Wednesday, 8 September
6:30 p.m. – Korean Studies Auditorium
Indonesia, 2009 (85 min)
Indonesian with English subtitles
Director: Aditya Gumay
Cast: Atik Kanser, Reza Rahadian, Didi Petet, Niniek L. Karim
Adapted from the work of best-selling author Asma Nadia, this story focuses on Emak (Atik Kanser), a widow who leads a simple life working as a pastry cook and her son, Zein (Reza Rahadian), a struggling painter, who despite his poverty, tries to find ways to raise funds to allow his mother to fulfill her obligation as a Muslim by joining the hajj to the holy city of Makkah. A series of family challenges whittles away Emak’s meager savings as she assists all who need her without passing judgement on them, but causing Zein to consider desperate measures to find money to help her realize her dream. Emak’s wealthy neighbors and shallow local politicians seem to take the hajj for granted presenting us with what Iranian director Gholamreza Ramezani notes is a story that “reflects closely everyday life and social realities…that are easily identified by people in Muslim-majority countries.”
This screening is co-sponsored by the Muslim Societies in Asia and the Pacific (MSAP) program at the University of Hawaii.
Combining mesmerizing theatrics with dynamic, multicultural rhythms, the renowned Hands Percussion Team drum ensemble from Malaysia has been creating quite a sensation at performances around the world since it was formed in 1997 out of its founders’ desire to bring new creativity to Chinese-Malaysian drumming traditions. Since then, the troupe has received stellar critical acclaim for its approach combining respect for cultural tradition with innovative, contemporary performances on instruments drawn from a diverse range of percussion cultures.
In recent years, Hands Percussion Team has thrilled audiences at numerous international performances, ranging from Southeast Asia and China to Europe and the Middle East. According to the ensemble’s website, “the sound of a drum is part of a universal human bond, interconnecting cultures and peoples.”
The ensemble’s Kennedy Theatre performances will feature a dozen of the troupe’s energetic young drummers, whose rigorous training includes intense physical and mental discipline in addition to musical development. Also performing will be the acclaimed, Hawai‘i-based Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble.
Ticket Prices:
$16 Advance Super Saver until Sept. 5;
$20 Regular; $18 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID. (All service fees included.)
Tickets are now available online at ETicketsHawaii.com; beginning Sept 13, tickets will be also be available at Kennedy Theatre Box Office (M-F 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sept 18 from 5:00 p.m., Sept. 19 from 1:00 p.m.), or by phone, 944-2697.
The Hands Percussion Team will also perform Sept. 23 at Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Sept. 27 at Kahilu Theatre, and Sept. 29 at BYU-Hawaii.
Friday, September 10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. in the Hamilton Library, Room 301
Presented by Erenst Anip, LIS Graduate Student
In July 2010, Erenst went to Southeast Asia to be the LIS program’s first intern at the National University of Singapore Central Library where he was introduced to the inner workings of a premier university library in Asia. There, he learned about a different library system and organization. In this informal talk story session, he will share his experience in ‘finding a missing librarian’/being a junior operative, the library’s outreach and social media initiatives, KPIs and PMS, and Singapore’s favorite past time of ‘makan’.
SPEAKER BIO:
Erenst Anip is a 2nd year LIS student from Indonesia. As a future academic librarian, he focuses on digital technologies and social media features to enhance the library’s appeal to the users while keeping abreast of (Southeast) Asia area studies. He is also the project manager of Hawaii’s Digital Newspaper Project, part of Library of Congress’ National Digital Newspaper Project (NDNP). Also, he is currently the treasurer of SLA-ASIST SC.
In the Mandarin-speaking world, Stefanie Sun is more popularly known by her Mandarin name, Sun Yan Zi or Sun Yanzi (孙燕姿). She has sold over 10 million copies in Asia. With ten albums to her name, she is arguably the most successful singer from Singapore. She is also a fashion icon in Asia, being called the Kate Moss of Singapore. Stefanie Sun is also known to be best friends with fellow Pop Princess of Taiwan, Jolin Tsai. They are often performing guests in each other’s concert. Most of her songs are sung in Mandarin Chinese, with a few in English. Sun’s ability to speak various dialects is reflected in the songs she sings. In the song “Cloudy Day” (天黑黑), she sings in both Mandarin and Hokkien. It is an adaptation of a traditional Hokkien folk song that included Hokkien in the chorus.
