Christopher Rea is Professor of Asian Studies and former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia. His latest book, Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 (Columbia, 2021), discusses fourteen cinematic masterpieces. In addition to the book, Rea created a series of online film resources, including chinesefilmclassics.org and the YouTube channel Modern Chinese Cultural Studies, which features 25+ subtitled films and an online course on Chinese film history. His other books include the Levenson Prize-winning The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (California, 2015), The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection (co-translated with Bruce Rusk; Columbia, 2017), and Where Research Begins (co-authored with Tom Mullaney; Chicago, 2022).
Abstract: Critics gave Disney’s Mulan (2020) mixed reviews, but they didn’t burn it in the streets. That was the fate of not one, but two prints of the live-action Hua Mu Lan (1939) in wartime Chungking. Released during war against Japan, the film’s resistance allegory failed to mollify viewers who considered the filmmakers to be collaborationist traitors. Yet despite the controversy, the Mandarin-language film became a box-office hit across war-torn Asia, and was soon competing in theaters against a Cantonese remake.
This talk discusses the history, aesthetics, and politics of Hua Mu Lan, the earliest-known surviving Mulan film. Christopher Rea argues that the film’s charismatic star and its mix of genre elements, such as comedy, singing, and romance, won over audiences and censors alike. Hua Mu Lan’s reception is a story of artistic talent, political savvy, and producer resourcefulness re-packaging a legend to suit desperate times. Rea will further explore how heritage figures like Mulan are repurposed to suit present commercial and societal/ideological needs, from recent Disney iterations back a century to the 1920s, when the woman warrior was played by both China’s most famous female impersonator (a man playing a woman playing a man), and its first licensed aviatrix.
UB’s Blackstone LaunchPad has been granted $4,000 to award to students as part of the LaunchPad Ideas Competition.
The competition is completely virtual,hosted now through October 21st, where students apply to compete in one of 4 tracks:
Social and Climate Impact: sustainability, education, human rights, poverty alleviation, racial and social justice, etc.
Health & Life Sciences: biotech, health & medical science, healthcare
Consumer Products & Services
General
The winners from each of the 4 tracks will received $1,000 and invitation to represent UB in the network round where they have an opportunity to compete for $10,000 in the various tracks.
I’m reaching out to invite your team to support this initiative by:
Leveraging your listserves, newsletters, and social media to amplify this opportunity for students; and
Make available any opportunities to engage with students through pop-up events, tabling, and/or passive digital/static signage.
This is a great opportunity to provide our students an avenue to impact change. Bonus – if UB recruits the greatest number of ideas submitted, we’ll win $10,000 for our campus and most importantly bragging rights.
We’re competing with schools in the following bracket:
University of Central Florida
Texas A&M University
New York University UT Austin
USC UCLA
College of Southern Nevada
UT Arlington
UC Berkeley
Temple University
UC Davis
UC San Diego
UC Irvine
University at Buffalo
UT San Antonio
UT Dallas
Thanks much for your consideration and I welcome your ideas to partner with UB’s LaunchPad in hosting this program. Please contact me to coordinate efforts.
We would appreciate it if you can remind students that those interested in studying Chinese, French, Italian and/or Spanish at UB for the first time must take the Avant PLACE exam before they can register in the courses.
For more information and for registration, please visit:
· studied Chinese, French, Italian or Spanish in a classroom, or other formal setting,
· used Chinese, French, Italian, Kreyol, or Spanish at home
· lived in a place where Chinese, French, Italian, Kreyol, or Spanish was widely spoken
have transferred courses that were articulated as NOC or 999
The exam is not intended for students who:
· have never studied the language they plan to take at UB ( these students will start with 101),
· have transferred college coursework or alternative exam credit that has been articulated to a UB course/s (see TAURUS for articulations, these students will continue with the next level up in proficiency),
· are repeating a course to improve their grade
have already completed language courses at UB
When to take the test? Before the student’s registration window for the semester in which they plan to take the course. Students should register and take the test soon thereafter in one seating.
When will the students know their placement? The test takes 3-7 busines days to be corrected. Once we receive the results, we upload them into HUB and the students will receive an email with their results to their UB email account (not on weekends).
Results may be delayed in posting if students do not follow the instructions, in particular, they must only use their correct UB Person Number as log on and UB Email for communicating results.
Where can students and/or advisors see the results? The results can be seen in HUB (Admissions Tab together with all other test results) and in Navigate once the results are uploaded into HUB.
Can they repeat the test? No
Please note: 1) the test is for active UB students only, 2) the test is not a proficiency test, 3) the test does not grant any college level credits.
