Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
A travelogue of a geologist visiting the hand carved ancient Cave Shrines of Hindus and Buddhists near Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra in India. These caves were accidentally discovered in early eighteenth century. Starting in Mumbai (Bombay) in Maharashtra state, we go through Aurangabad to the caves of Ajanta and then on to Ellora. … Read more
Japan’s meteoric economic rise from the end of World War II through the 1980s and then its rapid descent into economic stagnation is one of the greatest reversals of economic fortunes among the industrialized democracies. Japan’s public finances followed a similar arc, with Japan, a former model of fiscal discipline and restrained spending, becoming virtually … Read more
Ayurveda which is India’s traditional medicinal systems dates back 5000 years in recorded history. It is an indigenous medicinal system, which is always evolving and is a science which has been time tested. Ayurveda teaches one to learn to become one’s own doctor so that when the ‘doshas’ (constitution types) go out of ‘balance’ the … Read more
What does it mean to be a hyphenated Muslim in a post-9/11 world? How do Muslim artists, writers and filmmakers address these issues of identity, assimilation, and recreation in homes they have made outside of what has been called the “Muslim World”? What was earlier Muslim Diaspora cultural production dealing with before 9/11 put them … Read more
Almost all representations of Thailand refer to it as Buddhist. The majority of its citizens identify themselves as practitioners of Theravada Buddhism, although a history of sectarian disputes within this strand of Buddhism has also provided an idiom for regional political movements. Today, the status of religion is changing. Debates about the constitutional formalization of … Read more
Author Henry Chang will read from his acclaimed novels CHINATOWN BEAT and YEAR OF THE DOG and will discuss the origins and methodology of his writing style, evoking Chinatown not only as setting but also as a character. He will explain how he has combined noir mystery with Chinese American sociology and history. Chinatown Beat … Read more