| Center for Asian Studies celebrates
100th forum by Sally Acharya Asia has more than 60 percent of the world’s population, four of the world’s five largest economies, and several news-grabbing political and military flashpoints. Clearly, it offers a lot to talk about. Perhaps that’s one reason the Center for Asian Studies in the School of International Service (SIS) took less than six years to reach a major milestone: its 100th Asia Forum. Every two weeks or so during the academic year, ambassadors, policy makers, and scholars are invited to SIS to speak on their research or reflect on pressing topics. One week may bring the South Korean ambassador, sharing his thoughts on North Korea. Another week may usher in a discussion of the role of Japan in Iraq, or recent directions in Chinese foreign policy. Last semester ended with an international gathering of scholars for a conference called “Japanese Foreign Policy: Perspectives from Chinese Scholars.” “We knew that would draw interest not only among [China’s] Asian neighbors, but also from Japan itself, because Japan has paid special attention to other societies’ comments,” said Quansheng Zhao, director of the Center for Asian Studies. Like many of the center’s events, the conference combined a theoretical scholarly perspective with the practical, empirical ideas of diplomats, including Masafumi Ishii, head of the political section of the Embassy of Japan. The dialogue wasn’t limited to the forum and conference, but continued the next day at a luncheon hosted at a Dupont Circle sushi restaurant. The forums are comparatively new, but their striking success is built on a foundation that dates back several decades. The Center for Asian Studies was founded over 20 years ago by Warren Hunsberger, a prominent scholar on the Japanese economy. After he passed away in 1997, the center launched the Hunsberger Lecture Series, which became the inspiration for the series of regular forums. By the end of 2006, the center had not only celebrated its 100th forum, but raced ahead to its 111th. The center has been able to sustain such a continuous level of activity in part because of its strong foundation. “The center has a long history at AU. There were distinguished faculty members like Hunsberger and Milledge Walker and Llewelyn Howell who formed the basis,” says SIS dean Louis Goodman, “and now Professor Zhao is very dynamic—reaching out to the broader Asian community around Washington, and with his energy, bringing people here from around the world.” The forums have been a constant feature at the university since Oct. 9, 2000, when Wilson Tien and Lai Yi-Zhong of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party came to speak on the Taiwan issue and the Beijing-Taipei-Washington political triangle. Most of the forums, like much of the center’s work, have focused on foreign relations and internal politics in East Asia, particularly in relation to China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Korean peninsula. “With the faculty we’ve had, we’ve really been able to focus on China, Japan, Korea, and the important roles they play in international relations and in relations with the U.S.,” Goodman says. “We’ve had many, many conferences and forums on subjects related to this.” To Zhao, who is also director of the Division of Comparative and Regional Studies at SIS, the forums are not only venues for scholarship. “We use our events as education vehicles. We involve not only international scholars, but also AU professors and students,” he says. “And we try to fully utilize local Washington-based talent, because in this town, we have so many experts—from the War College, local think tanks like Brookings, as well as the embassy. We have a very close relationship with the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean embassies, so we often invite diplomats.” All of that makes for a stimulating environment for AU students focusing on East Asia. It’s common for a class in, for instance, Japanese foreign policy to be filled equally by American students who have lived abroad, students preparing to participate in study-abroad programs, and students from East Asia. “Students really enjoy the lively exchange,” Zhao said. And every few weeks, many of them continue the exchange and expand their knowledge at the Asia Forums. |
