Talking Points: December 23, 2009 - January 6, 2010

Talking Points
December 23 - January 6, 2010

It’s been quite a year. Global economic crisis, millions unemployed, massive stimulus spending, trade frictions, new administration in America, celebrated and suppressed anniversaries in China, separate efforts at health care reform, high level discussions in Washington, a presidential trip to Beijing, and critical negotiations in Copenhagen.

Unusual snowstorms hit Beijing and Washington recently. The Chinese capital was blanketed earlier than usual and the American capital received more snow in a single day than it usually gets in an entire season. Though many were inconvenienced, others enjoyed the chance to play.
 

Beijing's Temple of Heaven, 2009 photo by Ivan Walsh.

Washington's Capitol Building and Mall, photo by sciascia on Dec. 19, 2009.

We wish you the best possible 2010. The year of the tiger starts on Valentine’s Day. China and the US are two of the countries issuing stamps to mark the event.

Talking Points will return on January 6. In the meantime, we hope you’ll take a look at some of the recent articles and interactive charts in US-China Today, or perhaps the three new features just published at Asia Pacific Arts. One of these is a video interview with Taiwan-based film director Tsai Ming-ling. Don’t miss Children of the Sun, Shadow House, and the other short documentaries produced by USC and Communication University of China students. Click here to see them.

In January, USCI will invite applications for the following programs:

-- 2010-2011 Postdoctoral Fellows; for recent PhDs who are pursuing research on U.S.-China relations, very broadly conceived, or on an issue in contemporary China that is likely to affect U.S.-China relations

-- summer 2010 Graduate Fieldwork Fellows; for current USC graduate students to carry out research in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan and forge ties with Chinese scholars and institutions

-- 2010-2011 Faculty Research Grants; for USC faculty, often working with colleagues here and in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, to initiate or complete social science research projects

-- 2010 Summer Study Tour; for California educators who have already completed National Consortium for Teaching about Asia seminars, the 2010 tour will examine social, economic, cultural and political trends in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Thank you for reading Talking Points. We appreciate your feedback and are grateful when you pass our calendar of China-related events and exhibitions on to others. We wish you 富贵有余 (Riches aplenty) and 天下和平 (Peace throughout the world)!

We close with two photos documenting a bit of cultural interplay.

Alexandra Moss, co-author of China Through the Looking Glass: Hangzhou, ran into this group of Santa's helpers in Hangzhou in 2005.

Beijing-based web editor Li Lianqing photographed this Santa kite there in 2008.

Best wishes,
The USC U.S.-China Institute
http://china.usc.edu/
Subscribe to Talking Points at: http://china.usc.edu/subscribe.aspx
Support the Institute via the secure USC server: https://giveto.usc.edu/ 

Events

Upcoming USC 

01/19/2010 - 01/20/2010: The Global Tobacco Epidemic: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Health Sciences Campus, Aresty Auditorium
Time:  5:00pm to 7:00pm
January 20
University Park Campus, Town and Gown
Time:  5:00pm to 7:00pm
January 22: China: The World’s Largest Tobacco Market
USC Leavey Library Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free, Time: 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Hosted in partnership with the USC U.S.-China Institute and the School of Social Work
Dr. Judith Mackay discusses the epidemic's challenges, successes and future direction as they apply to emerging world health threats. 
 

01/21/2010: The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa
University of Southern California
Davidson Conference Center, Board Room, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Cost: Free
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Join Professor Deborah Brautigam for a discussion on her book on China's actions and intentions in Africa.

01/28/2010: Nanking
Leavey Library
University of Southern California
Cost: Free
Time: 6:00PM - 8:00PM
The US-China Institute presents the award-winning documentary, Nanking, followed by a discussion with director Bill Guttentag.

California

01/06/2010: Liu Jianqiang: China's Environmental Movement A Journalist's Perspective
The Asia Foundation
Haydn Williams Conference Room 465 California Street, 8th floor, San Francisco
Time: 6:00PM - 7:30PM
Liu Jianqiang gives a presentation on China's rapidly evolving environmental movement by one of China's pioneering environmental journalists.

Exhibitions 

  09/18/2009 - 01/09/2010: Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1550-1700
Folger Great Hall
201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Cost: Free
Phone: (202) 544-7077
Celebrate the opening of the latest exhibition at Folger Shakespeare Library.

 
09/17/2009 - 01/17/2010: Calligraffiti: Writing in Contemporary Chinese and Latino Art
Pacific Asia Museum
46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101
Phone: (626) 449-2742
Calligraffiti: Writing in Contemporary Chinese and Latino Art addresses issues of power, culture, and universality.  

 09/22/2009 - 06/30/2010: China's Great Wall: The Forgotten Story
NYC offices of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York, NY
The Forgotten Story is a series of historically-based photographs of the Great Wall of China. It is a collaboration between Jonathan Ball, a California based photographer, and David Spindler, one of the world's foremost experts on Great Wall history.

11/03/2008 - 11/03/2009: Ancient Arts of China: A 5000 Year Legacy
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
Bowers Museum presents a collection that portrays the evolution of Chinese technology, art and culture. 

11/15/2008 - 11/15/2009: Masters of Adornment: The Miao People of China
Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706
The Bowers Museum presents a collection of exquisite textiles and silver jewelry that highlights the beauty and wealth of the Miao peoples of southwest China. 

02/12/2009 - 02/12/2010: Art of Adornment: Tribal Beauty
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main, Santa Ana, CA
Cost: $5
An exhibit featuring body adornments from indigenous peoples around the world 

 

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USC U.S. – China Institute
3535 S. Figueroa St.
FIG 202
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1262
Tel: 213-821-4382
Fax: 213-821-2382
Email: uschina@usc.edu
Website: http://china.usc.edu 

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