University of Pittsburgh hiring Assistant Instructor of Korean for September 2019 start.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures is hiring an Assistant Instructor of Korean.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh (http://www.deall.pitt.edu) invites applications for an Assistant Instructor position in Korea studies, pending budgetary approval, beginning September 1, 2019. The position is non-tenure­ stream with the possibility of renewal for a multi-year contract. The successful candidate is expected to contribute significantly to the Korean language program and teach language courses on all levels. The successful candidate should hold an MA in teaching Korean as a foreign language or in an allied field, possess native or near-native competence in all skill areas of Korean and English, and have at least one year of teaching experience at a North American institution of higher education.

The new hire should be prepared to teach classes for both undergraduate and graduate students. Instruction to graduate students may involve PhD and MA students whose focus may be on literature, history, art history, religion, anthropology, etc. Preference will be given to candidates who possess linguistic knowledge of the Korean language, and who demonstrate familiarity with theories in second language acquisition and current practices in Korean pedagogy in North American higher education settings. Any expertise in non-language areas such as film, popular culture, literature, etc. will be a plus. Duties include teaching both recitations and lectures of language courses as well as working closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Korean language program. The appointee should expect to collaborate with Asianists in other units (e. g., the Asian Studies Center) to promote Korea studies.

Special application details are posted on the job ad.

"Private Tutoring impact On Junior High School Students' Performance In China: Fast Lane or Placebo Effect?" September 14 at Pitt.

Via spencerauthor.com

The University of Pittsburgh's Institute of International Studies in Education will present two speakers on September 14 in the first installment of the 2018 Symposium Series: Lunxuan Sun and "Private Tutoring impact On Junior High School Students' Performance In China: Fast Lane or Placebo Effect?," and Humin Chen and "Research on Endowed Chairs in American Top Research Universities."

Lunxuan Sun is a lecturer from School of Education in Tianjin Normal University, China. He is currently serving as a visiting scholar at the Institute for International Studies in Education (IISE), University of Pittsburgh. His faculty counterpart at the University of Pittsburgh is Prof. Maureen McClure and his current research project is “The Act of the State in the Development of Higher Education of China and the United States: A Comparative Perspective.”

He received his Ph.D. degree in Science of Public Management at Nankai University. Dr. Lunxuan Sun’s current research includes a comparative study on government’s action in higher education funded by the Ministry of Chinese Education and research on Non-monetary of education Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. He teaches courses in the sociology of education, research methods of applied educational science and advises Master students in comparative education.

The panel discussion begins at 10:30 am in 4318 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

"Sounds of China" in Pittsburgh, February 8.

Sounds of China will perform in Pittsburgh on February 8 as part of an American tour in 2019.

Sounds of China Guzheng Music Promotion Center was founded by Carol Chang (aka yukina) in 2005. With a group of guzheng-loving friends, Carol also founded Sound of China Guzheng Ensemble. The group promotes the music of guzheng, also known as Chinese zither, and the guzheng instrument itself. They work closely with guzheng instrument makers and musicians to bring most updated guzheng music and instruments on tour.

Tickets for the 7:30 pm show at the Byham Theater are now available online from $25.

Sennan Asbestos Disaster (ニッポン国VS泉南石綿村), winner of 2018 Pittsburgh Japan Documentary Film Award, free at Pitt on September 27.

The first-ever winner of Pitt's first-ever Pittsburgh Japan Documentary Award, Sennan Asbestos Disaster (ニッポン国VS泉南石綿村), will screen on September 27 in Oakland.

More than ten years in the making, Sennan Asbestos Disaster follows a dwindling group of dying former asbestos workers as they seek justice and recognition from an indifferent Japanese government As Mr. Hara follows these plaintiffs through their successes and failures, his film also examines the power of the Japanese state and its continued responsibilities to its citizens. In praising the film for its profound effect, Mr. Soda notes that Sennan Asbestos Disaster “shows the painstaking process of the eight years of lawsuits. I was able to physically experience what it's like to fight against the Japanese government.” Mr. Hara, whose previous works include The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987), is well known for being unafraid to punch through walls of conventional society. Sennan Asbestos Disaster has already received the 2017 Audience Award at the Tokyo Filmex International Film Festival and the 2017 BIFF Mecenat Award at the Busan International Film Festival.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (map). The screening is free but tickets are required (and can be reserved online).

The Voice of Pipa: Yang Jin and Friends, September 9 in Oakland.

