2025 News and Events
Noticing the Neglected Symposium
Symposium on the Western Washington University campus (supported by the Social Justice and Equity Committee, East Asian Studies, the College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Art & Art History at WWU).
Dates, times, locations:
Screening of Perfect Days (dir. Wim Wenders, 2023): Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the Pickford Film Center (5:45pm), Pickford on Bay theater, with intro by Dr. Linda Ehrlich.
Symposium: Friday, November 21, 2025, Fine Arts (FI) 238, 10am-4pm.
Remote viewing: The symposium will be livestreamed and available via registration:
https://wwu-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ttk10StEQwaAVYpDfYX8Dw
Contact: Julia Sapin, Professor, Art History, Department of Art & Art History, sapinj@wwu.edu, 360-650-3670
AA/EO. Disability accommodations available.
This symposium on the WWU campus will bring together scholars from across the Western campus and other institutions in North America, as well as from a variety of disciplines—anthropology, architectural history, film studies, Japanese literature, music, and philosophy—for analysis of Perfect Days from the perspective of social justice, including consideration of both people and aspects of our daily lives that are neglected in society. This symposium will bring to light issues of equity by considering how the built environment as well as filmic, literary and auditory contexts can support expressions of dignity for all in our society.
Thursday, November 20, screening at the Pickford:
Complementing the symposium will be a screening of Perfect Days at the Pickford Film Center (Pickford on Bay), for which we will offer 50 free student tickets, which can be picked up ahead of time either at the box office or at the theater at the time of the screening while supplies last.* There are plans as well to publish a book containing the symposium essays and more, which will broaden the impact of ideas raised during the symposium.
*Directions for students to get free tickets:
Tickets can be picked up ahead of time either at the box office or by reserving with the Pickford via email. Students should use their WWU email to send the request and include their student number as part of the request. Students need one student number per ticket requested. Non-students or students who miss the free tickets can buy tickets through the Pickford website (there is a discounted student price).
Send those requests to:
Abby Caram
Box Office Manager
Membership and Development Manager
Pickford Film Center
541.480.2389
East Asian Studies - Academic Virtual Info Session
Please join the East Asian Studies Director; Prof. Emi Bushelle on Friday, November 14, 2025 from 3:30 - 4:30pm for an Academic Virtual Info Session to learn more about the East Asian Studies program.
Zoom Link: https://wwu-edu.zoom.us/j/98591933269?pwd=rHOvzgLzWhdPr4af7xn32qennAJoV7.1
Meeting ID: 985 9193 3269
Passcode: 928391
Contested Frames Women, Photography, and the Politics of Seeing in Modern Japan
Please join us on Thursday, October 30th to welcome Dr. Kelly McCormick from the University of British Columbia. Dr. McCormick will be discussing her new book Contested Frames: Women, Photography, and the Politics of Seeing in Modern Japan.
WWU East Asian Studies Student Research Symposium
Join us on Monday, June 9th in Miller Hall 138 from 11-3pm for the WWU East Asian Studies Student Research Symposium!
Panel 1: Interrogating Origins, 11:00am
Discussant: Prof. Ethan Bushelle
Cole Kingsbury
“Rewriting the Sacred: Continuity and Rupture in Paradigms of Shinto”
Dale Durham
“Challenging Notions of the Daijösai's Autochthonous’ Origins”
Panel 2: Re/Writing History, 11:45am
Discussant: Prof. Emi Bushelle
Kyle Pacey
“Jien's Gukanshói Developing a Buddhist Lens to History”
Sarah Mullins
“The Politics of Discontent: An Analysis of Kamo no Mabuchi's Kokuikö”
Panel 3: Language Change in Modern Japan, 1:30pm
Discussants: Prof. Massimiliano Tomasi, Prof. Masanori Deguchi
Chris Stalter
“Nationalism and Script Reform in Modern Japan”
Dio Jean Baptiste
“A Discourse on Loanwords: Is the Increasing Amount of Gairaigo Creating Problems for the Japanese Language?"
Panel 4: Peripheral Stories, Peripheral Homes, 2:15pm
Discussants: Prof. Tyler Walker, Prof. Patrick Buckley
Becca Dietz
“Ainu and Japanese Creation Myth in Translation”
Selena Atkinson
“Japanese Earthquake Architecture and its Relation to Akiya"
East Asian Movie Night
Join us on Tuesday, May 27th in Miller Hall 138 at 5:00pm for our East Asian Movie Night featuring the film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Food and drinks will be provided!
East Asian Trivia & Games Night
Join us on Tuesday, May 13th in Miller Hall 235 from 5:00 - 6:00pm for East Asian Trivia & Games Night featuring China and Japan
Pizza and soda will be provided!
America's "Secret War" in Laos and its Aftermath: A Veteran's Reckoning
Join us on Thursday, May 1st @ 4:30pm in Miller Hall 123
Don Super will be speaking about his experience as a U.S. Army Security Agency veteran who served during the “American Secret War” in Laos. After enlisting in March 1968, he was trained in the Lao language at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute and stationed at Ramasun Station in Northeast Thailand, where he provided bombing coordinates for daily U.S. air missions over Laos. His talk will reflect on the moral and personal reckoning he faced when he returned to Laos in2019 and witnessed the devastating aftermath of the war—including the 80 million unexploded bombs still littering the country.
Meet our Visiting Professor: Ganjidmaa Chimeddorj (Winter 2025)
With over ten years of experience teaching Mongolian, Ganjidmaa Chimeddorj has developed an interest in Mongolian philology, particularly in the areas of Middle Mongolian and the interactions between Turkic and Mongolian languages. They are committed to helping others learn about these languages and their connections. Currently, She is pursuing a Ph.D. at Istanbul University in the Old Turkic Department, further deepening her expertise in this field.
Ganjidma Chimeddorj2024-2025 Henry G. Schwarz Visiting Lecturer in Mongolian Studies
East Asian Studies Leadership Team: Movie Night
Come watch "Udon" together on Tuesday March, 11th.
6pm at Miller Hall 138
Pizza and soda provided!
Exploring Utari Camaraderie: Oguma Hideo’s Engagement with Indigeneity in Colonial Karafuto
Please join us on Thursday, March 6th at 4:00pm in Miller Hall 123 to welcome Prof. Edwin Michielsen from the University of Hong Kong. Prof. Michielsen will be examining the proletarian poet Oguma Hideo's engagement with the Ainu indigeneity in imperial Japan
Study Abroad in Asia
Join us on Thursday, February 20th from 6:00 - 7:00pm in Miller Hall 135 to discuss your options to study abroad while earning credit towards your degree. You'll also have an opportunity to speak with students who have previously studied in Asia.