"Hope Without Future: Hong Kong Young People And Stories Of Present Livability" at Pitt, October 16.

The University of Pittsburgh will host Dr. Kevin Ming of Project Share Hong Kong and his talk "Hope Without Future: Hong Kong Young People And Stories Of Present Livability" on October 16.

Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong is a part of the ecologically vital, heavily populated, and hyper-urbanizing Pearl River delta region. As in many parts of the world, the people there, and the environment in which they live, are caught up in a mix of rapid development projects, cumulative environmental disasters, fraught population movements, and diverse forms of social-ecological dis-placement. Drawing from a number of years of ethnographic research in the region, this talk will trace some of the uneven impacts this entails through a discussion of how young people in Yuen Long are experiencing, navigating, and surviving these changing conditions, and how in turn they are responding. While these responses include nativism and democracy activism, as widely reported in local and international media, they also include what I call ordinary-fantastic stories of present livability. Articulating diverse imaginations of community and mutualistic belonging, these stories are both situated within the specific muddle of realities in the New Territories and are entangled in broader questions of accelerating dis-placements and diminishing life ecologies. I conclude with a discussion of what these stories have to tell us about emergent livabilities for young people in Hong Kong, or the worldings of ordinary imaginings that are fantastic and unlikely urges towards flourishing life.

The talk runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in 4217 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public. It is part of International Education Week.

Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania 2017 Autumn Symposium (西賓州中文教師學會2017 年秋季研討會), October 15 at CMU.

The agenda for the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania 2017 Autumn Symposium (西賓州中文教師學會2017 年秋季研討會), scheduled for October 15 at Carnegie Mellon University, was just released.



The mission of the CLTA-WPA is described thus:

The mission of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania (CLTA-WPA) is to:

1. Promote the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in the western Pennsylvania area
2. Help improve and strengthen Chinese language and culture instruction
3. Establish a forum for exchanging information, expertise, ideas, experiences, and materials about Chinese education
4. Serve the community in promoting quality Chinese education

Registration is required, and can be completed online. The event registration fee is $20, though this is waived for CLTA-WPA members. The event runs from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at room 100 of Porter Hall (map).

Live-action Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種) movie in Pittsburgh, from October 16.

The new live-action movie Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種) will play at the Southside Works Cinema from October 16 through 19. A synopsis, from the distributor:

Riddled with gripping fight scenes and tasteful gore, this adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul brings the popular manga series to life like never before.

Buried in books and a quiet life, Ken Kaneki is all but dead to the world in an age where flesh-eating ghouls live among us. But when his only chance for survival is an organ donation that turns him into a ghoul-human hybrid, he finds sanctuary at Anteiku—a café run by the people he once considered monsters. Targeted by anti-ghoul forces, this safe house is up against a hunger more sickening than their own. When their most innocent members are threatened by humanity’s taste for vengeance, Kaneki will risk life and limb to protect the very world that changed his own.

The movie was released on July 29 in Japan.

Tickets and showtime information is available online via the theater's website. Southside Works Cinema is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map).

George Takei to speak at Pitt, October 17; musical film Allegiance on October 15.

Via @georgehtakei

The University of Pittsburgh will host activist, actor, and author George Takei on October 17 as the keynote speaker of this year's International Education Week.

With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise. But George Takei's story goes where few stories have gone before. From a childhood spent with his family wrongfully imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp during WWII, to becoming one of the country's leading figures in the fight for social justice, LGBTQ rights, and marriage equality—George Takei remains a powerful voice on issues ranging from politics to pop culture.

On Sunday, October 15th, the film adaptation of the musical Allegiance will play at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. A symopsis of the film, from the musical's website:

Allegiance illuminates one of American history’s lesser known chapters as it tells the story of Sam Kimura (Takei), transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Telly Leung, Godspell, “Glee”) and his sister Kei (Tony Award®-winner Lea Salonga, Miss Saigon, Mulan) fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. An important story told with great resonance and intimacy, Allegiance explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.

Both events will begin at 7:00 pm, and tickets are available via the International Week website.

Handa City Nihon Buyo workshop at Pitt, October 14.

