LITERATURES OF THE ASIAN DIASPORA
A FOCUS GRANT PROJECT in
Comparative Literature at Penn State
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Wrap-Up Meeting and Mini Conference June 19-21 Agenda Literatures of the Asian Diaspora An NEH Focus Group 2002-2003 Department of Comparative Literature The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 http:/ /www .persona1.psu.edulusers/d/j/djt 188/index.htm |
Professor Karen Tei Yamashita
Thursday June 19.102 Kern Building. on campus
12:15 p.m.: Lunch and discussion. Overview.
1: 15-3:00 p.m.: Conversation with Kamal Verma (University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown): diasporic theory and the Indian diaspora (introductory chapter from his book Indian Imagination)
3: 15-5:00 p.m.: Islam in Europe: Turkish-German writers. Hulya Unlu will lead discussion -- she has generously translated part of Alev Tekinay's novel The Crying Pomegranate specifically for our focus group.
6:30 p.m.: Dinner (at Carey Eckhardt's house)
Friday. June 20.2003.102 Kern Building
9:30-11:00 a.m.: Conversation with Karen Yamashita (University of California at Santa Cruz) about her work and about writing, literary theory, the Asian presence in the U.S. and in Brazil, etc. (Reading: Through the Arc of the Rain Forest)
11: 15.: Continuation of above. Also, revisiting concepts of diaspora: what makes a literary text diasporic? what makes a diasporic text literary?
12: 15 Lunch (Kern cafeteria)
1:30-3: 15: Expanding the curriculum: we will aim both to make a draft of a syllabus for a new course, Literatures of the Asian Diaspora, and to consider ways to incorporate Asian diasporic texts into other courses. This will be a pragmatic working session. Please suggest any text, or type of text, you might want to see included.
3:30-5:00: What comes next? --aside from curricular outcomes, and the completion of our website, next-steps we may want to discuss include (a) relationship between our project and initiatives underway at the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center; (b) relationship between our project and the upcoming 2-year funding, by our Institute for the Arts and Humanities, of the II Asia in the Age of Globalization II faculty group, ( c ) possibility of holding a conference; ( d) possibility of collaborative research --is anyone interested in submitting an NEH Collaborative Research grant together? ( e ) possibility of fostering translations --how to identify works that should be translated, how to find translators and publication outlets; (f) an NEH Summer Institute grant, etc.
6:00 p.m. Dinner (at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1221 E. College Avenue), followed by "The Inter- Asian Diaspora," an evening of diasporic film, with introduction by Philip Mosley:
(I) BLACKBOARDS (2000). Drama by Iranian director Sarnira Makhmalbaf (daughter of KANDAHAR director Mohsen Makhmalbaf) about the education of displaced Kurds in the Iran- Iraq borderlands.
(2) INSHALLAH: DIARY OF AN AFGHAN WOMAN (2002). Documentary directed by Randall Scerbo about two relief missions to Afghanistan, before and after 9/11/01 , by Afghan- American humanitarian activist Suraya Sadeed.
The Hilton Garden Inn is near Centre Furnace Mansion, about a mile from campus. Coming from campus or the center of State College, go East on College Avenue. You will pass the Hampton Inn on your left. Continue just a little further and you will see the Hilton Garden sign on your left. Ask for the room reserved for our group {Asian Diaspora).
Saturday. June 21 session and lunch (at Reiko Tachibana's apartment)
10:00 a.m. Roundtable on transnational writers and filmmakers (are they necessarily diasporic?)
Noon. Lunch and farewells
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Kamal D. Verma, Professor of English at |
Karen Tei Yamashita, Writer and |
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Cultural Contexts: Globalization and World Literature
Mini Conference, June 19-21, 2003
Syllabi for Teaching the Literatures of the Asian Diaspora
Other Resources: Suggested Readings
Comparative Literature at Penn State
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