University of Arizona Alumna Michelle Yang, focuses on Asian American identity, feminism, and mental health. Her writings have been published by InStyle, Reader’s Digest, Parents, HuffPost, and more. Read her recent article “Why 'Over the Moon' is the film my son and I desperately needed”.

Experts from the Department of East Asian Studies will hold a series of virtual talks this fall centered on tensions between the United States and China and ongoing discrimination against Asian Americans within the U.S.

“Pandemic Blues & Blame Games: Anti-Asian Rhetoric & U.S.-China Antagonism,” featuring presentations from three professors will kick off the series on Oct. 14, with a virtual event starting at 4 p.m.

“We felt like all of a sudden, Asia and particularly China, was coming to the forefront of people’s minds, and not in a positive way. We thought we could use this situation and this interest as a teachable moment, to further the dialogue and engagement about China to a broader public,” says Albert Welter, department head.

The presentations are:

• Different Viruses: Pandemic Politics in US and China
  Fabio Lanza, Professor of Modern Chinese History
  This presentation explores the politics behind the pandemic, especially the politics of “blaming China” in the United States (and, in part, of blaming the U.S. in China). We will highlight not only the danger inherent in his viral tug-of-war, but also the hidden and deep global connections that this rhetoric obscures.
   
• Viral Peril: Persistent Fear of Asian Pacific Americans
  Brett Esaki, Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies
  Fear of Asians and Pacific Islanders, found domestically and abroad, has been a persistent theme throughout Asian Pacific American history. This presentation will walk through significant moments in US history where the Yellow Peril linked together concerns about disease, morality, civilization, and economic security—and hence will shed light on our present reality.
   
• Don’t Chat: Impacts of WeChat’s Ban on American Citizens
  Hai Ren, Associate Professor of Modern Chinese Culture
  What is WeChat? How is WeChat used in China and in the United States? Why is the government trying to ban WeChat? How could the WeChat ban negatively affect millions of Americans, their families, and American companies, as well as the US-China relations?  

“There is no better moment than this year to bring a deeper conversation about Asia. What’s happening today, we can think about like a replay of the 19^th century, but in the digital age,” Ren says. “All of the anti-Chinese racism, particularly compared to other groups, is about technology and the future, but a similar discourse happened in the 19^th century.”

The next event will be a discussion about current events in Hong Kong, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, co-sponsored by the Departments of East Asian Studies and History and Pima Community College.

Congratulations to the College of Humanities’ Outstanding Senior for Spring 2020, Grace Faerber!

Faerber is graduating with a double major in East Asian Studies, Chinese language emphasis, and Global Studies, with a pre-law minor. She has been awarded a Boren Fellowship to fund her upcoming master’s degree program at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China, where she will study International Studies with a concentration in International Politics.

During her time as an East Asian Studies major, Faerber studied abroad in China, completed internships at the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Senate, and served as a College of Humanities Student Ambassador, where she appreciated the opportunity to share her passion for language and culture study with other students.

“As we enter the world of graduate study, full-time work, and whatever else our degree may bring, we cannot forget nor underestimate the incredible value of a Humanities degree,” she told fellow graduates in her virtual commencement speech. “The understanding of the human experience we gain as Humanities majors provides us with a unique appreciation for anything and everything we do.”

Andrés D. Oñate, instructor for the CHN 460 course, “U.S.-China Relations in the Modern World,” nominated Faerber for the Outstanding Senior award. A former diplomat himself, Oñate says she possesses the skills that are indispensable for a successful career in the Foreign Service.

“I can unequivocally say that she possesses the qualities needed to succeed in whatever endeavor she chooses, be it the State Department, another government office, or higher education. She is intellectually gifted, writes extremely well, is highly motivated, resourceful, organized, trustworthy, dependable, and, importantly, works well with others,” he wrote. “I easily see her ascending to heights one can only dream of at this time in one’s career.”

Faerber told her fellow graduates that “we’re each equipped with unique and valuable skills in communication, critical thinking and problem solving – the most important skill, however, as we enter this turbulent world full of unknowns, is the skill of adaptability.”

“We are explorers, filled with curiosity and wonder about the world around us, the world before us, and the world after us. During our time at the University of Arizona, we have spent hours upon hours marveling at other cultures, practicing other languages, discussing history, critiquing politics,” Faerber said. “I ask that each of you not abandon that sense of curiosity and wonder and instead bring that attitude to the post-graduate world that desperately needs it to discover new medical solutions, build bridges between governments, write the next New York Times Bestseller, and inspire younger generations.”

Maggie Camp and Robert Stephan have been selected as the College of Humanities 2020 faculty award winners.

Camp, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, is the Distinguished Undergraduate Advising/Mentoring Award recipient. Camp was also the Distinguished Teaching Award recipient in 2015.

Stephan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Classics, is the Distinguished Teaching Award recipient. He received the Distinguished Undergraduate Advising/Mentoring Award recipient in 2019.

During the past decade, Camp has been dedicated to increasing East Asian Studies majors and minors, with significant results, said Jiang Wu, acting department head.

“She is truly exemplary in the field of student advising, with sophisticated thinking about student retention,” he said. “In addition, she has worked extensively with COH and UArizona advising teams to coordinate mentoring activities.”

Religious Studies and Classics Department Head Karen Seat said Stephan’s courses are “wildly popular” and he receives rave reviews from student evaluations.

“Dr. Stephan has the kind of presence in the classroom that can hold the attention of hundreds of students, and his presentation materials both in class and online are visually stunning,” Seat said. “In everything he does, he brings his uniquely positive enthusiasm, and students respond to this. He is a gifted and hardworking educator, and he has successfully sparked a love of the humanities for hundreds of students at the University of Arizona.”

Two professors in the East Asian Studies Department have been promoted, demonstrating excellent performance in teaching, service and research.

Wenhao Diao is promoted from Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies to tenured Associate Professor of East Asian Studies; and Takashi Miura is promoted from Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies to tenured Associate Professor of East Asian Studies.

Diao's research deals with the socio -linguistic and -cultural aspects of language learning and use and she has primarily focused on the phenomenon of study abroad. She is an affiliated faculty member in the interdisciplinary graduate program of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching.

Miura's research focuses on Japanese religions in the early modern and modern periods. He is the author of Agents of World Renewal: The Rise of Yonaoshi Gods in Japan, which examines the spread of the concept of "world renewal" (yonaoshi) in Japanese society from the late 18th to early 20th centuries