UW News

April 14, 2023

ArtSci RoundUp: Learn Korean through K-Pop, Discussions on Public University Prospects, Poetry Lecture and more

This week, explore the idea of reconstructed public universities with Christopher Newfield, engage with leaders from the Makah Nation in Washington State on exercising sovereignty, discover the singer in you by learning Korean through K-Pop, and more.


April 18, 5:30 PM | HU Tai-Li Memorial Lecture and Film Screening with Scott Simon, Burke Museum

The UW Taiwan Studies Arts & Culture Program is honored to host a memorial film screening and lecture honoring Dr. HU Tai-Li.

In memory of Dr. HU Tai-Li, the evening features an in-person screening of the first locally made ethnographic film in Taiwan, The Return of Gods and Ancestors, by Dr. HU Tai-Li, and a lecture by Professor Scott Simon about Dr. Hu’s work and the influence of her pioneering ethnographic documentary practice in Taiwan. There will also be a reception honoring and celebrating Dr. Hu’s contributions on the study of ethnic relations in Taiwan.

Free | More info and Registration


April 18, 6:30 PM | The End of a Global Model: Prospects for the North American Public University, 2020-2050, Kane Hall

Many countries around the world have looked to the public universities of the United States and Canada as best-case examples of high-quality mass education. This has become less true after the financial crisis. Why is the contemporary public university struggling both at home and abroad? Christopher Newfield discusses the external pressures and internal policy failures that have undermined North American public universities in the 21st century, and describes features of a reconstructed public university that would better serve the domestic and global needs of the next thirty years.

Christopher Newfield is Director of Research at the Independent Social Research Foundation (London) and immediate past President of the Modern Language Association. He was Distinguished Professor of Literature and American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he taught for thirty years. His areas of research are critical university studies, literary criticism, quantification studies, innovation studies, the intellectual and social effects of the humanities, and U.S. cultural history before the Civil War and after World War II. He has written a trilogy of books on the university as an intellectual and social institution, concluding with The Great Mistake: How We Wrecked Public Universities and How We Can Fix Them (2016).

Dianne Harris (Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences) will introduce the lecture as part of the Dean’s initiative Rethinking the Academy.

Free | More info


April 19, 7:00 – 8:30 PM | Washin Kai Presents “Visions of the Katsura Imperial Villa” with Professor Ken Oshima, Gowen Hall

This Washin Kai event will be a lecture by Professor Ken Oshima of University of Washington’s Department of Architecture, with participation by Professor Paul Atkins (Department of Asian Languages and Literature) and Washin Kai member and architect, Hiroshi Matsubara.

The architecture and gardens of the Katsura Imperial Villa 桂離宮 live on today as a paradigm of Japanese arts and cultures. Commissioned by two generations of princes of the Hachijō Imperial Family in the seventeenth century, this Xanadu embodies the ideals of tea master and artist, Kobori Enshū (小堀 遠州) and stands as an emblematic expression of both sukiya-zukuri architecture and modern design. This talk and conversation with Professor Paul Atkins and architect Hiroshi Matsubara will unpack the many facets including its literary and photographic interpretations to consider its implications for the future of Japanese traditions in a global context.

Free | More info and Registration


April 20, 7:30 – 9:00 PM | Navigating Makah Borderlands of Sovereignty, Kane Hall 

Leaders from the Makah Nation in Washington State will discuss ways they continue to exercise sovereignty across ancestral homelands and waters, especially as related to the Olympic National Park, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the international border, and treaty fishing and whaling rights.

Speakers will include Timothy J. Greene (Makah Tribal Council Chairman), Janine Ledford (Director, Makah Cultural and Research Center), and Rebekah Monette (Cultural Resource Manager). This session will be moderated by Joshua L. Reid (Snohomish), who is the John Calhoun Smith Memorial Endowed Associate Professor of History and American Indian Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest.

Free | More info


April 20 – 22, 8:00 PM | Step Afrika! Drumfolk, Meany Hall

The acclaimed Step Afrika! is the world’s first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping — a polyrhythmic, percussive dance form that uses the body as an instrument. The company presents its latest work, Drumfolk, a powerful piece inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739. Step Afrika! blends songs, storytelling and dance to explore a little-known event in American history that led to some of our country’s most distinct performance traditions. New percussive forms took root when the beats found their way into the body of the people, the Drumfolk, in a way that would forever transform African American life and culture.

$53 Tickets | More info and Tickets


April 20, 3:30 PM | Sixth Annual Lee Scheingold Lecture in Poetry & Poetics, Husky Union Building

The English Department is proud to host the sixth annual Scheingold Lecture in Poetry and Poetics, featuring Javier Zamora and Ricardo Ruiz. There will be a reception and book signing to follow.

Free | More info


April 22, 10:30 – 12:30 PM | Korean Music Language Workshop: Learn Korean through K-Pop and more, Gowen Hall

Unlock the language and music of Korea: Learn Korean through K-Pop, K-Musical, and K-Opera, and discover the singer in you. Learning a language can be tough, but it can be more fun than most imagine. This exciting workshop will teach Korean through the catchy tune of K-Pop, the dramatic performances of musicals, and the beautiful aria of K-Opera. Knowledge of Korean is not required.

The workshop will be lead by Eun Ju Vivianna Oh, a Korean-American soprano with a dynamic career as a recording artist, music director, teacher, and mother. She is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Voice Performance and holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the UW. She has an extensive background in the music industry, having worked as a music director in the foreign film department at the Educational Broadcasting Station in Seoul, Korea. Currently, Eun Ju Vivianna is a predoctoral instructor at the UW, where she teaches private voice lessons to both music majors and non-music majors and mentors young singers and pianists in Seattle. Her versatility and expertise as a singer, music director, and teacher are undoubtedly unparalleled, making her an invaluable member of the musical community.

Free | More info


Have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).

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