Event Videos

Videos of events organized by the Asian Division are freely available online. The full collection of the Asian Division’s event videos include book talks, lectures, panels, and more. Ranging from Japanese woodblock prints to mapmaking in Southeast Asia, these specialized programs provide new knowledge and perspectives on collection materials to the scholarly community and the public at large.

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    Film, Video
    Celebrating 75 Years of Indonesia-U.S. Relations A collaboration between the Embassy of Indonesia and the Library's Asian division, this event commemorated 75 years of Indonesia and U.S. diplomatic relations (1949-2024). The event featured a display of Library collection items showing the deep and ongoing cultural, academic and diplomatic exchanges between the two countries including rare texts from Indonesia collected by the Wilkes Expedition (1838-42), 19th-century letters from Indonesian rulers, titles…
    • Contributor: Santi Budaya Group - Bimantara, Ida Bagus Made - Matthews, Sara
    • Date: 2024-06-06
  • Film, Video
    Moments of Silence: The Unforgetting of the October 1976 Bangkok Massacre Thongchai Winichakul is a world-famous Asianist whose work has won numerous prestigious awards and been translated into many languages. His writings are found on syllabi at top universities around the world. He actively publishes in both English and Thai, making him one of a very few public Southeast Asianist intellectuals publishing in a Southeast Asian language and English, giving his work a larger impact…
    • Contributor: Winichakul, Thongchai
    • Date: 2024-04-04
  • Film, Video
    Belinda Huijuan Tang: Exploring Familial and National History in a Fictional Lens Belinda Huijuan Tang, author of the 2022 novel "A Map for the Missing" talked about her endeavor as a writer to recover the dreams and agency of individuals in turbulent political times, in a talk on "The Personal and Political: Exploring Familial and National History in a Fictional Lens."
    • Contributor: Tang, Belinda Huijuan
    • Date: 2023-10-27
  • Film, Video
    The Fragile, the Flammable and the Forbidden: Books in the Art of Xiaoze Xie Xie received his Master of Fine Art degrees from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing and the University of North Texas. Xie has exhibited extensively in the US and internationally, his recent solo exhibitions include "Objects of Evidence" at the Asia Society Museum in New York City (2019-20) and "Eyes On" at the Denver Art Museum (2017-18). Xie's work has garnered…
    • Contributor: Xie, Xiaoze - Song, Yuwu
    • Date: 2023-09-14
  • Film, Video
    The 15th Annual Mongolian Studies Conference This is an annual academic conference with papers presented by Mongolian studies scholars from U.S. and abroad. The keynote talks have been hosted by the Asian Division on the LC campus for several years, and considered a major recurring event for the Asian Division. They were not possible during the pandemic, with the last one held on February 2020. The keynote talk will take…
    • Contributor: Yadamsuren, Bold-Erdene - Meinheit, Susan - Allen Lake, Michael - Shao, Dongfang
    • Date: 2023-05-12
  • Film, Video
    American Impact on the Culture of the Republic of Vietnam Watch a special event with modern Vietnam experts, Tuan Hoang and Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox. They seek to flesh out Vietnamese experiences of decolonization and the Cold War, including their exposure to American culture before and during direct intervention of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
    • Contributor: Wolfson-Ford, Ryan - Hoang, Tuan - Gadkar-Wilcox, Wynn
    • Date: 2023-05-02
  • Film, Video
    Digital Dharma: Recovering Wisdom Jann Ronis, Executive Director, Buddhist Digital Resource Center, presents a book talk on "Digital Dharma: Recovering Wisdom", which documents the work of the late E. Gene Smith, former Library of Congress Field Director, to rescue, preserve, digitize and make available to scholars worldwide the vast Tibetan Buddhist canon.