Gather with members of the LGBTQ FSA on Zoom for a panel conversation with guests from two local organizations about accountability partnership towards abolition and the movement for multiracial justice.
Josie Diebold MSW ’18, PhD Candidate, School of Social Work
Erin Heaney, National Director, Showing Up for Racial Justice
Natalia Marte JD ’20, Advisory Board Chair, Black Love Resists in the Rust
Athena Matua, Professor, School of Law
About BLRR and SURJ:
Black Love Resists in the Rust (BLRR) is a member-led, abolitionist organization of Black folks and POC that believes – through leadership development, a shared politic, and community organizing – we will build safe and flourishing communities that resist the ills of white supremacist, cis-heteropatriarchal, capitalism; including policing.
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network organizing white people against white supremacy. At SURJ, we’re working towards a world where every community has what they need to not just survive, but to thrive. We believe we get there by working together and following the leadership of communities that directly experience racism and economic injustices. And we believe white people have an important role to play. The local SURJ chapter is SURJ Buffalo.
The Brown Bag Conversation series are casual opportunities to learn and engage, open to members of the UB community. This specific event is also open to the public and is in collaboration with the Professional Staff Senate Inclusion and Diversity Committee, Office of Inclusive Excellence, and Minority Faculty and Staff Association.
UB and Other SUNY students can participate remotely in Korea University’s International Winter Campus (IWC) program. The three-week academic program includes a variety of challenging courses taught by distinguished faculty from prestigious universities around the world.
Students will take one to two virtual courses for a total of 3-6 credits. Each class offers a full semester-load of coursework condensed into three weeks. With the exception of Korean language classes, all classes are taught in English and no prior knowledge of Korean is necessary for enrollment in these courses. Korea University is an AACSB accredited institution.
If interested, students may contact the Study Abroad Advising Assistant, Karen Joppe, directly via email (karentho@buffalo.edu) or contact our office (201 Talbert Hall; 716-645-3912; studyabroad@buffalo.edu) to schedule an appointment! Appointments can be by phone, via Zoom, or in-person, based on your preference.
The Brockport Global Citizenship Virtual Exchange Programs were modeled after the SUNY Coil Global Commons program. In these Global Citizenship Virtual Exchange Programs, students will contribute to global sustainability by completing a project in small groups, in partnership with community based and nonprofit organizations around the world. Students will gain skills in intercultural communications and collaboration by completing a project for one of these partner organizations through the framework of the United Nations Sustainability Goals. Partner organizations around the world will work with groups of students to develop these stories and receive use of the final products.
LdM’s distance learning program is an exciting academic opportunity for students to connect with peers from all around the world while gaining invaluable insight into a variety of subjects for which Italy is world-renowned, from art history to fashion marketing, wine business, and gastronomy.
Students will enroll in 1 – 2 courses (3 – 6 credits), and follow lessons from Monday, January 3 – Monday, January 24, 2022. A mandatory orientation will be held on Thursday, December 30, 2021. Click here to view the Winter 2022 LdM Course Offerings. Many of the winter courses currently listed on the LdM webpage have already been reviewed by UB departments and approved courses can be found on our website and/or in TAURUS. For example, the following LdM ONLINE courses have already been reviewed/approved for specific UB requirements:
ANC 215F/HIS 215F: Florentia: The Ancient Roots of Florence (LdM) > APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Civilization & History
ART 186F: Art History II: High Renaissance to the Present (LdM) > APPROVED for AHI 102LR: Survey of Art History: Italian Renaissance to Present (UB); APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Arts
BUS 250F: International Business (LdM) > APPROVED for GEO 330LEC: Dynamics of International Business (UB); APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Civilization & History OR Social Sciences
BUS 252F/IGC 252F: Wine Business & Marketing (LdM) > APPROVED for Global Pathway – No UB Area
GND 280F/PSY 280F: Love and Natural Selection: Science and Myth (LdM) > APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Humanities OR Social Sciences
PSY 320F: Psychology of Art and Human Creativity (LdM) > APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Arts OR Social Sciences
ITL 101F: Italian Language Elementary 1 (LdM) > APPROVED for Global Pathway – UB Area – Humanities OR Languages
**Please note that this list of course articulations is continually growing. If you would like additional courses reviewed for UB equivalents and/or Global Pathway requirement(s), please contact our office for further assistance.
We are hosting an election for the position of Freshman Class Representative The freshman class representative is part of the Honors student council. They will attend weekly meetings, help plan events, and give a perspective from the freshman class. Only Freshman Honors Students are eligible for this position If you are interested in running for this position please fill out the following form:
