Extra Credit Opportunities for ENG/AMS 248

A Tibetan sand mandala. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/3242519210/

You have two options for earning 50 points (or 5%) of extra credit in 248. (No, you may not do both for 100 points. Pick one.) The first option is to bring in something to share with the class, write me a one-page paper about it, and give a brief (5-minute) presentation in class. You may do this at any point in the semester. Just let me know at the beginning of class. (This option is described in more detail on the course Syllabus.)

The second option is to attend an approved campus cultural event related to Asian American literature, art, media, history, or popular culture, and write me a one-page paper about it. Below is a list of approved events. If you would like to attend an event not listed here for extra credit, please check with me—if it's somehow related to Asian American literature, culture, or history, I'll probably approve it. I'll bring in a hard copy of this list on Saturday.

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Approved Events for Extra Credit

Ongoing

• Library Display on Buddhism. Walter Havighurst Special Collections, 321 King Library. Special Collections is open Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-5:30 pm and Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm (other times by appointment). Free and open to the public.
  
  Description: A display on Buddhism and His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s publications. Also included in the exhibit are a Thai Dream Book manuscript, two Thai fortune telling/astrology manuscripts, and a palm leaf manuscript in Pali (which preceded the more modern ancient Siamese language) which is believed to be more than 600 years old.
  
  

Thursday, September 16

• Tibet: Cray of the Snow Lion (2002). Tibet Film Series. 7:00 pm, MacMillan Hall 212, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  

Friday, September 17

• Egghead Café: “China: Coming and Going.” Panel discussion. 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm, Miami Hamilton Downtown. Free and open to the public.
  
  Description: Miami regional students join their international counterparts for a "guys' eye view" panel discussion about the adjustments, surprises, and challenges each encountered preparing for travel between countries. Order a bag lunch for $5: call Chele Dienno at 513-785-3251.
  
  

Thursday, September 23

• “Tibet and China: Historical Roots of an International Impasse.” Lecture. 4:30-6:00 pm, Hall Auditorium, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  The Tibet Issue has been unresolved for a century, in spite of a brief attempt at an accommodation in the 1950s. China has claimed Tibet as its inheritance from the Manchu Empire that collapsed in 1911; Tibetans have claimed that they should rightfully be independent of China. Professor Elliot Sperling from Indiana University will take a look at the history of the Tibet Question and offer an assessment of the positions now held by the Chinese and Tibetan sides to the dispute.
  
  

Friday, September 24

• Egghead Café: “TR in War and Peace.” Lecture. 12:00-1:00 pm, Miami Hamilton Downtown. Free and open to the public.
  
  Description: Assistant history professor Amanda McVety will present the story of Theodore Roosevelt's changing views of the value of American imperialism in the Philippines. Order a bag lunch for $5: call Chele Dienno at 513-785-3251.
  
  

Thursday, September 30

• “Landscapes of Tourism: Silk Road, Xinjiang and Tibet.” Lecture. 3:00-4:00 pm, Brill Science Library, Hughes Labs, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  Description: Professor Stan Toops examines the creation of a tourist landscape along the Silk Road and discuss the impacts of tourism development in western China.
  
  

Wednesday, October 6

• N*W*C: The Race Show. Performance. 7:30-9:30 pm, Hall Auditorium, Oxford. Tickets: $8 for students; $16 for non-students. http://arts.muohio.edu/performing-arts-series/events/nwc-race-show
  
  
  

  

  Description: Three young actors, of different ethnicities, have created a hilarious hip-hop send-up of their personal struggle to craft an assured personal identity while living in America’s middle class culture. N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk is a theatre piece rich in irony and humor. For some, the title is challenging, but in the end, the racial epithet is revealed for what it is, a distraction that keeps us from understanding and appreciating the beauty of our diversity and the integrity of our individuality.
  
  

Thursday, October 7

• “Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist.” Panel discussion. 5:00 pm, MacMillan Hall 212, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  Description: Panel discussion on Buddhist perspectives and traditions, including Tibetan Buddhism. Reception featuring Tibetan food begins at 4:45.
  
  
  
• The Cup (1999). Tibet Film Series. 7:00 pm, MacMillan Hall 212, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  

Monday, October 11

• “Queer Buddhists.” Lecture. 4:00-5:00 pm, Shriver Center 336, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  What does Buddhism have to say about sexual orientation and gender identity? Join Miami professor Liz Wilson as we explore some of the major gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender figures in the contemporary Buddhist community.
  
  

Monday, October 18

• “Sand Mandala Opening Ceremonies.” Tibetan monks will make a sand painting this week! 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm, 212 MacMillan Hall, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  
  
• “The Symbolism of the Sand Mandala.” Lecture. 6:30 pm, Miami University Art Museum, Oxford. Free and open to the public.
  

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Information on the Dalai Lama's visit to Miami University, including events that take place after our time together ends, can be found here: http://www.miami.muohio.edu/dalai-lama/index.html.

Let me know if you have questions! :)