Numerous performers of traditional Chinese music will collaborate in Oakland on September 9 for "The Voice of Pipa: Yang Jin and Friends" on September 9. The program includes pipa virtuoso Yang Jin, the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, the HarmoniZing Ensemble, the Purple Bamboo Ensemble, and the Helio Phoneix Trio.

The show runs from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on the 9th at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (map). It is free and open to the public, though a donation is suggested.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Financial Analyst.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced an opening for a Financial Analyst.

Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) in Pittsburgh, September 6 and 10.

The 1997 film Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) will play in the Pittsburgh area on September 6 and 10, followed by a run at the Row House Cinema later in the month. A 1999 Variety review summarizes:

Forsaking the usual anime fantasy terrain for a straight suspense plot that might easily have been executed in live-action form, director Satoshi Kon’s debut pic, “Perfect Blue,” is a psychological thriller that intrigues without quite hitting the bull’s-eye. Animated feature is currently getting limited U.S. release in an English-dubbed version.

The movie will play at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters in Greensburg, Monroeville, and Robinson on September 6 (Japanese with English subtitles) and September 10 (dubbed in English). Tickets are available online at those links. It will also play at the Row House Cinema from September 21 through 27 as part of an Anime film series.

GlobalPittsburgh Happy Hour with visiting Yasuda Women's University students, September 6.

Interior of Pitt's Cathedral of Learning, from the 2019 Yasuda Women's University promotional catalog.

GlobalPittsburgh's next First Thursdays Happy Hour on September 6 will welcome students from Yasuda Women's University (安田女子大学) in Hiroshima.

Meet globally-minded people from Pittsburgh and all over the world to make new friends and learn more about different cultures at our GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays monthly happy hour. Bring your friends, family, and colleagues or come alone - we are a very friendly group!

In September, our guests will be a group of female students from Yasuda University in Japan. They will be coming to Pittsburgh to study English at the University of Pittsburgh English Language Institute.

A cohort of undergraduates has studied each fall at the University of Pittsburgh's English Language Institute since 2016.
The event runs from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at Roland's Seafood Grill in the Strip District (map), and tickets are available online.

Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival (匹茲堡龍舟節), September 30 at North Park.

The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans will present the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival on September 30.

Join us at the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival on September 30, 2018 for a day of fun at North Park Lake! Watch exciting races or form your own dragon boat and compete against other community teams for medals and awards. Cultural demonstrations, food, marketplace and other activities will be available, so bring the whole family to this FREE event!

The event starts at 8:30 am and runs until 5:00 pm, with cultural demonstrations running from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. It will be held at and around the Boathouse at North Park Lake in the North Hills (map) and is free and open to the public.

Haikyuu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (ハイキュー!! コンセプトの戦い) and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ～２人の英雄) will play at Hollywood Theater, too, in September.

Haikyuu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (ハイキュー!! コンセプトの戦い) and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ～２人の英雄), already scheduled to play at the Southside Works Cinema next month, will play at the Hollywood Theater, too.

Haikyuu!!: The Movie will play there on the 19th, 22nd, and 23rd, and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes will play on the 25th, 26th, 27th, 29th, and October 2nd. Tickets for those are available online at the Hollywood Theater's website. The new incarnation of the Hollywood Theater, which for many years was about the only place in Pittsburgh to see new Japanese animated movies, is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Free performance by Taiwan Acrobatic Troupe, September 28 at Carlow University.

The Troupe of Acrobats at National Taiwan College of Performing Art will give a free performance, titled Taiwan Acrobatic Troupe: A Cultural Celebration, on September 28 at Carlow University.

The inspiration of the performance is founded on Taiwan's diverse heritage. Integrating elements of modern performance, the show will also incorporate folk dance, juggling, martial arts, and Taiwanese opera to showcase various expressions of Taiwanese lifestyle. The audience can look forward to this interactive performance!

The show runs from 7:30 to 9:00 pm at the Rosemary Heyle Theater in Antonian Hall at Carlow University in Oakland (map). The performance is free but advanced registration is required and can be completed online.

Seminal Japanese pop punk band Shonen Knife back in Pittsburgh, September 4.

