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The University of Idaho\u2019s AsiaPOP! event celebrates Asian culture and media each fall.\u00a0This year\u2019s AsiaPOP! has most of its events this week, beginning with entertainment and ending with evaluations of Studio Ghibli\u2019s work. All events are free to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of AsiaPOP! is to encourage Idahoans \u2013 university students, but also the community at large \u2013 to both appreciate East Asian pop culture [and]\u2026 to study it critically,\u201d Jeff Kyong-McClain, director of UI\u2019s Habib Institute for Asian Studies, said in an interview with The Argonaut. \u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019ll see, in all our AsiaPOP! [events], a kind of blending of some academic discussion and some entertainment, sort of all mixed together. We hope people go in and enjoy and partake in both.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201cGhibli and the Natural World\u201d Exhibit<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n This exhibit opened on Aug. 25 in the ISUB and focuses on how nature is addressed in Studio Ghibli films. It will remain open until Friday, Sept. 12. \u00a0<\/p>\n Totoro Origami (Monday, Sept. 8)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n UI\u2019s Japan Club is hosting Totoro origami in the ISUB from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPom Poko\u201d (Tuesday, Sept. 9)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPom Poko,\u201d a 1994 Studio Ghibli film, follows the Tanuki as they plot to protect their forest homes from human encroachment. It will be shown at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Nausica\u00e4 to Manga Aesthetics\u201d Lecture\/Workshop (Wednesday, Sept. 10)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Lien Fan Shen, a professor of animation at the University of Utah and successful manga artist, will be delivering a lecture on Studio Ghibli co-founder and director Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s impact on manga. The lecture will be coupled with art instruction, to which students may bring their own drawing supplies and follow along. The event will take place in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 3:30 p.m. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Music of Studio Ghibli\u201d (Wednesday, Sept. 10)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sixth Station Trio, a group of musicians based out of San Francisco, will perform music from Studio Ghibli films in the Administration Building auditorium at 7 p.m. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019Miyazaki is My Religion\u2019: Studio Ghibli and Spirituality\u201d (Thursday, Sept. 11)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Kaitlyn Ugoretz is an instructor at Nanzan University in Japan. She studies Japanese popular culture and its relation to the international spread of Shinto, a religion most commonly associated with Japan. She will deliver this lecture in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 2 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStudio Ghibli: Who\u2019s the Audience?\u201d (Thursday, Sept. 11)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Steve Alpert is a former executive of the company and author of the memoir \u201cSharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli.\u201d While there, he worked to get Studio Ghibli content out on an international scale. Alpert\u2019s lecture will be delivered in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 4 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n