February 18, 1994 — LION’SEYE — Page 3 Cancel Your Trip to Asia; It’s All Right By Meg Emhof and Wes Tomlinson From now until April 22 you will find a terrific opportunity to expand your horizons on three, count ‘em three Penn State campuses near you. “Wow”, you might say, unenthused, “another boring semester, right?” Nope. I'm talking about the Cultures of Asia program taking place right here at PSU all semester long. “No way!” you might say. “Way,” I say. As a part of our commitment to cultural diversity and understanding on our campuses, Penn State is presenting the Cultures of Asia throughout the semester at the Delaware County, Ogontz, and Great Valley locations. Two years ago we centered on the cultures of Africa fora semester, and two years from now it will be the cultures of Hispanic/Latino countries. This year our focus is Asia and the schedule is full. Workshop, exhibits, theater, lectures, and films are just some of the events featured. Connie Kirker, Assistant Professor of Integrated Arts and Co- Director of the semester-long program explains, “ This multidimensional program features exhibits, visiting speakers and artists, museum tours, children’s workshops, a cinema festival, performances, luncheon lectures, an educational conference, and academic courses." Exhibits on display in the libraries of Delco and Great Valley present an opportunity to browse through Korean and. Vietnamese paintings, Japanese ceramics, photographic images of Asia, Chinese folk art, and textiles of the Hmong people of China. Local and day-long excursions are scheduled to explore important collections of Asian art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University Museum, New York City Metropolitan Museum and Asia House, and the National Art Gallery in Here! Washington D.C. Six outstanding Asian films will be shown during the semester, and demonstrations of traditional Asian dance and music and a puppet theater have been scheduled. As Ms. Kirker notes, “ The performances display a vast interwoven heritage of tradition, dance, and celebration.” In addition, a hands-on learning and activity series dedicated to the traditional celebrations of several Asian countries designed for children at the fourth and fifth grade levels is a part of the Cultures of Asia program. An array of lectures, luncheons, and informative demonstrations will show the limitless scope of Asian culture, both modern and historical. Topics range from contemporary societal conditions in Japan, to the events surrounding Tiananmen Square, to a brief study of Indian archeology. Professor Ginsberg added, “The Cultures of Asia series represents Penn State’s commitment to the study and appreciation of the riches of cultural diversity.” Connie Kirker, coordinator of the programs for our campus, is very enthusiastic about the months ahead. She urges everyone to attend at least a few of the many events that the semester has to offer. One event that she strongly recommends is the series of Friday night films at the Great Valley campus, running February 18, March 18, and April 15 at 7:30 PM. “Any of those films would make a great Friday night date,” she said encouragingly. Sounds interesting, hmmm? Well, just in case you needed another good reason to treat yourself to the Cultures of Asia, (drumroll, please), it’s free! “No way!” you say yet again. “Way!” Just about all of the events taking place are free of charge and open to the public. So what are you waiting for? It’s happening now! Stop by room 111 main for a schedule of’ events. For more information contact Connie Kirker 892-1468. Dr. Lui, Fulbright Scholar, By James Foltz It was raining snow and ice on January 8 when Dr. Adam Lui stepped off a plane into the United States. Dr. Lui is a Fullbright Scholar from Hong Kong. He came to the United States for one reason: to join the faculty at Penn State Delco and teach Modern Asian History on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 till 11:15. Dr. Lui is one part of Penn State’s four month Cultures of Asia program. He will only be teaching at Penn State for this semester and will be leaving the United States sometime in early June. Dr. Adam Lui was born and raised in Hong Kong. He has been a happily married man for 20 years and has one son who is 17. He has six published books, five of which he is the sole author, and the sixth for which he served as chief editor. Along with the books, Dr. Lui has a tremendous number of articles, conference papers, and book reviews published. He has also given numerous talks and television presentations. His awards include a scholarship at the University of London, a Harvard Fellowship and grants ranging from $20,000 to $80,000. Dr. Lui recently pointed out some differences he has noticed between Hong Kong and the United States. In Hong Kong, the weather is very mild, so stepping off the plane into the icy Visiting Professor Adam Y. Lui, from Hong Kong University shows Asian history class a Chinese paper- - cut. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Young Marousky, adult student, with one of her paintings recently exhibited in the Delco Library. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Student's Art Opens Exhibit By Jane Resides The opening show of the Campus Cultures of Asia program featured the work of Youngoak Marousky, a Delco senior majoring in General Sciences. Youngoak, who was born in Seoul, Korea, studied Chinese brush painting in Singapore from 1985 to 1987. She came to the United States in 1987 and in recent years took drawing and oil painting courses at West Chester University and oil water color courses at the West Chester Art Center. She has also taken Art History and Art Education courses on the Delco campus. Some of her most current paintings are oil, but most are Chinese brush on rice paper. When asked which medium she preferred, she favored the latter, but she ran into problems in framing these paintings. The first time she gave a rice paper painting to a framer, the result was disastrous. The rice paper must be glued into place in the framing; a process not known to many of the CC Pr ..l r i. LL LE Culturas of Qgia Events Feb. 18 12:30 PM Chinese Ribbon Dance-Yu Yang, Main, Student Lounge " Feb. 22 12:00 PM Cambodian Court Dance- Chamroeum Yin, Main, Student Lounge 6:10 PM Asian Film “Rashomon” L/ LC Rm 112 Mar. 1 11:30 AM Japanese Tea Ceremony, Main, Student Lounge Exhibits Jan. 10-Feb. 28 Japanese Ceramics-Kenneth Beittel Study Collection Mar. 5-26 Good Earth-Chinese Folk Art The A Noh Theater performance by Noh Master Matsui Arita from Tokyo, Japan, highlighted the first week of the Cultures of Asia Program. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON American framers she contacted. She finally found a Korean framer in Philadelphia to frame her work, but she said it is expensive. Youngoak has been active as a member of Campus Ambassadors, in the Keystone Society, the Executive Forum Committee and the Multi- Cultural Association. Teaching at Delco Campus Pennsylvanian weather was twice as shocking. Also the land is much more expensive in Hong Kong. Income taxes are less in Hong Kong than in the United States, only 15%, and there is no six percent sales tax. Other differences were as simple as the fact that garbage collectors come every day in Hong Kong and the post man comes twice aday. Other differences are more important. “Medically, it is much better here than in Hong Kong,” he pointed out. ~~ In his home land Dr. Lui is a “Reader” at the University of Hong Kong (a “Reader” is of the same status as an Associated Professor in the United States). When asked about the differences in teaching in the two countries, Dr. Lui said, “I am not accustomed to answering questions while lecturing.” In Hong Kong, university classes are very different from here. A course is held four times a week, lasting 55 minutes each time. The teacher lectures during that time, and it is “a tradition” for the students not to ask questions. “If a student has a question, the student will go into a library and search for the answer. If you want to know more, you need to read more.” “Even if I asks, ‘Are there any questions?’ the students will stay silent. A student will only ask a question if I point to the student and ask, ‘Do you have any questions?’ Then the student will ask a question.” Every two or three weeks, depending on the course, tu torals are held. A tu toral is a one hour “class” when students must hand in essays on material covered prior to that date. During the tu torals the students ask their questions. It’s the tradition. Dr. Lui doesn’t mind the questions asked during lectures at Penn State; he just is not used to it. “I think it is better as long as the question is on the material.” The different classroom atmosphere has not had a negative effect on him. “I like to teach the students here; they have very good responses. The teacher-student relationship is very good. They learn from me, I learn from them. Honestly.” Dr. Lui’s opinion about America was just as positive as his opinion about Penn State students. “Americans are more casual. The freedom here is what is attractive to me.”
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