The album Start contains 6 songs in English: covers of “Venus”, “That I Will Be Good”, “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”, “Silent All These Years”, and “Hey Jude”; and the original song “Someone”. As a singer, Sun is not known for her voice, but her physical appeal and fan base. She does most of her recording, and conducts most of her publicity events, in Taiwan, which comprises her largest audience. She also visits mainland of China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore frequently for promotional rounds . Her first album was released in June 2000, the self-titled Yan Zi (孙燕姿), published by Warner Music. The Yan Zi album sold over 330 000 copies alone in Taiwan. This was followed in December of the same year as My Desired Happiness (我要的幸福), which has also sold over 380 000 copies in Taiwan alone. Both albums achieved commercial success by having each sold over 1 000 000 copies in China.
In 2002 and 2003 Sun sang the official theme songs for Singapore’s National Day Parade: “We Will Get There” (一起走到) and “One United People” (全心全意). The former was included on the album Leave.
In early 2003, she released her fourth album titled, To Be Continued… which was also met with commercial success. It managed to sell over 250 000 copies in Taiwan and over 1 000 000 in China. Few months later, she released her seventh album with six new songs mixed with fifteen of her old songs. By the end of 2003, Stefanie Sun had sold over 7 000 000 copies in Asia with just seven albums.
In late 2003, she decided to take a one-year hiatus from making music, believing that she needed to recover her lost sense of direction in her career. She returned in late 2004 with a new album titled Stefanie, intended to be a mirror of her debut album (self-titled as well, but in Chinese). This was to symbolise her return with a fresh attitude. This album was well received by the critics in the Chinese music industry. This album sold over 2 300 000 copies in Asia; making it the most successful album from her. She also started her own company, Make Music, during this sabbatical.
A Perfect Day was released on 2005, almost one year later. Reviews of this new album have been mixed, but Sun had mentioned before that her priority was to make quality music, instead of over-commercialized products that sell well but have a lower level of artistic quality. Though this album did not reach the best commercial success, it still managed to sell over 1 000 000 copies in Asia.
In 2006, Sun was in the midst of a regional concert tour. She has staged four full-house concerts at the renowned Hong Kong Coliseum. The performances received positive reviews from the media as well as overwhelming support from fans. Sun also returned to Singapore in a much-anticipated homecoming concert. Yet, not all was smooth-sailing for her. At the Golden Melody Award 2006 in Taiwan, whilst performing renditions of other male singers’ songs, she went off-key and was heavily lambasted in the Chinese pop media, which reported that she has shattered her image of a pop diva with great singing skills. She attributed it to factors like not enough rest, jet lag, inadequate time for sufficient practice etc.
Sun’s first album under the Capitol brand is entitled Against The Light (逆光) and has been released on 22 March 2007. Her decision to leave Warner after 9 albums was partly due to music executive Sam Chen, who now works at EMI. He had collaborated with Sun on 8 of her 9 albums. On 26 February 2007, Stefanie Sun returned from Cairo where she and her team were extorted by suspected local gangsters. Sun was in Egypt to shoot a music video for her new album when two men disguised as government officials followed her and the crew and asked for money—at one point even showing a handgun. The crew tried calling the police, only for the two crooks to dismiss them with just a few words. The crew had to hand over a total of over 200,000 yuan in order to continue shooting. The extortion went on for four days. Finally, Sun and her team were able to leave the country with the help of the Singapore embassy. Upon returning home, the pop diva said nothing except that she was tired and needed some rest.
Stefanie Sun’s 10th album, Against The Light, has been a major success in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold over 60,000 copies in the first 3 days it was released. In addition, over 500,000 copies were sold within a week in Mainland China. So far, Sun has been the number one spot in Taiwanese music charts for six weeks. In 2007, Stefanie Sun sang the official theme song for ASEAN’s 40th anniversary celebrations: Rise Again. And, in May 2009, Stefanie Sun started her new world tour “The Answer is…” with her first stop being Taiwan. In this world tour, she worked with William Chang, her concert image consultant. She also sang her new song “愚人的國度”. She is hopefully going to release a new album by the end of 2010. taken from wikipedia.org
Wednesday, 15 September at 2:00 pm in Moore 319 (Tokioka Room) Presented by Dr. Takeshi Kawanaka, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Developing
Economies
Although the Philippines started the “third wave” of democratization in Asia, its democracy has been perceived as unstable. The country experienced not a few coup attempts, scandals of the Presidents, and large scale rallies on the street. Even elections, a fundamental democratic solution to the conflicts in the society, have not been able to gain the confidence of the people due to various frauds. In the 2010 elections, Noynoy Aquino, son of the two national “heroes” of democratization, was elected new President. Did the 2010 elections bring the hope for democratic consolidation? Or was the same old game merely repeated? We will try to assess the impact of the 2010 Philippine elections.
