It is Honors Week at the University of Alabama, and the Asian Studies program had the privilege of celebrating the success of our students at our Awards Celebration.

Emily Delozier from Jacksonville, Alabama, received the 2019 Asian Studies Outstanding Student Award, which we award each year to our most outstanding Asian Studies minor. After graduating with a major in English and minor in Asian Studies, Emily plans to pursue a career in teaching English as a Second Language after completing a Masters in Teaching ESL.

The Asian Studies program also awards two Research Awards, for an essay and a research paper by our undergraduates. Each student presented their award-winning paper as a part of the Awards Celebration.

Sarah Fields from Bethalto, Illinois, won the essay award for her paper “Lang Shining: Italian Jesuit and Chinese Court Painter.” In her presentation she discussed Lang Shining’s incorporation of styles of painting and aesthetics that he had learned in both Italy and China. Sarah is a junior majoring in Art, with minors in Art History and Advertising. She completed her essay in Asian Art History (ARH 254) with Prof. Sung (being taught again this coming fall).

Bowen Gissendaner from Birmingham, Alabama, won the research paper award for his paper “Han, Hui, and Uyghur: Ethnic Conflicts in the Chinese West.” In his presentation, he discussed the ethnic construction of Hui and Uyghur communities and their different treatment in the context of China. He further applied the concept of routine violence from Gyanendra Pandey to analyze the constructions and the conflicts that have arisen from those constructions. An International Studies major with minors in Chinese, Russian, and Political Science, Bowen is interested in pursuing a career in foreign relations. He completed his paper in “Religion and Identity in South Asia” with Prof. Ramey (being taught again this coming fall).

Congratulations to our students! It is a privilege to engage such bright and committed students.