UCSB Arts & Lectures will present “An Afternoon with Amy Chua,” bestselling author of America’s most talked-about parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 at UCSB Campbell Hall.
The lecture will kick off A&L’s winter quarter of public events and follows on the heels of the paperback release of Chua’s book, which includes a new afterword. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for UCSB students with current student ID and youths age 18 or younger.
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at 805.893.3535 or click here to purchase online.
In her runaway New York Times bestseller, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua gave a witty, provocative and laugh-out-loud funny account about the rewards — and costs — of raising her two children the strict “Chinese” way. Taking a cue from her immigrant parents, the Yale Law School professor did not allow sleepovers, play dates or other leisurely staples of American childhood, and instead pushed her daughters to achieve in school and extracurricular music.
When Chua’s memoir in extreme parenting published last year, it ignited a firestorm of debate across the nation. In the media and at coffee shops, playgrounds and book clubs everywhere, critics and supporters weighed in on her iron-willed embrace of Chinese parenting.
Named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and a 2011 Brave Thinker by The Atlantic, some lauded her courageous championing of the old-school approach to parenting; others labeled her the “worst mother ever.”
“A parent such as Chua who takes charge against an unrelenting culture of stupidity should be admired, not scorned,” a Christian Science Monitor reviewer opined. “She should not be defending herself; instead, we should be taking notes.”
With remarkable honesty and biting humor, Chua chronicles her and her daughters’ experiences — the endless piano and violin practice, the grueling competitions and the many sacrifices that produce some awe-inspiring victories. But the approach has mixed results: While Sophia flourishes under her exacting parenting, Lulu, strong-willed and fiery, rebels — threatening to upend her mother’s carefully laid plans.
In the end, Chua’s devotion to her children — and her willingness to grow as a parent — comes through. She writes on her Web site: “I’m not holding myself out as a model, but I do believe that we in America can ask more of children than we typically do, and they will not only respond to the challenge, but thrive. I think we should assume strength in our children, not weakness. And I think it is 100 percent All-American to do so!”
— Karna Hughes is a senior writer/publicist for UCSB Arts & Lectures.