Three talks on Asia are scheduled at Coastal Carolina University's Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts. The events are free and open to the public.

The talks were organized to assist three student recipients of the 2009 ASIANetwork Freeman Fellowship, a collaborative research project in Japan and East Asia, as they prepare for the in-country portion of their research trip in May and June.

The fellowship recipients are Yelena Ninichuk, a junior English major from Myrtle Beach; Victoria Poston, a junior history major from North Myrtle Beach; and Mikkenna Woods, a senior politics major from Merrimack, N.H.

The following talks will be held in Room 255 of the Edwards College from 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.:

* Monday, April 13: "Contemporary International Relations in East Asia" by Min Ye, assistant professor of politics and geography at the University. Ye will discuss post-WWII relationships between South Korea, China, North Korea and Japan, particularly in light of North Korea's recent long-range missile test in the Pacific.

* Wednesday, April 15: "Re-Defining the Confucian Way: Zhu Xi and Neo-Confucian Resonances in Korea and Japan" by Maggie Ivanova, assistant professor of English. Ivanova will identify key philosophical and ethical ideas in the work of 12th-century Neo-Confucian Chinese scholar Zhu Xi and trace their impact on Korea's and Japan's imperial court lives, governmental policies, and intellectual and cultural traditions between the 16th and18 th centuries.

* Friday, April 17: "Defining the Way of the Warrior and of the Good Citizen" by Victoria Poston, junior history major; and "Confucian Bridges and Divides: Chine, Korea and Japan" by Mikkenna Woods, senior politics major. Poston will examine the historical circumstances behind the "Ako Vendetta" in 1703 Japan. Woods will analyze select passages from "The Analects" of Chinese philosopher Confucius.

For more information, contact Maggie Ivanova at 843-349-4155.