Japanese Language Social Hour, September 18 at Pitt.

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.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, September 18.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on September 18 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese for children and their parents or caregivers. For children age birth – 5 and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Pipa soloist Yang Jin in Oakland, September 23.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's branch in Oakland hosts pipa soloist Yang Jin on September 23 as part of its World Kaleidoscope series.

Haikyuu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (ハイキュー!! コンセプトの戦い) in Pittsburgh, from September 19.

The Japanese animated movie Haikyuu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (ハイキュー!! コンセプトの戦い) will play in Pittsburgh from September 19.

Based on the 3rd season of the popular TV anime series Haikyuu!!, the compilation film focuses on the Karasuno High Boys volleyball team preparing for their final face off to represent the prefecture in the volleyball national championship.

Despite being known as "The Fallen Champions", Karasuno High boys volleyball team is highly determined to take down the powerhouse, Shiratorizawa High boys volleyball team. As Hinata comes closer to fulfilling his promise of defeating Ushijima's team, will the "Flightless Crows" finally find their wings and soar above the best school in the prefecture?

The movie will play at the Southside Works Cinema on September 19 and 22, and at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont the 19th, 22nd, and 23rd. Tickets for both locations are available online. Southside Works Cinema is located at 425 Cinema Drive in the Southside, one block from the Hot Metal Bridge (map), and the Hollywood Theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

2018 OCA Free Medical and Dental Clinic, with free medical consultation and Chinese-language interpretation, October 15 in Oakland.

The Organization of Chinese Americans Pittsburgh chapter will hold its annual OCA Free Medical and Dental Clinic on October 15 at the UPMC Montefiore Hospital in Oakland. The clinic provides free medical consultation and Chinese-language interpretation to the local Chinese communities.

Taiwanese tea chain Chatime (日出茶太) to open first Pittsburgh-area location on September 20.

via @chatime.tw

The Taiwanese tea chain Chatime (日出茶太) will open its first Pittsburgh-area location on September 20 in Ross Park Mall.

Chatime is the next trend in beverages. A unique Tea concept that is dedicated to make Tea a healthier, refreshing and fun alternative to Coffee.

And from the Chatime official site:

We are committed to producing high quality products, brewed from the freshest ingredients, with the fullest flavours from one of eastern lifestyle.

The word “Cha” means tea in Taiwan. So technically ‘chatime’ could be loosely translated into ‘teatime’. Finest teas from Taiwan and unique flavour of bubble tea bring new drinks tea style for good user experience in the whole world.

It will open on the second floor near Pac Sun. Ross Park Mall is located at 1000 Ross Park Mall Drive in the North Hills (map).

Tickets now available for new Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ), in Pittsburgh on November 29, December 5, December 8.

Tickets for the new Japanese animated film Mirai (未来のミライ), playing in Pittsburgh from November 29, went on sale this morning. A synopsis, from the distributor:

From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan’s Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning “future”), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun’s entire family. As his mother returns to work, and his father struggles to run the household, Kun becomes increasingly jealous of baby Mirai... until one day he storms off into the garden, where he encounters strange guests from the past and future – including his sister Mirai, as a teenager. Together, Kun and teenage Mirai go on a journey through time and space, uncovering their family’s incredible story. But why did Mirai come from the future?

An official selection at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and the epic capstone of director Mamoru Hosoda’s career, Mirai is a sumptuous, magical, and emotionally soaring adventure about the ties that bring families together and make us who we are.

The movie will play in the Pittsburgh area on November 29, December 5, and December 8, with some shows dubbed in English and others in Japanese with English subtitles. It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the Cinemark Theaters in Monroeville and Robinson, the Regal Crown Center Stadium theater in Washington, and the AMC Classic Westmoreland in Greensburg. Tickets are now available online.

"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.