EASt, ULB Centre for East Asian Studies

03/09/2026

[CALL FOR PAPERS]

From June 17 to 19, 2027, the Institute of the Middle and Far East at the Jaguillonian University (Poland, Krakow) organizes the 24th Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies.

Researchers are invited to submit an abstract on the theme “Taiwan’s Journey from a Civic to a Cultural Nation” by October 30, 2026, using this link (https://www.conftool.net/eats2027/).

Submissions can include, but are not limited to:

- Conceptualizing Taiwanese culture and nationhood: cultural nationhood, civic and cultural identities, Taiwaneseness, identity formation, belonging, and competing conceptions of the nation

- Politics, democratization, and transformation: the process of democratization, localization, cultural policy, state-building, institutions, and civic participation

- Historical memory and the legacies of authoritarianism: martial law, transitional justice, collective memory, heritage, historical narratives, and commemorative practices

- Language, education, and policy: language policy, multilingualism, Indigenous and local languages, curriculum reform, education, and cultural reproduction

- etc.

Your submission can also be eligible for a Taiwan Studies Young Scholar Award (YSA).

For more information, please read: https://eats-taiwan.eu/conference/eats-conference-2027/

01/09/2026

🇨🇳 Les cours de chinois du soir reprennent à l’ULB !
Rejoignez-nous dès le mardi 6 octobre 2026, de 18h à 19h30, pour 10 semaines de cours dans une ambiance conviviale. Les inscriptions à la Faculté des Lettres, de Traduction et de Communication de l'ULB sont ouvertes!

Voici le lien pour s'inscrire:

你好！Nǐ hǎo！Bonjour ! Merci de votre intérêt pour l'apprentissage du chinois. Bienvenue ! Les inscriptions aux modules d'automne 2026 des cours de chinois du soir de la Faculté des Lettres, de Traduction et de Communication de l'ULB sont ouvertes. Veuillez remplir ce formulaire pour toute...

01/09/2026

We’re pleased to share our latest **EASt newsletter**, featuring activities and events taking place throughout September and early October 2026, just before the start of the new academic year!

Read the latest newsletter here:

Les cours de chinois du soir reprennent à l’ULB!  Venez vous initiez au mandarin dès le mardi 6 octobre 2026, de 18h à 19h30, pendant 10 semaines.

31/08/2026

📢 Upcoming EASt Seminar | 12 October 2026

We are pleased to invite you to the next EASt Seminar!

🎙️ LIU Xiuyuan (PhD Candidate, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, KU Leuven)

🏥 “Aid Life: Everyday Encounters and the Sociality of Chinese Medical Aid in Africa”

📅 Monday, 12 October 2026

🕛 12:15–13:45

📍 Room Doucy, Building S – 12th floor, S.12.123 (Avenue Jeanne 44, 1050 Brussels)

🥪The seminar will take place in person only. A free sandwich will be provided to registered participants, with a vegetarian option available. Please register by 9 October at 12:00:

🔗 https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/TuiNuNHK68

We look forward to welcoming many of you!

