SUNY Buffalo State College celebrates 22nd anniversary of the Center for China Studies

Visiting scholar Peng Zhuang presenting Buffalo State College Center for China Studies 22nd anniversary exhibit photo credit: Cait Malilay

The State University of New York College at Buffalo's Center for China Studies celebrated its 22nd anniversary last week with exhibits in the Student Union and Butler Library.

Because of the pandemic, as with many other school events, the center didn’t get an opportunity to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we did some other kinds of activities like Chinese landscape painting and performances,” said Peng Zhuang, a visiting scholar from Xinxiang University.

The mission of the center is “to promote and coordinate research, scholarly exchanges, academic programs and economic development with China,” as well as offer an international perspective to students, faculty, staff and the general community in Western New York.

photo credit: Cait Malilay

Zhuang has been in Buffalo for about a year and is originally from Henan, a province in Central China.

Dongquing Li, a visiting scholar from University at Buffalo who also helped present the table exhibit in the Student Union, shared his thoughts on mandating Asian American studies for K-12 schools, legislation that has been passed by two states so far, Illinois being the first and New Jersey following.

“We see things from different angles. By sharing our cultures and our histories, then maybe we can try and understand each other more in the future,” Li said.

This legislative action comes shortly after the anti-Asian American Pacific Islander rhetoric led to a rise in AAPI hate crimes.

Consul General Huang Ping at SUNY Buffalo State College's Social Hall
photo credit: Peng Zhuang

Li, who has been in Buffalo for six months and is originally from Sichuan, the second largest province in China, said that the Asian studies requirement can help broaden both teachers and students' horizons.

“We cannot just confront ourselves here in the U.S., and understand nothing of what is outside of the U.S.,” he said.

To conclude the annual celebration, President Katherine Conway-Turner invited Consul General Huang Ping to speak at Buffalo State College on Friday.

Comments

'The Neutral Ground: A Story About Sore Losers' SUNY College at Buffalo 'Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse Screening and Discussion Series' panel recap

The screening of "The Neutral Ground: A Story About Sore Losers," which took place last Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Burchfield Penney Art Center as part of the Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse Screening and Discussion Series , was followed by a discussion panel with Chief of Staff to President Katherine Conway-Turner and State University of New York College at Buffalo Chief Diversity Officer Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney; John Torrey, a professor who holds a doctorate in philosophy and Mikaila Morgan, an Africana studies major. Directed by CJ Hunt, a field producer for The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, this first movie to launch the spring semester chronicles New Orleans’ fight over Confederate monuments and “America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause.” “When we talk about racism and all these deeply embedded prejudices, they’re institutionalized, and when we talk about the way they’re in our institutions, it’s not just the statues,” said Ruth Goldman, an associate professo

How to avoid family quarrels during the most wonderful time of the year: Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving: a time of cheer, laughs, good food and getting together with the family. But for some, it may be daunting to meet with certain members. After all, we’ve all heard of the in-law horror stories and watched the movies: “Monster-in-Law,” (2005) “Meet The Parents,” (2000) and “ Crazy Rich Asians" (2018). "Meet the Parents" (2000) Raffi Bilek, a Licensed Certified Social Worker – Clinical and the director of the Baltimore Therapy Center , shared his advice on how to avoid family tensions. “These days, I think politics is the hot topic. For the past couple of years, it’s gotten more and more polarized and political issues cause big arguments,” he said. According to a 2022 poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College , 19% of registered voters said that politics damaged relations with family members or friends. With the recent release of the dates and locations of the 2024 presidential debates , it's likely to come about in conversation at le

Women In Translation Month: The woman behind Jojo Adventure Books

photo credit: Cait Malilay Emily Shan is a New York City public school teacher, stay-at-home mom and author and creator of Jojo Adventure Books , a bilingual children’s board book series that’s written in Cantonese and English. Launched in September 2022, the series is based on real adventures, both big and small, of her daughter Jojo. “At the same time, I’m creating the resources for ourselves as well as families who want to be able to pass down that Cantonese language to the next generation and hopefully future generations beyond that,” Shan said. What inspired her to launch this project is that while she was shopping for children's books, she noticed that a lot of them were more catered toward Mandarin-speaking families. Mandarin and Cantonese are tone languages. "Cantonese has six to nine tones, whereas Mandarin has four to five. You’ll see Cantonese written as traditional Chinese characters, whereas Mandarin will typically be written in simplified Chinese characters,&quo

Type Away Cait

Search This Blog