Robson Reading Series Presents Al Hunter (Beautiful Razor: Love Poems and Other Lies)
As part of the Robson Reading Series, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and the UBC First Nations House of Learning hosted Anishinaabe writer Al Hunter to an author reading of his latest book of poetry. Hunter, who has published poetry in books and journals, has taught extensively and performed internationally. A member of Rainy River First Nations and former chief, Hunter has expertise in land claims negotiations, and is a longstanding activist on behalf of indigenous rights and wellness, and environmental responsibility. His poetry has been widely published, including such anthologies and journals as: Boyhood, Growing Up Male: A Multicultural Anthology; Canadian Literature; Gatherings; New Breed; North Coast Review; Poets Who Haven’t Moved to Minneapolis; Rampike; as well as the anthology, Days of Obsidian, Days of Grace, Poetry and Prose by Four Native American Writers.
Biography
Al Hunter is an Anishinaabe writer who has published poetry in books and journals around the world, taught extensively, and performed internationally, including, at the International Poetry Festival of Medellin. A member of Rainy River First Nations and former chief, Hunter has expertise in land claims negotiations, and is a longstanding activist on behalf of indigenous rights and wellness, and environmental responsibility. Hunter lives in Manitou Rapids, Rainy River First Nations in Ontario.
Al is also the founder and president of Good Life for Young Peoples
Select Books Available at UBC Library
Hunter, Al. (2001) Spirit Horses. Wiarton, Ont: Kegedonce Press. Link: http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=2556621
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“Generation One” Presented by explorASIAN (May 1st – May 30th)
As one of its signature programs throughout Metro Vancouver during Asian Heritage Month, this exhibition showcases Asian-Canadian artists’ creativity and vitality. This year’s displays of 3D art spotlights features artists Jong Jin Lee, Evan Leung, Ping Wong, Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin, and other UBC AHVA students. The highlight, which notes artists from a Pan-Asian cultural spectrum that stretches from the Middle East to the Far East, is to cultivate the appreciation of visual arts among youths as well as to stimulate inter-generational interaction and learning. In addition to the displays located in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, a simultaneous exhibition will be presented at the Asian Centre Auditorium from May 20th – May 27th.
Artist: Jong Jin Lee, In the Flower Field, Stone sculpture
Jong Jin Lee was born in Seour, South Korea in 1971 and immigrated to Canada in 2008. He graduated from the department of Sculpture and Seoul’s Hong-Ik University in 1997. His professional artist life started in year 1997; he participated in 7 solo exhibition and more than 60 group exhibition in Korea. After moving to Canada, Jong Jin continued to design sculptures with passion and participated in Korean Artists Association exhibition from year 2008 to 2012. He also shared his talent and skills by teaching students and had an exhibition From Across the Ocean at the Centennial Museum in Fort Langley in 2010. He was the president of Korean Artists Association in Vancouver between 2010 to 2011.
Artist: Evan Leung, Harmony III, ceramic
Evan Ting Kwok Leung was born in Hong Kong in 1977. Growing up with an artist father, Evan has been exposed to the arts and for as long as he can remember. During his secondary school period, he was fascinated by the potential and creativeness from pottery and ceramics. From 1995 to 1999, he learned further ceramic skills from an active potter, Ping-Kwong Wong, in Richmond, BC. Since 1998, he has been participating in certain solo and group exhibitions in Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Later on from 2001 to 2005, according to the passion and interest of Ting Kwok, he studied varieties of visual arts theories, mediums and techniques at Kwantlen University College and Emily Carr Institute. Recently, his artworks have been selected in a few juried art exhibitions of ARTS 2010 – 2012 with Honorable Mention award, 2010 Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters and 2012 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale Exhibition which the artwork is under the collection of New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan.