"Eiko Hayashi, Nihon Buyô – danse du Kabuki (Musée Guimet)" by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra [Creative Commons].

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a Handa City Nihon Buyo workshop on October 14.

Join the Asian Studies Center and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 14 from 9:30-11:30 am for a Japanese dance workshop on Nihon Buyo (日本舞踊). Nihon Buyo is a form of dance that grew out of Kabuki theater movements. A presentation, followed by a short performance of Nihon Buyo will be given by dance master Shinojo Nishikawa and her troupe. At the end of the performance, participants will learn a Nihon Buyo based dance-fitness routine (please wear comfortable clothing if you would like to participate).

This workshop is free and open to the public.

(light refreshments will be served at 9:30 and the presentation will begin at 10:00)

The event will be held at the O'Hara Student Center in Oakland (map). Reservations are required by October 11 and those interested should email Patrick Hughes at hughespw at pitt.edu.

Pitt hiring bilingual Mandarin-English temporary liaison.

The University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business Center for Executive Education is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English liaison for a temporary position.

The candidate will work closely with the Director of Operations to provide logistical support for the Shougang Executive Education program. The candidate will attend all academic sessions, all site visits and all meetings with the Shougang and WholeRen team. Where necessary, the candidate will provide verbal and written translation services.

Job Requirements
Fluent in Mandarin and English (spoken and written). Experience in business. MBA and work in educational programs a plus. Must be able to attend all academic sessions and site visits. Must be able to work independently.

The job pays $17 per hour and is 30 hours per week. Those interested should apply via PittSource.

Jackie Chan's The Foreigner in Pittsburgh, from October 12.

Jackie Chan's forthcoming movie The Foreigner will open in Pittsburgh, and throughout the US, on October 12. A plot summary, from the official site:

The film tells the story of humble London businessman Quan (Chan), whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.

In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat- and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers

The movie will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater, Southside Works Cinema, Phoenix Theaters Chartiers Valley in Bridgeville, and at several other locations in the area, with ticket and showtime information available online.

Bae Bae's Kitchen opens downtown.

via @baebaeskitchen.

Bae Bae's Kitchen, a new Korean-owned "Asian inspired" restaurant, opened Saturday at 951 Liberty Ave. (map) in the Cultural District. A menu is not available yet, but its social media says it specializes in organic, sustainable, and healthy cuisine.

"The Magic of K-Pop: A Cultural Consumption Perspective" at Pitt, October 20.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host Dr. Yun-Oh Whang of the Katz Graduate School of Business and his talk "The Magic of K-Pop: A Cultural Consumption Perspective" on October 20.

The rise of Korean music (K-Pop) around the world in the last two decades has been a mystery to many industry experts. Some compares it to the explosion of British rock and roll in 1960s (“The British Invasion”), calling it “The Korean Wave (Han-Ryu)”. Even though it is not a part of the main stream music worldwide, it definitely deserves our attention as a cultural sensation. What is the magic ingredient of K-Pop for its worldwide popularity? How has a tiny country such as South Korea become a major exporter of a cultural product? We will first discuss the history of the rise of K-Pop and try to identify the answers to these questions. Our focus will be on K-Pop as a cultural product and examine the market forces including the consumers who adopted K-Pop as their music of choice.

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

Japanese rock band Boris (ボリス) in Pittsburgh, October 27.

Japanese band Boris (ボリス) will play at Mr. Smalls Theater on October 27. Boris---which has tried to eschew labels but has been labelled heavy metal and experimental rock---is touring Europe and the US for its 25th Anniversary Tour. The Pittsburgh City-Paper summarized Boris ahead of a 2007 show here:

Three Japanese musicians merge into one pure vacuum of rock influence by absorbing every hyphenated, italicized and marginalized genre. Atsuo (drums), Wata (guitar) and Takeshi (bass) have fashioned a stellar compass of sounds since they first coalesced in 1992. Boris affords its members a sort of artistic invisibility, a singular tri-dentity capable of boundless experimentation. Last names are always withheld and song credits littered with intentional errors to further dissociate the music from its makers.

Tickets for the all-ages show are $18 to $20 online. Mr. Smalls Theatre is located at 400 Lincoln Ave. in Millvale (map).