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The 26th 91¸£ÀûÉç Asian Studies Graduate Association (CUBASGA) annual conference was held successfully over the weekend of 22 and 23 February 2025. CUBASGA is one of the largest graduate student conferences in the field of Asian Studies and is run entirely by graduate students from the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations. We provide a platform for MA and PhD students to present their papers, receive feedback from faculty and fellow students, as well as make interdisciplinary connections within the broad field of Asian Studies.Ìý

           This year, we had nearly forty student speakers from prestigious institutions all around the world sharing their research across 11 panels over two days. On top of our visiting student speakers, we also had 20 speakers from 91¸£ÀûÉç, all hailing from various departments. Students from the CU Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Anthropology, History, and Religious Studies presented their findings, which facilitated lively multidisciplinary discussions throughout the course of the conference. We also invited two distinguished scholars as our keynote speakers: Professor Ronald Egan from Stanford University and Professor David C. Atherton from Harvard University.Ìý

           Professor Egan’s keynote address placed the extensive oeuvre of 11th-Century poet and essayist Su Shi in the spotlight. Specifically, how should we read a collection of hundreds of texts, spanning multiple genres, all authored by the same individual? While many existing compilations group these texts by genre, Professor Egan proposed selecting and reordering the individual texts chronologically, thus reading these texts alongside Su Shi’s life progression. His fascinating talk highlighted how new connections can be drawn from a careful and well-considered reorganization of the oeuvre. Prof. Atherton gave a talk on a story written by Japanese Edo period writer, scholar, and poet Ueda Akinari in the last years of his life, which sheds light on a transformative period for waka poetry in the late eighteenth century. He shed light on the transition of ·É²¹°ì²¹Ìýpoetry, from being the cultural property of aristocrats to a genre studied and experimented upon by people from all walks of life. Professor Atherton’s presentation invited the audience to reflect upon the composition of poetry, as well as the transmission of creative teaching. Both talks were followed by spirited discussions with questions asked by both graduate students and faculty members.Ìý

           Moreover, the attendees of this year’s CUBASGA were not limited to faculty, staff, and graduate students. Undergraduate students from our Chinese and Japanese language classes, as well as students in STEM majors were also present, listening to presentations and participating in lively discussions. After the conference, attendees were invited to our post-conference dinner at You & Mee Noodle House, where speakers and professors were able to interact in a less formal setting. Many of them continued their debates and established stronger connections with one another.

           This year’s CUBASGA was a great success based on the feedback and messages we have heard and received from our speakers and other attendees. The continued prestige of the conference is in large part thanks to the generous financial support of the 91¸£ÀûÉç Center for Asian Studies, Cultural Events Board, and the Department of Asian Languages and Civilization. We will strive to maintain this high level of reputation for the CUBASGA annual conference, and will continue to facilitate graduate student research, cooperation and network building in the future.Ìý