Artist: Ping-Kwong Wong, Dad, we’ll be empty nest , ceramics, oxidation glazed
Ping-Kwong Wong was born in China, moved to Hong Kong in 1956, and settled in Vancouver, Canada in 1994. Wong studied art education at Sir Robert Black College of Education, and Grantham College of Education from 1969 to 1972 in Hong Kong. He studied studio ceramics at Hong Kong Polytechnic from 1981 to 1983. He graduated from University of Wolverhampton, U.K. with B. Ed degree in 1992. He studied the ‘Adult Education Instructor Training Program’ at the Vancouver School Board, B.C., in 1995. He has participated many exhibitions in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, United States, and mainly in B.C., Canada since 1995. He was the recipient of the Hong Kong Urban Council Fine Arts Award (Ceramics) in 1987. Now he is a studio potter and ceramic art instructor.
Artist: Ilsoo Kyng MacLaurin
Ilsoo Kyung MacLaurin immigrated to Canada in 1967 as a Registered Nurse. Retiring after 30 years of service, she studied fine arts and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia in 2006. She is a member of the South Delta Artist’s Guild, the Delta Arts Council, the North Vancouver Artist’s Council and the Surrey Artist’s Council. This particular installation depicts an element of Ilsoo’s past. As with many of her works, it is grounded with in the natural world and visual visual appeal is at its roots. Ilsoo pays special attention to detail, structure and form; however behind this scene can there be more meaning? These dancers stir and spread the awareness of a past, which will allow the viewer a glimpse of the challenges that we must face together as a society. In her works, Ilsoo addresses the question of cultural identity and, in the process; a new synthesis is emerging through her own individual practice of creating art.
Please let us know what you think of the art exhibition by using our virtual feedback form.
Tracy Friedel – Decolonizing Learning Through the Lense of Place, Community and Experience
This seminar focuses on the potential and pedagogical possibilities of place/community/experience–based learning to act as a decolonizing force in teacher education. In this seminar, we will share the experience of an Indigenous educator who sought to work with a group of graduate students to understand how participation in place–based service learning could affect graduate students’ understanding of: a) local social and ecological issues (particularly those affecting local Indigenous groups), b) feelings of efficacy with respect to the work of social change, and c) motivation to be involved in such efforts. This research project fits within a larger strategy of the UBC–Community Learning Initiative (UBC–CLI) to encourage the engagement of students, faculty, staff, and community to work collaboratively on projects that seek to address complex community priorities in ways that also support student learning.
Speaker Biographies
Tracy Friedel’s research interests include First Nation and Métis experience in the realm of work and learning, decolonizing research at the intersection of health and education, Nehiyaw-Métis oral histories, and Indigenous-focused outdoor/land/place-based education. As part of this latter interest, she has engaged with community-based partners in the Lower Mainland of BC, and Haida Gwaii, to create meaningful academic service learning experiences for UBC graduate students. In extending upon earlier research, she is the Principal Investigator of a community-based project focused on Indigenous youth leadership in the area of unintentional injury prevention. Friedel is interested in pursuing inquiry via means of Indigenous methodologies, community-based participatory research, qualitative case studies, visual research methods, oral hi(stories), and critical race theory in qualitative research.
Mahtab Eskandari’s fields of interest are in curriculum and pedagogy. She has been an educator as a Science, ESL, Arts and Anthropology teacher since 1998. Eskandari started with the Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics in Iran; and traveling as an international rural educator, she found interest in Anthropology, Social studies and Environmental education in international indigenous communities. She enjoys working with teachers in practicum settings and communicating and interacting with different generations and cultures towards improving learning and teaching. Over the years Eskandari has researched active and dynamic integration of technology (with a focus on animation and decolonizing network systems) and museum learning in teacher education as well as multicultural education.
Allyson’s background in Early Childhood Development, Aboriginal Health, and Aboriginal Education focused on bridging the gap between academic research and community driven needs. Her work at the UBC-CLI aims to better understand the impacts of Community Based Experiential Learning on the three key stakeholder groups with whom we work: community organizations, students, and faculty.
Kyle Nelson is the the Community Based Experiential Learning Officer at UBC. Kyle is a big believer in the University’s role in building community capacity, and is a key player in strengthening and sustaining community based experiential learning (CBEL) opportunities for UBC students. Kyle jointly reports to UBC’s Community Learning Initiative (UBC-CLI) and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. The UBC-CLI helps to integrate CBEL into academic disciplines and to ensure that meaningful community engagement opportunities are available outside the context of coursework as well.