SPEAKER BIO:
TAKESHI KAWANAKA is Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan. His research interests are in political institutions and political economy of new democracies. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Kobe University, and conducted research at the University of the Philippines, Stanford University, and Ateneo de Manila University as visiting scholar.
Christian Razukas (MA, Asian Studies) finished an exchange semester at the National University of Singapore and now works as an editor at the Jakarta Post. Christian and fellow journalist Teguh Santosa (MA, Political Science) welcomed Professor Emeritus Alice Dewey (Anthropology) to Jakarta for a seminar in March 2010 to discuss Anne Dunham-Soetoro’s (Ph.D., Anthropology) dissertation on micro-financing in Indonesia. Dewey spoke on a panel with Teguh, Jakarta Post columnist Julia Suryakusuma, the Minister of Marine and Fisheries Fadel Muhammad, Jakarta’s Deputy Governor Aurora Tambunan, and the Vice President of the Indonesian Senate.
Congratulations to Christian and our best wishes on his future endeavors!
CSEAS Alumni & Community
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Join the CSEAS Alumni & Community group on LinkedIn.
9 September 2010 – 9 January 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
For its major fall exhibition, the Academy highlights its important but little seen collection of Southeast Asian Art. On view will be approximately 150 works of art from Thailand and Cambodia, many of which have never been displayed at the museum.
Visitors will travel through time and regions via three sections: The Neolithic and Bronze ages in Thailand and Cambodia; the Khmer kingdom, which dominated the central Southeast Asian peninsula from the 9th through the 15th centuries; and the Sukhothai kingdom, generally considered the first major Thai kingdom and the progenitor of the modern Thai state, which flourished from the 13th through the 15th centuries. The exhibition will cover the artistic and cultural developments of three important Southeast Asian cultures (Ban Chiang, Khmer, and Sukhothai) over more than 4,000 years, going from vibrantly decorated Neolithic earthenware ceramics to a dazzling gold Buddhist sculpture.
This exhibition is a chance for the public to discover a major resource in Hawaii for the study of Southeast Asia, and it promotes a greater awareness and appreciation of Southeast Asian cultural and artistic traditions in the Hawaii community.
The exhibition and its educational programs are supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.
SPECIAL PROGRAMMING:
Lecture series:
Public lectures by University of Hawaii professors Miriam Stark and Paul Lavy will greatly illuminate the works on view in the exhbition. Lectures will be held on Thursdays throughout October at 4 p.m. in the Doris Duke Theatre. Admission is free.
Oct. 7:From Stone to Bronze and Village to City: Southeast Asia’s Buried Past Presented by Miriam T Stark, PhD; Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Southeast Asia’s earliest archaeological remains date back more than 1.8 million years. Through the millennia, Southeast Asians crafted their lives and shaped their landscapes in ways that ultimately produced kingdoms and empires. This lecture surveys Southeast Asia’s history from an archaeological point of view, and highlights key developments from the Neolithic through the Classical period.
Oct. 14:Vishnu’s Heavenly Realm: Angkor Wat and Ancient Khmer Architecture Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Angkor Wat (12th century), one of the worlds largest and most complex religious monuments, was built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and later transformed into a Buddhist sanctuary. This lecture will examine Angkor Wat’s history, architecture, and symbolism and explore its central role in Khmer (Cambodian) culture.
Oct. 21:Cultivating the Image of Compassion: Power, Propaganda, and the Statuary of Ancient Angkor Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Hindu and Buddhist sculpture was central to both religion and politics in ancient Angkor. This lecture will investigate the intersection of politics, religion, and art at the peak of Angkors power during the reign of its most colorful king, Jayavarman VII, a ruler who cleverly utilized unusual Buddhist art to express both his personal piety and political ambitions.
Oct. 28:Walking with the Buddha: The Art of Sukhothai
The kingdom of Sukhothai (13th-15th centuries) was the first major Thai kingdom and it is often regarded as the Golden Age of Thai civilization. This lecture will provide an introduction to the art of Sukhothai and explore the symbolism and style of Sukhothai Buddha images, renowned worldwide for their elegance and distinctive stylistic qualities.
