CAS Newsletter

In 2019, UT Dallas made a double commitment to offer meaningful, integrated educational and research opportunities in Asian and Asian American Studies. First, it welcomed the prestigious Crow Museum of Asian Art into its academic family; and later that year, it established the Center for Asian Studies (CAS):

From the beginning, our missions have been complementary, each seeking to integrate research, education, and public outreach. The specific goals of CAS are to build a substantial academic institute devoted to the study of Asian and Asian American cultures across a broad spectrum of human achievement; to serve as a catalytic hub nurturing collaboration among faculty members and students across all disciplines, academic fields and interests; and to strengthen the university’s relationship with the Asian American community by fostering deeper understanding.

Five years later, the positive impact of the university’s commitment is evident. Let me begin by extending, both on behalf of CAS and personally, our congratulations to Amy Lewis Hofland and the leadership team of the Crow Museum for their indefatigable and enlightening efforts to nurture humane understanding across cultures and between individuals.

On September 24, the magnificent new Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas will officially open:

On September 25, in a perfect symbolic coincidence, CAS will inaugurate our most ambitious research project yet:

Charlie’s Tech Talk has two goals: first, to document the contributions of Asians, Asian Americans and those connected with Asian communities to the technological developments that are transforming society; second, to examine the cultural, economic, and societal impact of those developments.

As we look forward to the next five years and beyond, this is also an appropriate moment to look back on five achievements that reflect our guiding philosophy. Each involved collaboration both within UTD and with the community, and each involved the convergence of disparate fields:

Presented in partnership with the Crow Museum, the subjects of this three-day interdisciplinary festival exploration ranged from fossil fuel economics to a fashion show and closed with a cultural performance.

This partnership with the Crow Museum and UTD Department of Geoscience invited viewers to see works of human- and nature-made works of art both esthetically and scientifically.

In partnership with the Ni Hao Project of Dallas, the camp annually introduces participants of ages 5-15 to Chinese language, music, dance, games, and more.

In a program jointly sponsored by CAS and the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, Asian American artist/scholar Julian Saporiti used folk music to contrast the myths and reality of the Asian American experience.

The inaugural lecture of a newly endowed series focusing of Pan Asian Studies, in collaboration with the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology. Indian American author Chitra Divakaruni eloquently addressed the important role of fiction in fostering understanding across cultures.

During the next five years, and many beyond that, I am convinced that the impetus created by two decisions in 2019 will gain strength; and that Asian Studies will join Translation Studies, Holocaust Studies and others as jewels of cross-cultural education in the UTD academic crown.

Dennis M. Kratz

Founding Director

Performance artist, playwright, cultural anthropologist, philosopher of technology, creative disruptor: The expanse of Prof. Thomas Riccio’s interests makes it impossible to categorize him. In the past year he produced an immersive exhibition of his experiences with the Miao people of China and published a book exploring the cultural implications of the humanoid robot Sophia.

Since his arrival as UTD in 2003, he has been not only a visionary colleague but also, for me, a treasured friend. He has announced his decision to “retire,” that is, to free himself to devote his energy, intellect, and imagination to new adventures. Thank you, Tom, for helping UTD become a more imaginative, complex, and exciting university.

Dr. Yan Haiying, Prof. of History at Peking University, has curated a major exhibition of Egyptian culture now on display in Shanghai. An internationally distinguished Egyptologist, she has on occasion taught at UTD as Visiting Professor.

Classes begin on Saturday, August 24, so there's still time to register for the Fall 2024 semester! CAS will be offering the following schedule:

Mandarin Chinese ($598/semester)

• Beginning Chinese I and II, In-Person
  • 8/24 – 12/14, Saturdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Intermediate Chinese, In-Person with Option to Join Online
  • 8/24 – 12/14, Saturdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Advanced Chinese, In-Person with Option to Join Online
• 8/24 – 12/14, Saturdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Hindi ($598/semester)

• Introductory Hindi I and II, In-Person with Option to Join Online
• 8/24 – 12/28, Saturdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• No class on November 16, 23, and 30

To register or to find out more information, please visit our website:

Endeavor Conference Room, JO 4.122

Tea is one the three most favorite beverages in the world. Originating from China in ancient times, it gradually spread to all parts of the world. According to one statistical account, one third of the world’s population drinks tea. Tea is not just a favorite global drink; drinking it is also a way of life, which has developed into a variety of tea cultures around the world, and exerted an impact on history, religion, literature, art, bodily health, and spiritual cultivation.

Dr. Sheng Min, a scholar from China’s Hunan Agriculture University and a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Dallas, will give a public lecture on tea culture and a demonstration of tea ceremonies. In her lecture, she will talk about the origins of Chinese tea culture and how it has evolved into world tea culture, with a dazzling array of distinctive tea cultures in Korea, Japan, India, Britain, America, Southeast Asia, and other regions. Moreover, she will tell how tea has served as a link connecting people from diverse national, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.

Dr. Sheng Min received her Ph.D in Tea Science and is a certified First-class National Tea Artist in China. She has done in-depth research on tea culture and published a well endorsed book on tea trade and culture by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press. After the lecture, she will give a demonstration of tea ceremonies and treat the audience to freshly brewed special tea that she has brought from China!

Arts and Technology Lecture Hall (ATC 1.102)

More details to come!

Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, Ann and Jack Graves Ballroom (1.102C)

A conversation with Nan Wang, CEO of one of the fastest-growing sports platforms in the United States, about the evolution, transformative impact, and emerging trends that are set to revolutionize the Fantasy and Esports entertainment industry.

This conversation is the inaugural event of Charlie’s Tech Talk – a research initiative of the Center for Asian Studies to explore the cultural, economic, and societal impact of developments in advanced technology, focusing on the contributions of Asian Americans and those connected with Asian American communities.

Nan Wang’s appearance is made possible by a generous grant from the Charlie and Pauline Chen and Family Endowment

Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas

The 12th Annual Anlin Ku Lecture on Chinese Culture presents Ken Liu, an internationally renowned science fiction/fantasy author, translator, editor, and authority on the cultural implications of technological innovation. His lecture will be on, "The Artistic Machine: What Can the Camera in the 19th Century Tell Us About the Future of AI and Creativity?"

While perhaps best known as the translator and champion of Chinese author Liu Cixin's Three-Body Problem, Liu has gained international recognition for his own fiction, for which he has won the prestigious Nebula, Hugo, Locus, and World Fantasy awards.

More details to come!

The Anlin Ku Lecture series is co-sponsored with the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, & Technology and is generously supported and endowed by Jeffrey Robinson and Stefanie Schneidler.