Select Articles Available at UBC Library
Friedel, T.L. (2011). Looking for learning in all the wrong places: Urban Native youths’ cultured response to Western-oriented place-based learning. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Special Issue – Youth Resistance Revisited, 24 (5), 531-546. Link: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09518398.2011.600266#.UZZsBqKsiSo
Friedel, T. L. (2008). (Not so) crude text and images: staging Native in ‘big oil’advertising. Visual Studies, 23(3), 238-254. Link: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14725860802489908#.UZZtsqKsiSo
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Alumni Weekend 2013 at Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
In celebration of Alumni Weekend 2013, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre will be hosting a program featuring UBC alumnus Dr. Laifong Leung who will talk about the Chinese community in Canada in the 20th century in “Chinese Canadian Stories: From Early Literature to Modern Archives.” Having completed extensive research to reconstruct the much neglected literary contributions of the immigrants from Guangdong province in China to the body of Chinese Canadian literature, professor Leung discusses groundbreaking research on the literary activities of the early Chinese immigrants in BC, examining the literary and cultural activities of the Cantonese speaking Chinese immigrants in B.C. from the Gold Rush era to the 1990s in order to present an accurate picture of Chinese community.
In examining the “wall poems” written by early Chinese in the detention center in Victoria, B.C, to the huge Collection of Poetry in 1957 by the Chinese Times newspaper, her talk explores the major characteristics of these poems and particularly the incorporation of images in order to show the transformation of Chinese classical poetry in the diaspora. As part of this program, tours of UBC’s cultural collections will complement this talk afterwards: (A) The Museum of Anthropology featuring the oral history lab and Cantonese Opera collection; and (B) The Chung Collection of early Chinese Canadian historical materials at UBC Rare Books & Special Collections.
Time/Location
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Laifong Leung taught Chinese literature, language, and calligraphy at the University of Alberta. Her publications include many books on classical Chinese poetry and post-Mao literature, and a Mandarin language textbook. Her current projects include developing the Chinese learning courseware Concise Interactive Chinese and working on a forthcoming co-authored book History of Literary Interactions between China and Canada. She is the co-founder and current Chair of the Chinese Canadian Writers Association and editor of the e-journal of the Canadian Teaching Chinese as a Second Language Association. A UBC alumnus, Laifong Leung completed her MA and PhD at the University of British Columbia in Asian Studies.
Sarah Romkey graduated from University of British Columbia’s joint Masters in Archival Studies and Masters in Library and Information Studies program in 2008. She has since that time worked in UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections division initially as the Librarian and Archivist for the Chung Collection and since 2009 as the Rare Books and Special Collections Archivist. Sarah is responsible in this role for acquiring, providing access to and preserving the archives of individuals and organizations external to UBC
Allan Cho is Community Engagement Librarian at the University of British Columbia’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, where he is responsible for designing programs and services that support the broader community as well as variety of learners and instructors. Initiatives he is involved in include the Chinese Canadian Stories, working with twenty-seven communities across Canada, from Victoria, BC to St.John’s, Newfoundland in documenting and promoting the research of Chinese Canadian history.
24/7 study hours at the Learning Centre
Sunday April 7 – Wednesday April 24, 2013
Planning some late study sessions for the upcoming exam period? Then make sure to check out the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, where a range of study spaces will be open 24 hours a day.
Please note that “extended hours” DOES NOT include service points such as: the Chapman Learning Commons, Ike’s Cafe or access to the Library bookstacks.
During the 24/7 opening period, regular cleaning of study spaces will continue. Certain rooms in the Learning Centre will be closed for cleaning and/or exam preparation during the 24/7 study period.
If you’re planning to stay overnight at UBC or have an early exam, then check out the UBC Student Hostel, bookable online at http://www.housing.ubc.ca/student-residences-van/commuter-hostel
UBC AMS Safewalk – available 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. – call 604-822-5355