.

For this workshop CLAS has partnered with the Global Studies Center to introduce topics associated with the sustainability, development and conservation of the Amazon region. This course introduces significant topics associated with the sustainability of the Amazon region, where more than 30 million people live, inside an area comprising part of nine countries in South America. Almost 80% of the Amazon’s population is settled in urban areas.

Join Screenshot: ASIA for a Video Party and DJ Night celebrating Asian music and music videos. Videos are by Warren Fu, director (Doja Cat, Daft Punk, Maggie Rogers) and mamesjao, director (Trippie Red, Amber Liu, August 08). Live Q&A with: no_4mat, director and musician; Kwan Au, director and CGI artist; mui zyu, director and musician. Music by: DJ Formosa (from Jellyfish, a queer DJ collective). Snacks, pizza, and refreshments will be provided! This event is geared toward undergraduate students.

This event gathers all of the best tacos in one place for a fun, family-friendly event featuring live entertainment and 25+ food trucks, street vendors, and restaurants, as well specialty drinks, beer, and liquor vendors, an art market from Redfishbowl, and family fun activities. The event celebrates community and is produced with the support of the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation and Latin American Cultural Union and a portion of proceeds directly benefit these organizations. https://www.pghtacofest.com
Brief Description of presenters (name, affiliation, specialty): Entertainment & Live Music with Salsa Dancing lessons
Registration link: Tickets on sale now at: bit.ly/pghtacofest2022
Gen Admin: $10 | Festival Fan: $25 | Taco Lovers Package: $50
*Early admission available with Taco Lovers Ticket purchase!

Pitt Daehwa Club's Chuseok Festival