Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

W W W . P A C E . E D U / D Y S O N 15 Additionally, Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, a romantic drama that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 and one of the most acclaimed works of Asian cinema, has consistently been a student favorite. "It was unlike anything I have watched before," said Anastasia Kanukov '24, Economics, who took the course recently, "specifically within the cinematic details and the way that it was directed." Along with classic films that remain culturally significant, many motifs have endured since the course's inception, including the exploration of Asian parenting dynamics and food as a source of togetherness. Analyzing and discussing the cultural, political, and a istic contexts of the films shown in class are the foundational aims of the course, and Kolluri and Lee have worked to preserve these objectives, even as the material continues to shi . "It's about ge ing students to think critically, making them think like film critics, having them treat each film as an intercultural text," said Kolluri. The course also challenges students to think outside the American traditions of film to which most are accustomed. "We hope the students can move beyond the old Hollywood paradigm to a knowledge of these emerging cultural forces from East Asia and South Asia in the media landscape, where creative and innovative talents deal with historical and contemporary cultural worlds," said Lee. The ability to connect with others around the world via Zoom has also made an impac ul shi in the way Kolluri and Lee teach the course. Students have now had the oppo unity to have post-screening discussions with directors from Paris, India, and Hong Kong, learning about the directors' a istic processes and asking though ul questions. Symbiotic Teaching and Research "The oppo unity for us to collaborate, brainstorm, and work on joint projects has been one of the most rewarding pa s of the course for me," said Lee, noting that the pair have worked together on several endeavors, including creating the textbook for their course. Because the course was the first of its kind, a textbook on the subject ma er did not exist at its inception. Instead of writing the entire book themselves, Kolluri and Lee sought diverse perspectives from fellow academics. "We thought, 'Why not invite chapters from people who can think through such interesting issues?'" said Kolluri. Kolluri and Lee served as editors of the book— Hong Kong and Bollywood: Globalization of Asian Cinema—and co-authored the introductory chapter. The book is also offered free of charge online, relieving students of the financial burden of purchasing the book and making the material widely accessible to others across the country who may wish to teach or learn the content. Additionally, drawing from their rich experience of having taught the course since 2005, Kolluri and Lee contributed a chapter on "Globalizing the American Classroom with Hong Kong and Bollywood Cinemas" to a book titled Internationalization in Action: Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion in Globalized Classrooms (2020). Kolluri added that the pair's teaching and research inform one another, sharing their scholarship with their students and drawing inspiration from classroom discussions and student film critiques. For example, the pair co-authored a research a icle titled "An Inter-Asian Perspective on China's Rise and Power Shi s in Asia" for the journal Social Transformation in Chinese Societies, which discusses "Hong Kong's years-long pro-democracy movement, Taiwan's democratization, and India's anti-China sentiments." "We have been thinking a lot about this subject of so power," said Lee. "Cinema is a good case study to see how rising economic states exercise and expand this so power on a global scale. So we thought a Hong Kong and Bollywood course could lead to speaking on a wider China-India power competition in the early twenty-first century. That's how we use our teaching to address some larger academic discourse in an external publication." Kolluri mentioned that the pair's ability to view developing contemporary issues through an inter-Asian lens lends itself to continued collaboration. And a er years of working so closely, writing together now comes naturally to them. "We have very different styles of writing and thinking, but it's very organic," said Kolluri. "Intellectually, when you're on the same plane, it helps to think through issues. I've learned a lot about Hong Kong and China through the years, thanks to Joseph." Lifelong Learners As much as Lee and Kolluri learn from each other, they also share an enthusiasm for learning from their students. "The students' film critiques are mind-blowing," said Kolluri. "They're coming from different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, classes, and to hear them pa icipate in class is just incredible." And the appreciation extends both ways. Kolluri and Lee noted with pride that they have only ever received positive student evaluations from the course. Del Bene called the course an "enlightening and gratifying experience," while Kanukov noted, "The professors are absolutely amazing and will bring you into a whole new world of film." In addition to their teaching, Kolluri is working on translating a book his mother wrote into English and on a research paper on the inclusion of consciousness studies in a liberal a s education. Lee is continuing to develop engaging programming for the Global Asia Institute and Global Asia Studies academic program, areas of Pace he hopes will continue to grow. "You're always learning," said Kolluri. "Even if you don't have a movie title with your name next to it, you're always learning. The moment you stop learning, it's bad news."

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