Zhang's lecture will address how, through a new mass psychological counseling movement, middle-class Chinese seek to refashion "the self" by turning it into an object of intense inquiry, while pursuing personal development and fulfillment through therapeutic projects centered on the notion of self-management. Zhang is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Davis. This event is free and is sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky.
May 2012, members of HIVE and various UK instructors traveled to Shanghai, China to participate in an Appalachian Symposium with members of Shanghai University.
While China is famous for its booming metropolises of Shanghai and Beijing, many people still live in rural communities. A&S Hive members Dana Rogers and Cheyenne Hohman traveled to Yiwen Chen's hometown in Yongja, China.
Driving was one of the most chaotic experiences in China. In this video we are driving to the Waterfall Temple, where we will play Mahjong, an ancient Chinese game played with cards or tiles. Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and a certain degree of chance. A&S Hive member Yiwen Chen and her friends taught us how to play the game of Mahjong in a cave which is behind a waterfall.
Filmed and Edited by: Dana Rogers
A&S Hive members Cheyenne Hohman and Dana Rogers visited Yiwen Chen's home in Yongja, Wenzhou. Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is situated in a mountainous region and, as a result, has been isolated for most of its history from the rest of the country, making the local culture and language very distinct not only from the rest of China but from neighboring areas as well. View this video to see A&S Hive at Karaoke Television.
A&S Hive member Dana Rogers traveled to Tianzifang this summer. Tianzifang is an arts and crafts enclave that has developed from a renovated residential area in the French Concession area of Shanghai, China. It comprises a neighborhood of labyrinthine alleyways, coffee shops, and arts & crafts stores. Their were many crafters selling their work on the street, one of them was a stamp maker.
Filmed & Edited by: Dana Rogers
At the end of May 2012, the American Studies Center at Shanghai University hosted a three-day symposium and student summit.
Arturo Sandoval, a professor in the College of Fine Arts, discussed representations of beauty and diversity through the work of Appalachian quilt artists. He used the international art quilt competition Quilt National biannual as his main research reference. Quilt National is described as a trendsetter in the fiber art fild and displays the most important and innovative art quilts from around the world. Sandoval's presentation guided attendees through a variety of fiber arts and mixed media quilts.
At the end of May 2012, a delegation of faculty from the University of Kentucky went to Shanghai University to promote the American Studies Center, a partnership between UK and SHU. Michelle Sizemore facilitated a group discussion between UK and SHU students about cultural difference, identity, and storytelling across cultures.
