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Asian Studies

Rising tension between China and Taiwan, explained 
a taiwanese flag is in the foreground with skyscrapers and shop signs in Chinese and English in the background

China has been increasing military pressure on Taiwan in recent days, sending nearly 150 warplanes over the island that it views as a breakaway province. 

Rising tension between China and Taiwan, explained 

Jacques deLisle, the director of The Center for the Study of Contemporary China, shares his thoughts China’s increasing military pressure and what’s next 

Kristen de Groot

Mid-autumn moon festival
A full moon with clouds in the sky

The mid-autumn festival often serves as a family reunion, with the moon’s perfect circle symbolizing completion and unity. 

Mid-autumn moon festival

With a moon viewing, cultural information, and food, the LGBT Center, Penn Queer and Asian, and the Penn Taiwanese Society held a celebration of the traditional harvest festival tied to the Chinese lunar calendar.

Kristina García

Archiving empire with religious studies’ Megan Robb
Three people stand in front of Cohen Hall

Professor Megan Robb (center) worked with a team of students including Michael Goerlitz (left) and Juliana Lu (right) to create a digital archive centered on Elizabeth Sharaf-un-Nisa, an 18th-century Mughal woman who cohabited with a European man working for the East India Company, bearing children, marrying him, and ultimately living out the remainder of her life in England. 

Archiving empire with religious studies’ Megan Robb

A long-unseen archive centered on an 18th-century Mughal woman will soon be publicly accessible, thanks to the work of religious studies professor Megan Robb of the School of Arts & Sciences and a team of Penn students.

Kristina García

Translating the immigrant experience into intercultural expertise
Smiling woman with folded hands stands near Locust Walk

Kia Lor, a first-generation Hmong American, navigates interculturalism as the new associate director of Greenfield Intercultural Center. 

Translating the immigrant experience into intercultural expertise

Kia Lor of the Greenfield Intercultural Center supports students at Penn while navigating multiple cultures.

Kristina García

The Sachs Program announces winners of AAPI grants
Palawan seascape and boat with clouds in distance

A photo of Palawan. Islands in the province of Palawan were the first to come under Spanish influence and is where archaeologists have found the first signs of human life in the Philippines. The region serves as a starting point for telling indigenous stories in Jo Tiongson Perez’s children’s book that will retell eight indigenous Philippine stories. (Image: Michael Perez)

The Sachs Program announces winners of AAPI grants

Fourteen projects will be funded as part of the program’s responsive call for proposals in support of Asian-American and Pacific Islander artists at Penn.
Sex, taboo, and family conversation
A flat lay of bIrth control pills, IUDs, condoms, and other contraceptives against a blue background

Simran Chand’s double award-winning senior honors thesis explores familial sexual education among second-generation South Asian American students. (Image: @rhsupplies via Unsplash)

Sex, taboo, and family conversation

Simran Chand's thesis, “Familial Sexual Education for South Asian American Undergraduates and its Implications on Sexual Wellbeing,” used qualitative and quantitative analysis to determine the experiences of parental sexual communications among second-generation South Asian American Penn students.

Kristina García

India’s COVID crisis
Rows of houses with corrugated metal roofs are interspersed with trees. A mountain range is in the background

"Everyone’s biggest worry was that India... was extremely vulnerable, given that its population of 1.4 billion people live in very densely populated areas,” says Harsha Thirumurthy. Pictured: Jaipur, India. (Image: Adam Auerbach) 

India’s COVID crisis

Political scientist Tariq Thachil of the School of Arts & Sciences and economist and public health expert Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine take a look at what’s happening in India with the pandemic's second wave and what can be done to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Kristina García

U.S.-Japan relations, past, present, and future
Two men in dark suits and dark face masks walk in the West Wing colonnade at the White House, past two sets of American and Japanese flags

Joseph R. Biden and Yoshihide Suga walking at the West Wing Colonnade, April 16, 2021. (Image: Meghan Hays)

U.S.-Japan relations, past, present, and future

A panel of experts shared their thoughts on the two nation’s historic relationship on the eve of the Biden-Suga summit.

Kristen de Groot

Narratives of COVID-19 in China and the world
Person wearing glasses speaks on a Zoom call in front of a background featuring Penn's football stadium, as five others on the call are in a vertical column on the right side of the screen

Guobin Yang, director of the Center on Digital Culture and Society, addresses attendees at the “Narratives of COVID-19 in China and the World” symposium.

Narratives of COVID-19 in China and the world

The two-day symposium brought together scholars to discuss a broad range of topics, from racism against Chinese students studying in the United States to digital workplace surveillance of Chinese workers.

Kristen de Groot