Teacher Workshop
All teachers are invited to attend a teacher workshop on September 25, 2010 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in the Museum Lecture Hall. For reservations, please call Betsy Robb 532-3666. This teacher workshop is fully sponsored by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.
National Foreign Language Resource Center Fall 2010 Demos and Discussions
Wednesday, October 13, 12:00 pm in Moore 258 Presented by Pia Arboleda, Assistant Professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Literary texts and films are excellent tools for teaching language and culture. However, for heritage learners, Tagalog texts and Filipino films without subtitles are incomprehensible. Thus, there is a great need for translation and subtitling in order to produce bilingual materials. But the process of translation itself can be used as a tool to teaching Philippine language and culture. This presentation will explain the course design and method of teaching Filipino 435: Translation Theory and Practice. In this course students are asked to transcibe the original text in Filipino. This process hones their listening skills. Next, student conduct research on the historical and cultural background of the film or text they are translating. The process of translation allows them to apply the translation theories they have learned and to exercise critical and creative thought in order to produce an accurate and effective translation.
The presentation includes samples of bilingual materials like film clips, song adaptations, and digital storybooks and how they are used in the classroom.
Dr. PIA ARBOLEDA is assistant professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures where she teaches ‘Translation Theory and Practice,’ ‘Philippine History and Culture,’ and ‘Philippine Folklore.’ She received her doctorate degree in Language and Literature from De La Salle University, Manila. Prior to joining University of Hawaii at Manoa, she taught Philippine Literature, Language and History at Osaka University for four and a half years. She has translated and subtitled Raymond Red’s “Sakay” and Jon Red’s “Ilusyon.” Dr. Arboleda is now working on the translation and subtitles of Eddie Romero’s “Noli Me Tangere” 13-episode TV series. She is also a poet and creative writer. Her works have appeared in ‘Forbidden Fruit: Women Write the Erotic,’ ‘Kung Ibig Mo: Love Poetry by Women,’ and ‘Essays on Women’, among others.
Wednesday, 1 September
6:30 p.m. – Korean Studies Auditorium
Philippines 2003 (120 min)
Tagalog with English subtitles
Dir: Maryo J. De Los Reyes
Screenplay: Michiko Yamamoto
Cast: Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez, Gloria Romero, Celia Rodriguez, Mark Gil, Tonton Gutierrez, Jiro Manio, Amy Austria, Cherry Pie Picache, Isabella de Leon
Inay (Lorna Tolentino) speaks for many when she says, ”Life is a never-ending misery.”
Her 7-year-old daughter, Helen (Isabella de Leon), has cerebral palsy, has never spoken a word and requires as much care as an infant. Her teenage son has lost his scholarship and come home from Manila to an uncertain future. Her other son, 9-year-old Magnifico (Jiro Manio), doesn’t show much promise beyond being a really sweet kid. Her beaten-down husband (Albert Martínez) has been working on the same Rubik’s cube for a year.
And she has just learned that her mother-in-law, who lives with them, has pancreatic cancer. That’s one more helpless person to care for, and they have no idea where they’re going to get the 30,000 pesos or so (several months’ salary for a schoolteacher, we are told) it will take to bury her.
But the hopefully named Magnifico, in the tradition of omniscient innocents in international films, is determined to help — and to charm everyone the way movie characters occasionally do, just by treating impending death matter-of-factly. He sets out to earn enough money for his grandmother’s funeral, buy her a beautiful white dress to be buried in and gather enough scrap wood to build the coffin himself. But this drama isn’t as maudlin as it sounds, thanks to the leading actors’ fine, understated performances. (Anita Gates, New York Times)
Magnifico was awarded Best Feature Film at the Hawaii International Film Festival (2003) and the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival (2004). It is being shown here with a new subtitle track produced by Brigida Schmidt, a student in our Spring 2010 subtitling course.
This group of musicians from Bandung, Indonesia, started out jamming together at local gigs before forming the band Base Jam in January 1994. The personnel in the original band consisted of Bambang Sutanto (drums), Adon Saptowo (vocals), Sigit Wardana (vocals), Adnil Farsal (guitar), Ardi Isnandar (guitar), and two females, Intan Putri Werdiniadi (keyboards), and Ardhini Citrasari (bass). Base Jam broke up in 2003 and reunited in 2009 with former members Adnil, and Intan leaving the band. They signed their first contract with PT. Musica Studios and have recorded four albums with them, including Dreaming (1996), Dua (1997), Ti3a (1999), Emp4t (2000).
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