KU Center for East Asian Studies to host environmental symposium
LAWRENCE — The KU Center for East Asian Studies, in collaboration with the Graduate Scholars of East Asian Studies, will host the Environmental & Economic Challenges in Global Asia Symposium, an interdisciplinary event to take place April 3-4 at Watson Library and online.
As escalating climate crises intersect with rapidly shifting economic and technological systems, this symposium will bring together an international cohort of scholars, students and artists to explore how Asia is responding to these intertwined pressures. Framed through the lens of Global Asia, the event will highlight how environmental, economic and technological transformations are experienced, negotiated and reimagined across diverse local contexts.
“At a moment when climate crisis and economic transformation are reshaping our world, this symposium invites us to think through ‘Global Asia’ as both a site and a lens — one that reveals how environmental, technological and social changes are lived, negotiated and reimagined across diverse contexts. By bringing together scholars, artists and students, we hope to create a space for critical and creative engagement with some of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Akiko Takeyama, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas.
Featuring panels, performances and a keynote address, the symposium highlights diverse perspectives. Panels examine topics such as wildlife in urban China, ecofeminist visions of the sea, memorial art practices, and the global stakes of nuclear energy and artificial intelligence.
Day 1: April 3 (Hybrid: Watson Library and online)
Panel sessions throughout the day will examine urban resilience and human–nature interactions, environmental imaginaries in art and literature, and the challenges of floods, fires, infrastructure and policy across East, Southeast and South Asia.
Midday programming includes a memorial piano performance by School of Music faculty member Yi-Yang Chen, "In Memoriam: Japan, March 11, 2011," followed by a quilt talk and display by artist Cindy Parry reflecting on the Tōhoku Triple Disaster.
The keynote address, delivered by Harvard University faculty member Ryo Morimoto, will examine the intersection of artificial intelligence, nuclear energy and cultural memory in post-Fukushima Japan, raising critical questions about technological acceleration and its human consequences.
Day 2: April 4 (online only)
Day two will feature additional panels exploring ethical relationships to land and environment as well as historical and contemporary records of human interaction with landscapes. The symposium will conclude with closing remarks by Morgan Williamson, doctoral candidate in the history of art at KU.