Pitt hiring Assistant Instructor of Chinese.

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

The University of Pittsburgh seeks an Assistant Instructor of Chinese to work in The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA. Duties include teaching both recitations and lectures of language courses, with a 3/3 course workload, as well as working closely with the language coordinator to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Chinese language program. Will also collaborate with Asianists in other units (e. g., the Asian Studies Center) to promote Chinese language learning and China studies. Will also lecture in English on Chinese grammar, vocabulary, and contexts in which the language is used as well as provide students opportunities to use the language grammatically correctly and in socially appropriate ways through practice in recitation sections that are conducted exclusively in Mandarin Chinese. Will meet with students to discuss and advise on academic issues as appropriate and monitor their progress as well as supervise and train part-time instructors.

Must have a master’s degree (or foreign equivalent degree) in Chinese language pedagogy, Asian Civilizations, Linguistics, foreign language pedagogy, or a related field plus one (1) year of experience teaching Chinese at the college/university level in a North American institution.

Must also have: (i) demonstrated excellence in teaching as measured through student evaluations/teaching surveys; (ii) any experience with the use of course management technology (e.g., Blackboard); (iii) any knowledge of the Chinese as a Foreign Language field as well as the general foreign language pedagogy theory and practice in the United States; (iv) working with the language coordinator, students, other department faculty; (v) student advisement; and (vi) engaging in professional development to further her/his skills and knowledge.

Those interested should apply through Interfolio via the Pitt website.

"The Influence of Japanese Ceramics," online with Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, August 19.

via Guerrero Ceramics.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host local artist Jeff Guerrero and his talk "The Influence of Japanese Ceramics" on August 19.

Why have western ceramic artists continuously looked to Japan for inspiration over the past century? How has the American craft revival been influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and ethos? Join ceramic artist and educator Jeff Guerrero for a journey through the history of Japanese ceramics and its influences on Western art.

Sushi Fuku rebrands as Atarashi.

Starting this month Sushi Fuku has rebranded as Atarashi. It has a simliar menu and the same ownership and will operate the same three locations: Craig St., Oakland Ave. and UPMC Presbyterian. Atarashi means new in Japanese.

August Book Club: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim, August 27 at Maridon Museum.

Butler County's Maridon Museum will read and discuss Miracle Creek by Angie Kim in its August Book Club meeting on August 27. A brief synospis, from the author's site:

In the rural Virginia town of Miracle Creek, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine—a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives” with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community.

The meetings will be held in person from 3:00 to 4:00 pm but will also have a Zoom component for people not comfortable gathering at this time. Those interested in registering should call 724-282-0123 or email info@maridon.org. The Maridon Museum is an Asian art museum in Butler County that holds frequent movie screenings, classes, and book club meetings, in addition to the art exhibitions that take place when there isn't a pandemic.

Chiang Mai Noodle now open in Oakland.

Chiang Mai Noodle has opened in North Oakland, located at 256 N. Craig Street (map) in what was most recently Pad Thai Noodle (and three Vietnamese restaurants in recent years).

New Chinese restaurant under construction on Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

Permits have been issued for work on a new Chinese restaurant in Squirrel Hill. A building permit for 5867 Forbes Ave. (map) to "Build a small restaurant" was issued last month, the contracter being ABC Global, a consulting firm owned by a local Chinese businessperson involved in numerous Chinese restaurant and grocery projects. The lcoation was formerly home to Capriccio Boutique.

TBT: Rina Sawayama in Pittsburgh.

via @deltafoundation and Mark Simpson Photography

Rina Sawayama has been in the news for the British Awards exclusion, and was very briefly in the local news here last year when she opened for Toni Braxton at last June's Pride Rocks PGH concert.


via @deltafoundation and Mark Simpson Photography

2013 animated film Patema Inverted (サカサマのパテマ) online at Row House Cinema, part of Japanese Film Week, from July 31.

The 2013 animated film Patema Inverted (サカサマのパテマ) will play online at Row House Cinema as part of Japanese Film Week from July 31. From a 2014 New York Times review:

An orphaned girl and a fatherless boy bridge opposing societies in “Patema Inverted,” a delightful animated fable from Yasuhiro Yoshiura.

When a scientific experiment goes awry, the laws of physics go nuts, and a subset of humans is forced underground, where gravity has been reversed. In this inverted world of tunnels and caverns, the sky is a terrifying blue-and-white hole for the unwary — like the 14-year-old Patema — to fall into.

Meanwhile, on the surface, young Age and his school friends aren’t faring much better under a totalitarian regime that forbids them to look toward the heavens.

Similar to Juan Solanas’s little-seen 2013 love story, “Upside Down,” this “Can we get along?” movie literalizes a physical attraction that acts as a counterargument to the divided worlds’ insistence on separation.

Ticket information is coming soon. Two other films comprise Japanese Film Week, which actually runs two weeks through August 13: A Girl Missing (よこがお) and We Are Little Zombies (ウィーアーリトルゾンビーズ) , both from 2019.

Replay of "A Conversation Too Long Ignored: How COVID-19, Xenophobia and Systemic Racism Disenfranchise the Marginalized Communities of Pittsburgh" from Pitt Diversity Forum 2020 now available.

This year's installment of the annual Pitt Diversity Forum, titled Advancing Social Justice: A Call To Action, featured a number of topics related to Asian-America and xenophobia on July 29. A replay of the livestream of "A Conversation Too Long Ignored: How COVID-19, Xenophobia and Systemic Racism Disenfranchise the Marginalized Communities of Pittsburgh" with Marian M. Lien, Josiah Gilliam, and James Cook is now available:

Crazy Rich Asians at Waterworks Cinema, July 29 and 30.

The movie Crazy Rich Asians is playing at the Waterworks Cinema on July 29 and 30. A summary of the film, from the distributor:

"Crazy Rich Asians” follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can definitely complicate things.

Tickets for the two 7:40 pm shows are available online. The theater is located at the Waterworks Shopping Mall across the river from Higland Park (map).