    • Contributor: Meinheit, Susan - Ronis, Jann
    • Date: 2023-03-31
  • Film, Video
    Karma Pakshi and Two Mongol Emperors: Genesis of the Reincarnate Lamas Tradition A book discussion and signing for the recent release of Dr. Charles E. Manson's new work, The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha Dr. Manson is a librarian 'over the water', looking after the Tibetan Collections at both the Bodleian and at British Library, and Dunhuang material at British Library. His new book, "The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha" will be published in…
    • Contributor: Meinheit, Susan - Manson, Charles
    • Date: 2023-01-11
  • Film, Video
    Memory, Experience & Imagination in Works of Lao & Hmong American Authors Writers, Kao Kalia Yang, Bryan Thao Worra and Thavisouk Phrasavath will reflect on their work before joining a larger conversation with the audience. The program presents a critical but engaging exploration of the role of memory, experience and imagination in each author's writings against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, global migration, refugees, the diaspora, and life in America. The talk…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2022
  • Film, Video
    Franklin Book Program: Bengali Titles The Asian Division serves as custodian for Asian language items in five of ten languages from the Franklin Book Program Collection (FBP) housed at the Library of Congress. Between 1952 and 1978, FBP assisted developing countries in the creation, production, distribution, and use of books and educational materials in vernacular languages. The program selected English materials about science, technology, poetry, history and had them…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2021
  • Film, Video
    Cherry Blossoms in Japanese Culture This video explores Japan's centuries-old blossom viewing traditions. It is one in a series for the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival that highlights both historic and contemporary traditions of springtime flower viewing. The "Cherry Blossom Viewing Over the Centuries" series features three short films that showcase a stunning variety of artifacts from Library collections, including watercolor drawings, colorful woodblock prints, vintage photos and beautifully…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Publishing Office - Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2021
  • Film, Video
    Fleeting Beauty, Enduring Traditions This video highlights the Library of Congress National Cherry Blossom Festival collection, which include posters from 1987 to the present and Princess programs from 1949 to the present. It is one in a series for the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival that highlights both historic and contemporary traditions of springtime flower viewing. The "Cherry Blossom Viewing Over the Centuries" series features three short films…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Publishing Office - Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2021
  • Film, Video
    Tokyo's Gift of Friendship This video recounts the origins and events surrounding the 1912 gift of 3,020 cherry trees to the city of Washington. It is one in a series for the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival that highlights both historic and contemporary traditions of springtime flower viewing. The "Cherry Blossom Viewing Over the Centuries" series features three short films that showcase a stunning variety of artifacts from…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Publishing Office - Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2021
  • Film, Video
    Prewar & Occupation Period Japanese Serials Quade Robinson, a 2020 Junior Fellow, introduces himself and describes his work on the prewar Japanese serials project.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2020
  • Film, Video
    Boundaries & Brigands: James McCarthy & the Mapping of Siam In a lecture on border demarcation as Siam (Thailand) came under increasing colonial pressure in the late 19th century, Harold Meinheit focused on James McCarthy, superintendent of Siam's Royal Survey Department and his efforts to map the country, and the relationship between the science of mapping, the wielding of power and the creation of borders.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress. Geography and Map Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2020
  • Film, Video
    Mongolian Studies Conference The Library of Congress hosted the 14th annual Mongolian Studies Conference with a theme of "Art and Culture Among the Mongols." The event was co-sponsored by Mongolian Cultural Center, the Embassy of Mongolia to the United States, the Mongolian National University of Arts and Culture and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2020
  • Film, Video
    Using the Asian Reading Room Learn how to conduct research in the Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2019
  • Film, Video
    I Spy a Spy: Social Anxiety & Farce in North Korean Comedy Film Immanuel Kim discussed social anxiety and farce in North Korean comedy film. His presentation plays out against a ghostly landscape of North Korean society, much of which is tragic: the Korean War, economic crises, tensions along the DMZ, and famine.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2019
  • Film, Video
    Lessons Learned from the Repatriation of Mongolian Dinosaurs At the 13th Annual International Mongolian Studies Conference, Bolortsegtseg Minjin discussed cultural heritage protection using the examples of dinosaur fossils and their protection under new Mongolian laws.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2019
  • Film, Video
    Playing & Talking about Baseball Across the Pacific A panel of experts discussed how American baseball has influenced and been influenced by Japanese culture since the 19th century.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2019
  • Film, Video
    Cartographic History of Afghanistan: Early, Modern and Colonial Periods Shah Mahmoud Hanifi discussed the complexity, innovation, redundancy and contradictions in the cartographic history of modern maps of Afghanistan. He focused specifically on 18th and 19th century mapping projects that emanated from British India.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress. Geography and Map Division - Library of Congress. African and Middle Eastern Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2019
  • Film, Video
    A Story in Layers: Japanese Woodblock Prints Clair Cuccio discussed how Japanese woodblock prints are created by means of a network of multiple artists in a process that combines individual expertise and collaborative production.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2018
  • Film, Video
    Protecting Mongolia's Lake Hovsgol National Park Clyde Goulden and Robert McIntosh discussed the critical importance of science and the rule of law in protecting the integrity of Mongolia's Lake Hovsgol National Park, one of the most beautiful and famous tourist destinations in Mongolia. Lake Hovsgol, the second largest lake in the nation, is called the Blue Pearl of Mongolia because of its crystal clear water. The area features unique flora…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2018
  • Film, Video
    Moral Science in Postwar North Korea Dafna Zur discussed new perspectives on North Korean youth literature and its relationship to the changing values assigned to scientific development.
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2018
  • Film, Video
    Reading Lu Xun Through Carl Jung Carolyn Brown discussed her just-published book "Reading Lu Xun Through Carl Jung," which offers a unique approach to the short stories of the most famous modern Chinese writer, Lu Xun (1881-1936). Brown uses foundational elements of the psychology of Carl Jung (1875-1961), who with Freud was the founder of modern Western psychology, to illuminate key structures in the works of this great writer. Approaching…
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. Asian Division - John W. Kluge Center (Library of Congress) - Library of Congress
    • Date: 2018