Kong Qiu was a Chinese scholar and political figure who predated many of the famous philosophers of classical Greece, including those venerated patriarchs of ancient Western wisdom known as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. One of the transformational figures of ancient China, Kong Qiu’s teachings continue to shape Chinese culture and thought even today. In the West, however, he goes by a different name: Confucius.
Kong Qiu was a Chinese scholar and political figure who predated many of the famous philosophers of classical Greece, including those venerated patriarchs of ancient Western wisdom known as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. One of the transformational figures of ancient China, Kong Qiu’s teachings continue to shape Chinese culture and thought even today. In the West, however, he goes by a different name: Confucius.
The common conception of architecture is “iconic, static,” according to assistant professor Nora Wendl of the Portland State Architecture Department.
Who, after all, doesn’t think of great monolithic marvels, like New York City’s Empire State Building or the Pantheon of Rome, when envisioning the craft of architecture?
World-renowned Romanian poet Liliana Ursu will be visiting Portland State tomorrow evening joined by her colleague and translator, Washington native Tess Gallagher. Ursu will give a reading of her poetry, both in English and in its native Romanian.
“His experience is wholly unique: His father was a pioneer of Modern Art in Iraq,” said Tam Rankin, program manager of the Portland State Middle East Studies Center, about Iraqi visiting artist and scholar Salam Atta Sabri.
Through the art of film making, Iranian women are speaking out with conviction while creating an indelible panorama of the realities of modern Persian culture.
How does one begin to discuss the experience of belonging to more than one “race”?
“It’s really up to the participants,” said Dr. Maude Hines, organizer of the Portland State and Multnomah County Libraries’ 2012 Everybody Reads project, which will hold a panel discussion titled “Growing Up Biracial” Thursday, Feb. 16, at the university’s Millar Library.
The nominees have been named, and the red carpet has been unfurled. The Oscars are back, celebrating the 84th annual awards ceremony.
“Imagine the scene in Jaws when the fin of the shark comes out of the water toward the boat with no music,” said Edmund Stone, explaining the importance of the film score to the film industry and to classical music generally. Stone hosts a program about film music called The Score on All Classical KQAC 89.9 FM. “You would still have the same scene, but you wouldn’t have the same element of fear. It wouldn’t be the same film.”
Shirin Neshat’s 2009 Iranian film, Women Without Men, will be screened on campus next week as part of the Middle East Studies Center’s Iranian Women Film Series. Afterward, the center will host a reception and discussion with Shahrnush Parsipur, author of the novel on which the film is based.
“The Chinese don’t discard the old,” said Dennis Lee, founder and volunteer of the Portland-based Lan Su Chinese Garden. “They always retain it and may have an overlay of something that’s more contemporary, so it kind of grows that way.”
Lee and the Chinese Garden volunteers are coming to Portland State’s Urban and Public Affairs Center Saturday, Feb. 4, as part of an ongoing series of cultural programs and discussions. The First Saturday program, held each month, is running with this year’s theme, “Windows into Beauty and Meaning.”