During this academic year, the Division of Russian and Eastern Studies (RAE) in the Dept of Modern and Classical Languages organizes a series of activities under the unified theme of "Discover Asia."  Through film showings, faculty research presentations, and a public lecture, we intend not only to discover, explore, and analyze various parts and aspects of Asia, but we also will interrogate how Asia is discovered, by raising questions such as: What/where is Asia?  Who—in terms of race, class, and gender—discovered it?  In what ways?  To what ends?  In what historical contexts? 

An integral part of our “Discover Asia” activities is a brown bag series of RAE faculty research presentations over the course of the year.  The next presenter is Professor Matt Wells of Chinese Studies and he will give an exciting presentation entitled “The Five Divine Formulas of the Peijun zhuan: Esoteric Daoism and Lifewriting in Early China.”   Come and join us.

Synopsis:

This presentation will explore in a preliminary way the text of the Peijun zhuan, an early hagiography from the Shangqing Daoist tradition. Our discussion will focus on the nature of the text, its position in canonical Daoist literature, and its description of the five "Divine Formulas." We will also discuss the nature of hagiography in early medieval China and how religious writing might fit within the broader scope of "lifewriting" (biography and autobiography) from the period. 

A&S Wired Residential College is pleased to welcome former Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry to Keeneland Hall. Find out what drew him to public service and his approach to local government. Chat with him about his time at UK as an undergrad and law student, too! Snacks and coffee provided.

Abigail Keam, A&S alumna and award-winning author will be part of other authors and beekeeping experts giving short presentation. She will be giving a talk on what beekeeping means to her and also her award winning mystery series. Free and open to the public.

Location:

Mary Wood Memorial Library

1530 S Green St

Glasgow, KY 42141

(270) 651 2924

9:0a.m. - 2:00p.m.

Friday, January 27th, 2012

More about Abigail Keam:

Born and bred in Kentucky, Abigail graduated with Distinction from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Middle Eastern Civilization.  She then went into private business and kept bees as a hobby.

Retiring in 1999 after a life-threatening asthma attack, Abigail became a full-time beekeeper, launching Abigail's, making honey/beeswax-based natural products.  She sells at the Lexington Farmers' Market, which was voted 15th in the nation.

Ms. Keam has won sixteen honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair and was the first recipient of the Barbara Horn Award, given to those scoring a perfect 100 for a beekeeping-related entry at the Kentucky State Fair.  In 2004, Ms. Keam traveled to South Africa to study beekeeping in Africa.

Miss Abigail is a member of the Bluegrass Beekeepers Association, the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association, the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, and the National Society of Arts and Letters.  She is a past board member of the Lexington Farmers' Market and Women in Agriculture boards.  Also past president of the Friends of the Lexington Farmers' Market, Lexington Rape Crisis Center, and the Lexington Art League.

WORKSHOP ON CONNECTING CLASSES INTERNATIONALLY:

Tuesday January 24, 3:30-5:00 pm, 245 POT

The College of Arts & Sciences, Center for the Enhancement of Learning & Teaching, and Office of International Affairs announce a workshop on—and call for proposals for—curricular links between A&S classes and classes in other countries.  Technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Google Docs support many possibilities.

The Workshop will explore examples of such links and detail the technical and course design assistance available at UK to create them.  The Workshop will also discuss financial support, for example, for travel that brings UK faculty together with faculty in other countries to plan such links.

All A&S faculty are invited to attend this Workshop. Download the flyer.

Proposals for International Course links requiring financial support will be due to Debbie Burton (at Debbie.Burton@uky.edu) on April 1, 2012. 

For more information, contact Ted Schatzki at schatzki@uky.edu.