Spring 2021 Webinar Series

In recent decades, people living in the Lower Mekong Region have witnessed major shifts from predominantly subsistence agriculture to industrializing economies, with attendant changes in migration, crop production systems, and major infrastructure (roads, dams, industrial estates). This series of four webinars will explore how communities in the region are experiencing the economic, social, and cultural dislocations of these transformations.

To view the flyer please visit The Mekong, China, & Southeast Asian Transitions series: Markets for Mekong Goods Spring 2021 Webnar series flyer.

International concurrent times: HST (2-3:30pm) | EST (7-8:30pm) | Vientiane/BKK/PhnomPenh/Hanoi =Apr. 8, 7-8:30am)

Register to attend.

Full webinar series schedule:

Panel 1 : Jan 27 - Markets for Mekong Commodities

Panel 2 : Feb 24 - Migration, Mobility, and the Mekong

Panel 3 : Apr 7 - The Spirits and Spiritual Life of the Mekong

Panel 4: Apr 28 - Mekong Dams: Debates and the Politics of Evidence

This series is made possible through funding from the Henry Luce Foundation and is co-organized by Michigan State University-James Madison College and Asian Studies Center, the East-West Center, University of Hawai'i-Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa-Center for Chinese Studies, and Chiang Mai University-Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development

The speakers will analyze the 4th Israeli election in 2 years. They will analyze the latest results, compare them to the last 3 elections, and discuss coalition possibilities and their implications. As Israel muddles forward
in an attempt to establish a new government – notwithstanding the continued division over the legitimacy of Benyamin Netanyahu's candidacy for Prime Minister - "round four" was in fact surprisingly different than the
earlier three elections rounds. How will varied possible coalitions shape Israeli domestic and foreign policies? What are the prospects of a fifth election in the coming year? Among the topics to be explored: the evolving
influence of Israel's Arab citizens; a crack in ultra-Orthodox allegiances; and Israeli society's growing complacency towards racist political parties. Come join the analysis followed by discussion.
Presenters: Professor Yael Aronoff, Dr. Alon Tal, Professor Elie Rekhess.

Yael Aronoff is the Director of the Michael and Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel and and is Serling Chair of Israel Studies.
Alon Tal is a professor of public policy at Tel Aviv University and has been a Serling Visiting Israeli scholar at MSU's James Madison College.
Professor Rekhess, Ph.D. (Tel-Aviv University) is the Director of the Israel Innovation Project (IIP) at Northwestern University.

Co-sponsors: College of Arts and Letters, James Madison College, the College of Social Science, the RCAH, office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives

David J. Firestein is the inaugural executive director of The University of Texas at Austin's China Public Policy Center (CPPC) and clinical professor at UT's Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. As CPPC chief, Firestein leads UT's institutional engagement with China and oversees innovative interdisciplinary research on China-related domestic and foreign policy topics.

Prior to joining UT, Firestein served as senior vice president and Perot Fellow at the EastWest Institute; there, he led the Institute's work in the areas of U.S.-China relations, East Asian security and U.S.-Russia relations. A decorated career U.S. diplomat from 1992–2010, Firestein specialized primarily in China and U.S.-China relations. He is the author or co-author of three books on China, including two China-published Chinese-language best-sellers. Firestein speaks Chinese at the near-native level.

Two years into the Trump Administration, what is the current state of the U.S.-China relationship? The U.S.- China "trade war" dominated U.S., and global, headlines in 2018, but to what degree, and in what ways, is the U.S.-China relationship of today different from that of early 2017? In addition, to trade and investment issues, the United States have engaged each other, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing, on topics ranging from North Korea, the South China Sea, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, among others. David Firestein—a long-time friend of the MSU community—will share his analysis and insights about the state of the U.S.-China relationship at this midway point of Trump's current term in office.

Co-sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, International Studies & Programs, and Office of China Programs 

Please join us for presentations and discussions of new scholarship in comparative and international education. Colleagues whose work is featured on the program at the annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society will give presentations on the following topics. There will be time for discussion and feedback following each presentation. Come for as little or as long as you can.

Yujin Oh - School principal perception of teacher quality: A comparative study of the US and South Korea

Taeyeon Kim - Revisiting governance discourse in the strong state: A case of the national testing policy in South Korea

Jainisha Chavda - Role of State in Improving Secondary Education of Girls: A CaseStudy of Gujarat, India 

Reyila Hadeer - Rethinking Teacher Education for Social, Cultural, and Ethnic Diversity in China

 

Deadline for submission March 15, 2021.
Presentations by paper winners April 1, 2021, time tbd.

