Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

9/08/05
Story by Peggy Graham

Expert in Japanese Textiles Speaks at JCCC

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Amanda Mayer Stinchecum, an expert in Japanese textiles, presents a free public lecture, Weaving an Image of Okinawa: textiles and identity, at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct 7, in room 211 of the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College, as part of its Scholar-in-Residence program. A reception will follow.

Stinchecum, Brooklyn, N.Y., is an independent scholar and textile historian with a speciality in Japanese and Ryukyuan (traditional Okinawan) textiles. She is also a research fellow at the Institute of Okinawan Studies, Hosei University, Tokyo.

She began work at Women's Wear Daily and at the Fashion Institute of Technology, then became interested in Japanese textiles. She turned to the study of language and cultures, earning a doctorate in Japanese and comparative literature from Columbia University, New York, in 1980.

Stinchecum will also present lectures on Japanese regional textiles for fashion merchandising and design, interior design and theater costuming students.

JCCC’s Scholar-in-Residence program is designed to bring visiting scholars to students, faculty and the public. Stinchecum’s residency is sponsored by Sheilah Philip, theater professor, as part of a project to infuse Japanese studies into JCCC curricula campus wide, a project resulting from Philip’s year-long 2003 Japan seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. For more information, contact Philip at 913-469-8500, ext. 3132.