The Japanese pop punk band Shonen Knife (少年ナイフ) will return to Pittsburgh on September 4 as part of their 2018 US tour. According to a press release:

Boasting a nearly 40 year career, these three luminaries of rock & roll have wielded fun and food-centered bops that earned them the love and respect of music goliaths like Nirvana andSonic Youth. They’ve made their way from their home of Osaka, Japan to the United States many times, but this year they’re putting their personal affection for each and every city on display. Following the release of their tenacious live DVD/CD ALIVE! In Osaka (Released onRobby Takac of THE GOO GOO DOLLS’ Good Charamel Records), Shonen Knife have prepared to deliver that same hometown energy from Buffalo on August 28th to Brooklyn on August 31st, Chicago on September 9th, Los Angeles on October 5th, and so much more. Each city will have its own personalized and limited edition artwork available at the show, because for Shonen Knife, home is where the fans are.

Shonen Knife frontwoman Naoko comments, “Our first live album Live in Osaka was released in 2006, and was recorded at the same venue as this new one. After the first live album, we toured, released music constantly, grew as a band and improved. This year we would like to bring the fever from ALIVE! in Osaka on our US tour. Not only will we play songs from the record, but we are also preparing special rarely played songs from earlier albums to the present. Let’s have a fun time together!”

Tickets for the 21-and-over show at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville are available online, at Dave's Music Mine in the South Side, Jerry's Records in Squirrel Hill, and Juke Records in Bloomfield. The band played in Pittsburgh previously in 2016 and 2011. Spirit is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

2018 animated film Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう) returns to Pittsburgh (this time dubbed in English), September 23.

An English-dubbed version of the 2018 Japanese animated film Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (さよならの朝に約束の花をかざろう) will play at Southside Works Cinema on September 23. The Anime News Network provides a summary:

Maquia is from a clan where all the members stop aging in their mid teens. She has no parents and, although her days are peaceful, she feels lonely. Their peace is shattered when an army invades, seeking the secret to her people's immortality. Leilia, the most beautiful girl in her clan, is taken away, and the boy Maquia has secret feelings for disappears. Maquia is able to escape, but she loses her friends and her home. Wandering alone in the forest, she finds Erial, a baby boy who has lost his parents. The story follows the changing relationship between the two as Erial grows up and Maquia does not.

The movie first played in Pittsburgh in July, premiered in Japan on February 24, and was the fifth-highest-grossing movie there its opening weekend.

Tickets for the 7:00 pm show are now available online. The theater is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

"Night at the Movies" with Mori, the Artist's Habitat (モリのいる場所) and shakuhachi performance, September 23 at Pitt.

The Japanese Nationality Room is sponsoring an event to coincide with a screening of the 2018 film Mori, the Artist's Habitat (モリのいる場所) on September 23 as part of this year's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival. From the Japan Association of Greater Pittsburgh's mailing list:

The Japanese Nationality Room is sponsoring “Night at the Japanese Movie" on Sunday, September 23. This special evening will also include Japanese Shakuhachi and Koto performances. We hope you enjoy a wonderful evening of Japanese culture with your family and friends.

Place: Auditorium on the 7thFloor of Alumni Hall at University of Pittsburgh

(Alumni Hall is across the 5thAvenue from Cathedral of Learning)

https://www.tour.pitt.edu/tour/alumni-hall

Time: 4:00 pm. The Theater and Ticket desk Opens.

4:15 pm. Shakuhachi and Koto Performance and Talk on “This Summer Experiences in Japan” by the Shakuhachi musician.

5:00 pm. Screening of a Japanese Movie: Mori, the Artist’s Habitat

The screening of this Japanese movie is a part of the 2018 Silk Screen Summer Festival, and will cost $10 per person for the general audience, but the Japanese Nationality Room is offering a special discount of $5 per person for the first 50 people who reserve seats through the JNR. Please order directly by emailing Sono Takano sonohayes@gmail.com and specify your full name and the number of tickets you will need. We will maintain a list of reserved tickets and you may pay at the ticket table at the Auditorium on Sunday, 9/23.

Pitt hiring student worker for "Japan support, website development" for Tale of the Heike (平家物語 ) site.

The University of Pittsburgh's University Center for International Studies is hiring a student worker to help build a website in support of a class on the epic Japanese text Tale of the Heike (平家物語).

The University of Pittsburgh is seeking a student worker to help with website development. Specifically, developing a website resource for reading and teaching Tale of the Heike.

Job Requirements
Develop the website, proofread content for the class website.

The pay is $12 per hour and those interested should apply through Pittsource.

