NORTHEAST ASIA COUNCIL AWARD
Dr. Nobuaki Takahashi, Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, has received a $400 award from the Northeast Asia Council and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission to support a Japanese Cultural Workshop.
FULBRIGHT VISITING SPECIALIST: DIRECT ACCESS TO THE MUSLIM WORLD PROGRAM
During the fall 2007 semester, ECU will host Dr. Aslam Khaki. Dr. Khaki teaches Islamic Studies in Pakistan and is the author of a book entitled “Islam and Human Rights”. He has previously visited the US on a cultural exchange/inter-faith dialogue program and will be available to talk about a range of issues such as: fundamentals of Islam, violence and non-violence in religion, Jew-Christian-Muslim relationship (Islamic Perspective), concept of Jihad in Islam, experience & interfaith conflicts in Pakistan, process of Islamization in Pakistan and its effects at national & global levels. Other issues to cover may be tailored to specific classes and faculty interests.
PRESS RELEASE SCHEDULE
JAPAN FOUNDATION SHORT-TERM RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Dr. John Tucker received a Short-term Research Fellowship from the Japan Foundation, making possible a month of translation and compilation of Japanese writings on Confucian philosophy at the Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture, Nanzan University, in Nagoya, Japan. Dr. Tucker contributed to the selection of approximately 50,000 words of textual material that will be included in the Nanzan Source Book in Japanese Philosophy, to be published jointly by the Nanzan Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture and the University of Hawai'i Press. Both prior to and following his work at Nanzan University, Dr. Tucker made stop overs in Honolulu to discuss the project with philosophy faculty as well as editors at the University of Hawai'i Press.
JAPAN FOUNDATION: LIBRARY SUPPORT PROGRAM
Joyner Library and the ECU Asian Studies Program received a gift of books valued at over $4000 from the Japan Foundation through its Institutional Support for Japanese Studies: Library Support Program.
FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD GRANT
Dr. John Tucker was notified that he had received funding for a U. S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays' Group Project Abroad in the amount of $78,000.00. In order to pursue his work at Nanzan, Tucker has deferred acceptance of the Group Projects Abroad grant until the summer of 2008. He will be taking 12 K-12 teachers, from the Pitt County, NC area, on a seminar tour of Japan, with a focus on history and culture. The teachers will be based in Kyoto, Japan, the ancient imperial capital. They will also travel to Kamakura, the home of the first hereditary shogunate; Tokyo, the modern capital; Nara, an ancient imperial capital; and Hiroshima. The tentative dates for the trip are June 10-July 10, 2008.
ABSTRACT JAPAN FOUNDATION NEW YORK ARTS AND CULTURE GRANT
Professor Nobuyoshi Asaoka (Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures) has received a $1500 grant from the Japan Foundation New York to fund a beginning calligraphy workshop in March 2007.
The workshop aims to introduce participants to the traditional Japanese art of calligraphy. The workshop will begin with a brief lecture using PowerPoint on the history of Japanese calligraphy, focusing on what Japanese calligraphy is and how the tradition has been practiced in Japan. Participants will also develop an appreciation of this art by comparing good, bad, and excellent calligraphic examples. They will then learn basic techniques, practice balances, strokes, stops, and splashes. The calligrapher, Professor Asaoka, and several ECU Japanese students volunteers will demonstrate these techniques. They will then assist the participants individually in learning these techniques. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to write a word of their choice on rice paper. Their calligraphic work will be decorated in a traditional Japanese way. As part of the proposed workshop, participants would receive a calligraphy brush, an ink container, and a bottle of ink so that they can continue to practice the calligraphy techniques they have learned.
JAPAN FOUNDATION CENTER FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP GRANTS
Dr. John Tucker (Department of History) received a $5,000 grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership to fund a workshop for Greenville-Pitt County middle and high school social science teachers. The workshop is called, "Discovering Japanese History and Culture through Anime : A Multidisciplinary Examination of Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke." This workshop took place on Saturday, February 25, 2006, on the ECU campus.
Dr. Tucker received a $5,000.00 grant from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership to fund a workshop for Greenville-Pitt County middle and high school social science teachers. The workshop, "Representations of the Feminine in Japanese Literary and Popular Culture," took place on Saturday, October 7, 2006, on the ECU campus.
IFSA FOUNDATION GRANT FOR STUDY ABROAD
Dr. Sylvie Debevec Henning (International Studies Program) received a $15000 grant from the IFSA Foundation for 2006-2007 and $25000 for 2007-2008 for semester or academic year scholarships for study in Eastern Europe, Russia, Eurasia or Asia. Awards are typically $2500 for a semester and $5000 for an academic year.
PHI KAPPA PHI PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE GRANT
Dr. Sylvie Debevec Henning received a $500 grant from the Honor Society of Pki Kappa Phi for a series of cultural events during the 2006-2007 academic year.