Graduate Student Paper Award ($500)
Published or unpublished papers (roughly 15-25 pages with complete works cited) must have been written between March 1, 2020 and the deadline, March 15, 2021

Undergraduate Student Paper Award ($500)
Published or unpublished papers (roughly 15-25 pages with complete works cited) must have been written between March 1, 2020 and the deadline, March 15, 2021
All submissions should be sent to Mohammad Khalil (khalilmo(at)msu.edu) and Mary Firdawsi (firdaws2(at)msu.edu)

 

Arabic Diwan is a gathering of Arabic students who are in the Arabic program, where they speak the language and learn about the culture in a relaxed environment with our Fulbright teaching assistant. Students from all Arabic language levels are encourages to attend. Also, we extend the invitation to the Arabic speaking students at the English Center. 

Contact Sara Kasem for link: sarah_kasem(at)yahoo.com

"Aggressive." "Rivalry." "Warning." "Deepening rifts." The sensationalism of such terms in recent headlines makes it hard to develop a nuanced understanding of China today and its role in the world. This symposium series will examine several high profile topics about China's emerging presence in the world to offer complexity, divergent and multiple perspectives, and analytic insight about China that goes beyond the headlines. The goal is a public discussion, grounded in scholarship that makes possible open and informed dialogue. This panel will focus on US-China trade relations, and there will be plenty of time for audience Q&A. This series is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

Panelists:

David Firestein (Executive Director of the University of Texas at Austin's China Public Policy Center)

Eric Freedman (Chair of the MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism)

Jean Schtokal (Shareholder at Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C. and Executive in Residence for MSU CIBER)

Mary Gallagher (Director of the University of Michigan's Center for Chinese Studies).

 

The symposium series is sponsored by the following MSU units: African Studies Center, Asian Studies Center, China Council, Office of China Programs, and Office of International Studies in Education.

**CANCELLED** 

Japan Month Series

Join us for this exciting epic masterpiece from acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. During the Age of Warring States, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain among his three sons.  But ambition, jealousy, and political scheming among the next generation lead to war.  Don't miss this amazing commentary on medieval samurai and the nature of loyalty, inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear.

Professor Manalansan is Chair of the Minority Scholars Committee of the American Studies Association. His current book projects include the ethical and embodied dimensions of the lives and struggles of undocumented queer immigrants, Asian American immigrant culinary cultures, sensory, the affective dimensions of Filipino migrant labor, and Filipino return migration.

In an era where cultural appropriation in the arts are part of raging debates while in other venues, culinary pundits have declared Filipino cuisine as the "newest foodie trend," this presentation utilizes experiences of Filipino Americans as pivots for exposing the tensions and ambivalent energies of these two ongoing events. Idioms of shame and the migrant investments in culinary authenticity have become ingredients for an unpalatable smorgasbord of ideas, attitudes and politics. Instead, the argument turns to a queer anthropological framework that regurgitates shame and appropriation into openings rather than barriers to culinary cultural capaciousness. For more information please contact the Department of Anthropology at anpdept(at)msu.edu.

There will be a reception after the talk. 

 

Sponsored by the Department of Anthropology 

Co-Sponosred by the Asian Pacific American Studies Program; Asian Studies Center; Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen); Food@MSU

 

In humans and humanoid robots alike, gender—femininity, masculinity—constitutes an array of learned behaviors that are cosmetically enabled and enhanced. In humans, these behaviors are both socially and historically shaped, but are also contingent upon many situational influences, including individual choices. I will explore the sex/gender dynamicsinforming the design and embodiment of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, especially humanoids. AsIshow, advanced technology does not necessarily promote social progress but can be deployed to reinforce conservative models ofsex/genderroles, ethnic nationalism, and "traditional" family structures.

 

Sponsored by Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities

Co-Sponsored by the Academic Advancement Network; Asian Studies Center; Centerfor Genderin Global Context (GenCen); CenterforInterdisciplinarity; College of Arts and Letters; Department of Linguistics and Languages; Diversity Research Network; Graphic Narratives Network; Japan Council; LBGT Resource Center