"New Voices from Japan: Engagement and Dialogue with Emerging Policy Experts from Japan," September 7 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host "Voices from Japan: Engagement and Dialogue with Emerging Policy Experts from Japan" on September 7. This annual panel discussion will bring the following scholars and topics to Pitt this year:

• Saya Kiba, "Japan's Engagement in Meeting Security Needs in Southeast Asia."
• Takemasa Sekine, "Japan's Leadership in International Trade Rule-Making."
• Akai Ohi, "'The Politics of Reform': A Guide to Understanding Contemporary Japanese Political Confrontation."

The talk starts at 12:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Parts 1 and 2 of Laughing Under the Clouds Gaiden (曇天に笑う外伝) trilogy at Row House Cinema, August 31 and September 2.

The Row House Cinema will screen parts 1 and 2 of the Laughing Under the Clouds Gaiden trilogy on August 31 and September 2. Anime News Network provides a synopsis:

The manga includes stories not told in the original manga, including some from the past and some from the future. The original manga's story takes place in the 11th year of the Meiji era, when the number of people in Japan who feel dissatisfaction toward the government are increasing due to the increasing speed of Westernization and the ban on samurai. In order to curb the increased rate of crime, the government opens a new prison. The three brothers of the Kumo family are entrusted with the duty of transporting these criminals to the new prison, but adventures await them on the way.

The trilogy's third installment opens in Japan on September 1. The movies will play for two shows only, and tickets are available online (August 31, September 2). The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Marlina The Murder in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) at Parkway Theater, from August 24.

The 2018 movie Marlina The Murder in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) will play at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks from August 24. A June New York Times review writes:

An unwavering slow burn, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts” goes down exactly as announced. Marlina, a young widow living in remote Indonesia, spills blood in a story that plays out in four discrete acts. Each of the titled acts telegraphs some impending event (“The Robbery,” “The Birth”) and is clearly meant to create a mild sense of anticipation, much like the movie’s own explanatory title. Mostly, these are self-aware art-film touches ornamenting a blunt rape-revenge story that leans heavily and sometimes effectively on its sweeping landscapes, aesthetic violence, nods to Sergio Leone and what comes across as an overt debt to Jia Zhang-ke’s “Touch of Sin.”

The movie plays on August 24 (7:00 pm and 9:00 pm), August 25 (5:00 pm, 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm), August 28 (7:00 pm), August 29 (7:00 pm, 9:00 pm), and August 30 (7:00 pm). The theater is located at 644 Broadway Ave. in McKees Rocks (map). The movie will also play throughout Pittsburgh in September as part of the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.

Selections from September's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival free for Pitt students, faculty, and staff.

The University of Pittsburgh's campus will host several screenings of next month's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival, and these selections will be free to those students, faculty, and staff with valid Pitt ID cards. These screenings include:

• Alifu the Prince/ss (阿莉芙; Taiwan, 2017) - September 28, 125 Frick Fine Arts Auditorium at 8:30
• Dynamite Graffiti (素敵なダイナマイトスキャンダル; Japan, 2018) - September 29, 125 Frick Fine Arts Auditorium at 9:00
• Marlina The Murder in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak; Indonesia+Malaysia+Thailand, 2018) - September 23, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium at 7:30
• Missing Johnny (強尼．凱克; Taiwan, 2017) - September 28, Alumni Hall at 7:30
• Mori, the Artist's Habitat (モリのいる場所; Japan, 2018) - September 23, Alumni Hall at 5:00 pm; September 29, 125 Frick Fine Arts Auditorium at 3:00
• The Return (Denmark+South Korea, 2018) - September 23, 125 Frick Fine Arts Auditorium at 5:30

Take advantage of free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes in Pittsburgh this semester.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is an invaluable source of free and enriching programming for people of all ages. Most relevant to this site are the free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean courses at an increasing number of branches. The start of a new school year is an excellent time to revisit this list of free courses available for children, complete novices, high-beginners, intermediate learners, and advanced speakers.

SAP Ariba hiring for bilingual Mandarin-English Procurement Operations Specialist positions in Pittsburgh.

SAP Ariba, "the world’s business commerce network," is again hiring for overnight bilingual Mandarin-English Procurement Operations Specialist positions in Pittsburgh. The job posting, via a staffing agency:

Description:
Mandarin/English language skills Sun-TH 8PM-5 AM -18.27

Job Description Overview

The Procurement Operations Specialist is the face and voice of Company to our customers, building relationships in each interaction. Specialists help our customers maximize the benefits of Ariba solutions to facilitate a global exchange of goods and services in the world's largest business to business trading community. They use their expertise and collaborate with team members and customers across the globe to provide detailed solutions that exceed expectations.