PROJECT ABSTRACT

**SOUTH FLORIDA CONSORTIUM FOR ASIAN ARTS AND CULTURE**

# Cultural Traditions and Transitions in a World of Diversity

# An Inter-Active, Inter-Disciplinary Partnership in International Studies

The **South Florida Consortium for Asian Arts and Culture** (**SFCAAC**)
is a uniquely comprehensive and dynamic partnership that combines the
resources of the three leading public colleges in the area, **Florida
International University** (**FIU**), **Florida Atlantic University**
(**FAU**) and **Miami-Dade Community College** (**MDCC**), to promote
the study of traditional and contemporary performing, visual, literary,
film and material arts of Asia from a comparative, global perspective.
FIU, FAU and MDCC are each poised to enhance significantly their studies
of Asian languages and cultures, and to enrich arts programs with an
expanded international focus through participation in the inter-active,
inter-institutional network of consortium events.

The SFCAAC is a vehicle that brings together for the first time the
three colleges and a remarkably rich variety of educational
institutions, cultural organizations and community associations that
feature Asian arts and culture in the gateway center of greater Miami.
South Florida, which functions as an indispensable link between world
regions, has been characterized in recent years by explosive growth,
rich ethnic and cultural diversity, and a quest for excellence. Although
the main focus of economic and cultural relations has been on Latin
America, South Florida colleges and institutions have been making
tremendous strides in developing studies of Asian culture and the global
environment.

The SFCAAC recognizes the crucial role that a critical study of the arts
plays in educating students on language as well as issues of history,
culture and international affairs. Art is a creative force that reflects
society yet transcends conventional social and political boundaries. The
arts express elements of social conflict and also provide a crossroads
for cultural interaction and cooperation. As Arthur Danto remarks, the
arts are a "diffuse, polymorphous, fluid, and interpenetrating set of
endeavors \[that reflect\] constant change," in constructing positions
of contest as well as arenas of cultural encounter. By supporting the
study of the arts in a comparative context that highlights the world of
diversity, the SFCAAC encourages a deeper understanding of Asian culture
as well as cross-cultural dialogue and international studies through the
medium of artistic expression as a primary vehicle of culture and
society. Understanding and interpreting the relation between creativity
and the development of social trends helps students fulfill their
educational and professional goals by means of a critical examination of
the significance of Asian culture in the contemporary world.

Asia has a remarkably rich tradition of classical and ethnic performing,
visual, literary, and material arts. Many of these forms of expression
remain dynamic and vibrant in modern society. Due to rapid modernization
and globalization, the traditional Asian arts have undergone a
significant transition and transformation, yet, at the same time remain
highly influential on major developments in contemporary popular and
avant‑garde forms of expression. The SFCAAC project examines the role of
arts as an expression and function of Asian society. It chiefly
highlights and analyzes the transformation of traditional arts in the
modern era as well as the impact of contemporary, post-modern motifs and
other global trends. The SFCAAC also compares the process of transition
in Asia with parallel developments in other world regions that have
undergone a similarly rapid shift to modernization and globalization.

The SFCAAC facilitates inter-active networking on several levels,
including an interdisciplinary, inter-departmental focus within the
partner institutions, an exchange of faculty and students across
colleges, outreach involving a wide variety of regional organizations,
and an international exchange of scholars and artists. Each of the
partner institutions will achieve a main goal through the implementation
of grant activities: FIU will design arts tracks for its certificate
program; FAU will reinvigorate a Japanese minor through a focus on arts;
and MDCC will develop a new concentration on Asian studies.

To achieve these main goals, the SFCAAC promotes the development of
**new and infused curriculum** to support the creation of an arts
concentration in several certificate and minors programs, as well as the
**enhancement of Japanese language and East Asian cultural linguistics**
instruction. Other goals include **the presentation of a cultural arts**
series through **workshops and lectures**, as well as the **production
of performances, festivals and exhibits** throughout South Florida in
order to expose the student communities to the world of Asian arts. In
addition, the SFCAAC supports **faculty development** initiatives, the
implementation of **outreach activities** with area magnet schools and
other institutions, the acquisition **of instructional materials**, and
the expansion of **study abroad and student internship** opportunities.

Other participants in the Consortium include two major magnet high
schools of Miami-Dade County located near MDCC and FIU that participate
in a variety of outreach activities, the New World School for the Arts
and the Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH). Also, FAU delivers
outreach to the Dreyfus School of the Arts in Palm Beach County. In
addition, the Consortium draws on resources of the prestigious Morikami
Museum and Japanese Gardens, the leading institution for Japanese
culture in South Florida that is conveniently located near FAU.

During the three-year grant cycle, the Consortium will develop a focus
on traditional Asian arts with an emphasis on the role of performing
arts in year 1 by featuring, among other activities, the music of China
at the FIU Music Festival, the celebration of Japanese cultural holiday
festivals at FAU, and performances produced by the MDCC Cultural Affairs
Department; contemporary arts, especially in Japan, with an emphasis on
the role of visual and film arts in year 2 by featuring visiting artists
and lectures sponsored by the FIU Visual Arts Department, an FAU
collaboration with the Morikami Museum on popular arts such as
animation, and artists in residence at MDCC. global constructions of the
Orient and comparative arts with an emphasis on the role of material
arts in year 3 by featuring exhibits and performances sponsored by FIU,
FAU and MDCC, as well as an issue of a journal published by IAS and the
Southern Japan Seminar, *Japan Studies Review*, dedicated to arts.

> Steven Heine, Director
>
> FIU Institute for Asian Studies, DM 366A
>
> Miami, FL 33199
>
> Tel: 305-348-1914; Fax: 305-348-6586
>
> <asian@fiu.edu>, www.fiu.edu/\~asian