UBC Asian Studies

This keynote is ✨hybrid, free and open to the public✨

To know more and register, either:
✅ Use the QR below
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✅Access: https://buddhism.arts.ubc.ca/keynote-lecture-dr-lina-verchery-the-great-earth-tiny-creatures/

We hope to see you there!

Our Associate Professor of Teaching, Dr. Nesrine Basheer, served as Canada's lead researcher on the Study of Arabic Language Programs, a mixed-methods study conducted by the Institute of International Education in partnership with Qatar Foundation International!

The resulting report, "Mapping Arabic Language Education: A Global Landscape Study of Policy and Practice," draws on data from over 200 K–12 Arabic language programs across six countries and examines policy frameworks, program structures, and teaching practices in primary and secondary schools.

Read more:

Study of Arabic Language Programs The SALP collects comparable data on Arabic language programs in Canada, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States to provide a comprehensive view on Arabic teaching and learning.

This summer, the Asian Library is featuring a range of Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Punjabi materials on the topic of rice. Check them out at the displays in the basement or upper floor. https://bit.ly/4gI10Xu

We're proud to announce that Dr. Hessam Dehghani has been promoted to Associate Professor, effective July 1!

Dr. Dehghani has led the Persian Language Program since 2021 and has been committed to curriculum innovation and community-building initiatives.

Join Asian Studies Professor Renisa Mawani on Sunday, July 12 for the Indian Summer Festival's Tiffin Talks! Consider how dispossession, violence, and exile structures the lives of South Asian communities, and then join the panelists over a delicious Indian-style tiffin meal to connect and reflect.

The Canada Research Chair in Colonial Legal Histories and a Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia, Renisa Mawani's studies in Colonial History, Critical Theory, Race and Racism invite us to think more deeply about our world and the concept of placemaking.

Mawani is the author of Colonial Proximities (University of British Columbia Press, 2009) and Across Oceans of Law (Duke University Press, 2018), which was a finalist for the U.K. Socio-Legal Studies Association Theory and History Book Prize (2020) and winner of the Association of Asian American Studies Book Prize for Outstanding Contribution to History.

Hear Mawani's powerful insights at Tiffin Talks on Sunday, July 12 at Ocean Artworks Pavilion.

Thank you to our partners Granville Island and the Hari Sharma Foundation for their support.

Get your tickets at https://indiansummerfest.ca/tiffin-talks.

Photo Credit: Julie Doro

We're proud to announce that Dr. Nesrine Basheer has been promoted to Associate Professor, effective July 1!

A passionate advocate for the advancement of Arabic first and second language education, Dr. Basheer spearheads our Arabic language program and is actively involved in fostering discussions and knowledge exchange between other teachers of Arabic as a second language.

Congratulations to our Nepali instructor, Binod Shrestha and associate faculty member, Dr. Mark Turin on the launch of "Introduction to the Nepali Language" in collaboration with Salina Dolmo Lama, a Nepali graduate student at UBC!

We are pleased to announce the development of Introduction to the Nepali Language, a free Open Educational Resource (OER), co-authored by Binod Shrestha, Dr. Mark Turin and Salina Dolmo Lama.

https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/nepali/

The text introduces learners to the Devanāgarī writing system and is particularly valuable for university-level learners studying Nepali as a foreign language; it will be equally meaningful for members of the Nepali diaspora seeking to reconnect with their linguistic and cultural heritage.

We warmly invite scholars, students and community members to explore, adopt, and adapt this open resource. As we continue to improve this emerging resource, we welcome your feedback so we can better understand how you are using the resource and help us identify areas for improvement. Please sign up for the Mailing List and Feedback Form.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRjgxP4a-dgrQZM5tvAMhiO988P6siDOHzkUeNCU8FX58UGQ/viewform

Introduction to the Nepali Language is intended to complement rather than replace classroom instruction. We warmly invite you to come learn Nepali with us this summer and experience language learning in a collaborative classroom setting with our brilliant instructor, Binod Shrestha.
https://himalaya.arts.ubc.ca/language-learning/

Congratulations to our Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture and Department Head, Sharalyn Orbaugh, who was appointed as one of two 2026 recipients of the Dean of Arts Award!

This annual award recognizes faculty members who have made exceptional contributions to the Faculty of Arts, and is given in the name of a living Professor Emeritus/Emerita, chosen by the award recipient.

Dr. Orbaugh was honoured for nearly three decades of teaching across Japanese literature, visual culture, and gender studies, and for her leadership as Head of Asian Studies, and chose to accept the award in the name of Asian Studies Professor Emerita Dr. Tineke Hellwig.

Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh Receives Dean of Arts Award Alongside Dr. Tineke Hellwig - Department of Asian Studies Our Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture and Department Head, Sharalyn Orbaugh, was appointed as one of two 2026 recipients of the Dean of Arts Award. The award was given in the name of Dr. Tineke Hellwig, Asian Studies Professor Emerita.

We're so proud to have been a part of Yasuko's incredible journey as she graduates from Asian Studies this spring!

Read more about her experience starting anew in Canada and making connections and opportunities through UBC Learning Exchange.

Yasuko Tamaki started her journey at the Learning Exchange as a learner in the English Conversation Program, later becoming a facilitator leading English conversation sessions, at other times, a leader of special community activities.

Yasuko is now graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Asian Studies and minoring in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, and has been accepted into a Master’s program.

Learn more about Yasuko’s experience at the Learning Exchange, as well as her perspective on being a newcomer to Canada and having to learning a new culture.

Read the whole story here: https://learningexchange.ubc.ca/2026/05/11/yasuko-tamakis-second-life/