Newsletter No. 120

Annual Cultural Conference Probes Culture in Pan-Asian Context The Fourth International Conference on Cultural Criticism was held from 5th to 9th January 1998 on CUHK campus. The event was organized by the Programme for Hong Kong Cultural Studies of the University's Research Institute for the Humanities in conjunction with the Center for Transcultural Studies in Chicago, and the Workshop on Chinese Cultural Studies, Harvard University. A total of 23 papers were delivered at 11 panel sessions during the five-day conference. Over 30 local and overseas scholars participated in the discussion of this year's theme, 'New Cultural Imaginaries: Cosmopolitan Sensibilities and Alternative Modernities in the Pan-Asian Context'. To make the event a comparative, interdisciplinary, and transcultural project, specialists from the areas of anthropology, art history, communication, education, film studies, history, legal studies, literature, media studies, music, philosophy, and sociology were invited to present papers. Panel sessions featured topics on Asian cosmopolitan lifestyles, nationalist/imperialist projects, cultural hybridity and historical imagination, visual/ spatial cultures, citizenship and the culture of human rights, the Chinese urban imaginary, and culture, government and institution. A round-table session on 'Contemporary Studies onCulture' on 9th January rounded off the occasion. Charles Taylor (left) from McGill University and Alberta Arthurs from MEM Associates at the conference Chung Chi Students Learn About Education System in Shanghai A student delegation from Chung Chi College paid a 10-day visit to Shanghai from 27th December 1997 to study the city's education system and its development. During the visit, the 10 Chung Chi students discussed with their counterparts in Fudan University educational policies and development in Hong Kong and Shanghai. They also conducted research in small groups and visited educational organizations and government departments in Shanghai. The visit, organized under the auspices of the college's student visitor programme, was sponsored by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, of which Chung Chi College is a member. Highlights of the visit as well as the students' reports will be exhibited in the lower lounge of the college chapel and Chung Chi Tang in late January. Chinese Print Artist Exhibition Works by Chinese artist Zhong Xi were exhibited at the Foyer Gallery of the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall from 5th to 9th January 1998. Born in 1963, Zhong Xi received his art education and training in China and is known for his prints and water colours. His works have been exhibited in the US, Japan, Austria, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The opening ceremony for the exhibition was heldat 4.00p.m. on 5th January, and was followed by a talk entitled The Traditional "Brush and Ink" Traces in the Creation of Print-making'. The Chinese University Press New Publication Education Journal Published twice a yearjointly by the University Press and the Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research, the bilingual journal aims to promote the exchange of ideas and rational discourse between practising educators and educational researchers from Hong Kong and abroad. To this end, it publishes articles on empirical and theoretical studies, research reports, commentaries, and book reviews that attempt a systematic analysis of educational processes and systems from different viewpoints and using different approaches. Edited by Tsang Wing-kwong, the current issue (25:1, summer 1996) includes a book review, 'School-BasedManagement as School Reform: Taking Stock' written in English by Esther Ho Sui-chu, and seven other articles, three of which are in English: • 'Functions of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA): A Hong Kong Perspective' by Pang I-wah • 'Family Relationship, Self- Concept, and Delinquent Behaviour Among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong' by Lau Kit-ling and David W. Chan • 'Parents' Attitude Towards Extracurricular Activities' by Lam Chi-hung and Wong Ngai-ying ISSN 1025-1936, paperback, HK$50 The journal is sold at a 20 per cent discount to University staff at the University Bookstore, John Fulton Centre. CUHK Academic Serves as Adviser to UNESCO Prof. Yeung Yue-man, professor of geography and director of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia- Pacific Studies, was recently appointed a member of the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He is the first academic from Hong Kong to have been invited to join the board. The ISAB draws its members from eminent scientists, including several Nobel laureates. It advises the director- general of the United Nations on scientific strategies and stimulates international action in eradicating illiteracy, disease, and poverty, in bringing about peace, and improving living conditions. The ISAB will also advise the director-general on a World Science Conference to be convened in 1999 to discuss the role of science in the new millennium. In his capacity as ISAB member, Prof. Yeung said he will contribute his expertise in urban development and town planning and focus particularly on the emergence of world cities. He aims at promoting cooperation between the East and the West, between developing and developed countries, and among all humanity.

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