"Rotating to the Top: How Career Tracks Matter in the Chinese Communist Regime," October 2 at Pitt.

via mit.edu

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Political Science will host Yiqing Xu of the University of California San Diego and his talk "Rotating to the Top: How Career Tracks Matter in the Chinese Communist Regime" on October 2.

This paper takes a novel perspective on the selection of leaders by depicting the importance of career tracks. Using full and alternate Central Committee members of the Chinese Communist Party from 1982 to 2017, we measure career tracks - both the horizontal and vertical movement of individuals - using machines learning techniques, and link them with political selection. Our main finding is that career tracks play an important role in the Chinese political system despite the in influence of patronage networks. In addition, when comparing the roles of career tracks and personal ties over time, we find suggestive evidence that Chinese politics becomes more paternalistic in the 19th Party Congress.

The talk runs from 12:00 to 1:30 pm in 4801 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

2016 Japanese animated movie A Silent Voice (聲の形) at Pitt, September 21.

The Pitt Japanese Student Association will screen the 2016 Japanese animated movie A Silent Voice (聲の形) on Friday, September 21. A synopsis of the film from the distributor:

The story begins with a deaf elementary school girl named Shoko Nishimiya, who transfers to a new school and meets a boy named Shoya Ishida. Shoya, who is not deaf, leads the school in bullying Shoko over her disability. The bullying escalates, and so Shoko transfers to another school. Immediately, the class and even Shoya's closest friends, bully him for having bullied Shoko. Shoya loses contact with Shoko, and for years he suffers the consequences of his guilt. Upon entering high school, Shoya finally decides he must find Shoko, determined to make amends for what he did in elementary school and to become Shoko's friend. Along the way, he meets new and old faces, and struggles with many complicated relationships and feelings.

It runs from 8:00 to 10:00 pm in room G-8 of the Cathedral of Learning, and is free and open to Pitt students interested in Japanese culture, movie, language, or stuff.

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

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.

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) in Pittsburgh, September 30, October 1, and October 3.

The classic Japanese animated film My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) is celebrating its 30th anniversary and will play in Pittsburgh, September 30, October 1, and October 3 as part of this year's GKIDS Ghibli Fest. From a 2001 Roger Ebert review:

Miyazaki's films are above all visually enchanting, using a watercolor look for the backgrounds and working within the distinctive Japanese anime tradition of characters with big round eyes and mouths that can be as small as a dot or as big as a cavern. They also have an unforced realism in the way they notice details; early in ''Totoro,'' for example, the children look at a little waterfall near their home, and there on the bottom, unremarked, is a bottle someone threw into the stream.

The movie tells the story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe. As the story opens, their father is driving them to their new house, near a vast forest. Their mother, who is sick, has been moved to a hospital in this district. Now think about that. The film is about two girls, not two boys or a boy and a girl, as all American animated films would be. It has a strong and loving father, in contrast to the recent Hollywood fondness for bad or absent fathers. Their mother is ill; does illness exist in American animation?

The September 30 and October 3 shows are dubbed in English while the October 1 show is in Japanese with English subtitles. The film will play at the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson.

Japanese Language Social Hour, September 18 at Pitt.

Via Yasuda Women's University.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center is hosting a Japanese Language Social Hour on Tuesday, September 18, with the group of students from Yasuda Women's University spending the term at the English Language Institute. From the Asian Studies Center newsletter:

Interesting in practicing your Japanese language with native speakers? The Asian Studies Center is partnering with students from Yasuda University in Japan who are studying English at Pitt's English Language Institute. We will organize a series of games to encourage Japanese/English conversations and hopefully many participants will find a language partner. Please join us on Tuesday evening September 18 at 4:30 pm in 4130 Posvar for an evening of language and culture exchange. Free pizza and drinks will be provided. Please email asia@pitt.edu if you are interested in attending.

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.