With the support of LAMC and Afric@ULB

29/08/2026

🎭 Discover the fascinating world of Noh!
To celebrate 160 years of friendship between Japan and Belgium, the Kanze Noh Theater from Tokyo will present a special Noh performance at BOZAR on 26 September.
Ahead of this special performance, Prof. Bugne (ULB), a specialist in Japanese language, culture and Noh, will introduce this remarkable art form at the JICC.
One of the world’s oldest performing arts, Noh is a Japanese musical dance-drama with a 700-year history and is recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
📅 Fri 25 Sept. 2026
🕔 Doors 17:00 | Lecture 17:30
📍 Japan Information and Cultural Centre
Rue Van Maerlant 1, 1040 Brussels
🗣️ in English
🔗 Registration: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-OTFDQ9iEk-CeZE0QXBOFW3zMaO9dsRJoe9gdRvC91tURURLVzJVUERTMVRYRlM1S0dORUVQWk4yMiQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl
***
🎭 Découvrez l’univers fascinant du Nô !
Pour célébrer les 160 ans d’amitié entre le Japon et la Belgique, le Théâtre Kanze Nô de Tokyo présentera un spectacle spécial de Nô au BOZAR le 26 septembre.
En amont de ce spectacle exceptionnel, le professeur Bugne (ULB), spécialiste de la langue et de la culture japonaises ainsi que du Nô, présentera cette forme d’art remarquable au JICC.
Comptant parmi les arts du spectacle les plus anciens au monde, le Nô est un drame musical et dansé japonais riche de 700 ans d’histoire, reconnu par l’UNESCO comme patrimoine culturel immatériel.
📅 Vendredi 25 septembre 2026
🕔 Ouverture des portes 17h | Conférence 17h30
📍 Japan Information Cultural Centre
🗣️ en anglais
🔗 Inscription : https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-OTFDQ9iEk-CeZE0QXBOFW3zMaO9dsRJoe9gdRvC91tURURLVzJVUERTMVRYRlM1S0dORUVQWk4yMiQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl
***
🎭 Ontdek de fascinerende wereld van Noh!
Ter ere van 160 jaar vriendschap tussen Japan en België zal het Kanze Noh Theater uit Tokio op 26 september een speciale Noh-voorstelling geven in BOZAR.
In de aanloop naar deze bijzondere voorstelling zal prof. Bugne (ULB), specialist in de Japanse taal, cultuur en Noh, deze opmerkelijke kunstvorm introduceren in het JICC.
Noh, een van ’s werelds oudste podiumkunsten, is een Japans muzikaal dansdrama met een geschiedenis van 700 jaar en wordt door UNESCO erkend als immaterieel cultureel erfgoed.
📅 Vrijdag 25 september 2026
🕔 Deuren open 17u | Lezing 17u30
📍 Japan Information Cultural Centre
🗣️ in het Engels
🔗 Inschrijving: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-OTFDQ9iEk-CeZE0QXBOFW3zMaO9dsRJoe9gdRvC91tURURLVzJVUERTMVRYRlM1S0dORUVQWk4yMiQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

28/08/2026

Alors que Washington menace les partenaires de Téhéran, la Chine entretient des liens économico-diplomatiques avec l’Iran, tout en restant prudente face au risque de sanctions, et à l’instabilité régionale. Décodage avec Thierry Kellner, chargé de cours à l’ULB.

28/08/2026

Devant les menaces américaines contre les partenaires commerciaux de Téhéran, Pékin affiche son inflexibilité tout en évitant l’escalade à un mois d’une nouvelle rencontre entre Xi Jinping et Donald Trump.

10/08/2026

📢 [Call for Abstracts] 2027 International Graduate Student Conference.

The East-West Center invites graduate students and emerging scholars to submit abstracts for the 2027 International Graduate Student Conference, taking place February 11–13, 2027, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. This year’s theme, “Weaving Knowledge for Shared Indo-Pacific Prosperity,” explores cross-cultural dialogue, innovation, and collective action across the Indo-Pacific.

⏰ Deadline: September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.

More:

The International Graduate Student Conference provides an opportunity to share perspectives formally and informally with scholars, peers, and community members annually in Honolulu, HI.

10/08/2026

📰 [Just Out] New journal article by EASt member Miyako Hayakawa on migration aspirations among highly educated Japanese nationals considering migration to Europe

Hayakawa Miyako. 2026. “ Europe as a Normative Horizon: Migration Aspirations Among Japanese Self-Initiated Migrants.” International Migration 64, no. 5: e70211.

28/07/2026

📢Start-of-the-year Lunch-Seminar:

On the 7th of October, EASt will kick off the new academic year with visiting professor Tadashi HATTORI's lunch-seminar: "Art or Something Else? Works by Persons with Disabilities in Japan, Past and Present"

Here, he will share with us his expertise on disability and art brut in Japan.

More: https://msh.ulb.ac.be/en/agenda/start-of-the-year-lunch-seminar