Department of Asian Studies
University of British Columbia
FREE and open to the public!
About the Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture:
The Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lectures are made possible by the generous support of Messrs. Alex and Chi Shum Watt in honour of their mother, the late Mrs. Wat, and her passion for Chinese literature and culture.
Upcoming Lecture
2024/25:
To be announced
Past Lecture List
2023/24:
Thursday, April 4, 2024 (5:00 PM-8:00 PM; Ponderosa Commons Ballroom, 6445 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC)
The Allegorical American: Positioning the United States in Chinese-Language Cinema
Professor Michael Berry (University of California, Los Angeles)
2022/23:
Thursday, March 30, 2023 (5:30 PM-8:30 PM; Marine Drive Ballroom, 2205 Lower Mall, Vancouver)
A Traveling Feast: The Story of Chop Suey and the Journey of Chinese Banquet Culture to America
Professor Miranda Brown (University of Michigan)
2021/22:
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 (6:00 PM-8:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Going against the World by Joining It: Modern China’s Quest of Cosmopolitanism
Professor Ban Wang (Stanford University)
2020/21:
Wednesday 20 January, 2021 (4:00 – 6:30 PM; Online via Zoom)
Elegance and Vulgarity: The Promise and Peril of Things in Ming-Qing Literature
Professor Wai-yee Li (Harvard University)
2019/20:
Tuesday 5 November, 2019 (7:00 – 9:00 PM; Ponderosa Commons Ballroom, 6445 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC)
‘Where Silence Reigns, Startling Claps of Thunder’ 於無聲處聽驚雷
Dr. Geremie Barmé 白杰明 (Professor Emeritus, Australian National University)
2018/19:
Wednesday 3 October, 2018 (6:00 – 8:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
The Worldly Engagement of the Greater Pearl River Delta Region
Professor Helen F. Siu (Yale University)
2017/18:
Wednesday 17 January, 2018 (6:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
The Guest’s View: Some Thoughts on Director Ann Hui’s許鞍華 Work
Dr. Rey Chow (Duke University)
2016/17:
Wednesday 15 March, 2017 (6:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Living the Cultural Revolution: Impact Events and the Making of Cultural Memory
Dr. Barbara Mittler (Modern China Chair at University of Heidelberg)
2015/16:
Tuesday 29 September, 2015 (6:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Social Practices, Moral Education, and Decent Human Lives
Dr. Philip J. Ivanhoe (Chair Professor of East Asian & Comparative Philosophy & Religion at City University of Hong Kong)
2014/15:
Wednesday 15 October, 2014 (6:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Changing Language in China: The Evolution of Chinese and the Impact of the Internet
Dr. Victor Mair (Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania)
2013/14:
Wednesday 2 October, 2013 (7:00 – 9:00 PM; Old Auditorium, 6344 Memorial Road, Vancouver, BC)
Dr. Pai Hsien-Yung (Professor Emeritus of Chinese literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara)
2012/13:
Wednesday 3 October, 2012 (7:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Shoes, Umbrellas, and Tofu: Appraising Local Officials in Late Imperial China
Dr. Wang Fan-Sen (Vice President of Academia Sinica, Taiwan)
2011/12:
Wednesday 5 October, 2011 (7:00 – 9:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Dr. Leung Ping-Kwan (Chair Professor of Comparative Literature at Lingnan University, Hong Kong)
2010/11:
Tuesday 9 March, 2010 (6:00 – 8:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Writing History after Post-History: On Contemporary Chinese Fiction
Dr. David Der-Wei Wang (Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University and Director of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Inter-University Center for Sinological Studies)
2009/10:
Sunday 18 October, 2009 (6:00 – 8:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Big River, Big Sea: Untold Stories of 1949
Dr. Lung Ying-tai (Distinguished Fellow in Humanities at the University of Hong Kong and Chair Professor at National Tsing Hua University)
2008/09:
Wednesday 25 February, 2009 (6:00 – 8:00 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Author Yu Hua
2007/08:
Wednesday 13 February, 2008 (6:00 – 8:00 PM; Asian Centre, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
Dr. Dorothy Ko (Professor of History at Barnard College of Columbia University)
2005/06:
Wednesday 26 October, 2005 (6:15 – 8:15 PM; Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, Vancouver, BC)
A Dialogue Between Cultures: Confucian Philosophy and Deweyan Pragmatism
Dr. Roger T. Ames (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawai’i)