Winter 2024 Regional Studies—East Asia Newsletter
Winter 2024
Letter from our Chair
Dear Alumni of the RSEA program,
The day we have spent much of the last year(s) working towards is arriving soon. On April 5th, we will celebrate the 75th birthday of the RSEA program (though, due to the Covid years, a bit later than we wished). The celebrations will greet many eminent Alumni back to campus as part of five panels representing some of the main career paths for RSEA graduates, but also many as part of the audience.
We hope you can join us as we hear from many Alumni what RSEA meant for their work today, but also about what role Asia will play in the future of journalism, education, business, government policy, and the arts.
Asia’s role in the world continues to grow, and many RSEA Alumni have played instrumental roles in that growth. It has never been more important to seek out balanced knowledge and ways of understanding a world in which Asia is a pivotal presence. RSEA takes the role of education for future generations of scholars and practitioners extremely
seriously and looks back on its history with pride.
We hope you can make it to Cambridge in early April to participate in the festivities and meet current students in the program. We have exciting announcements to make at the event, and you can even stay on to join the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Alumni Day on April 6th.
Take a look below for the exact program. We look forward to seeing you in April! All best wishes,
Alexander Zahlten
Chair, Regional Studies East Asia
Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Harvard University
Congratulations to our November 2023 graduates—Mengqiu Liu and Yue Wu!
Spring Semester Happenings
Harvard East Asia Society Conference 2024
Knots: Complex Legacies and Imagined Futures of East Asia
February 16-17, 2024
1730 Cambridge Street, CGIS South
The RSEA 75th Anniversary Symposium at Harvard University
Friday, April 5th, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 1730 Cambridge Street, CGIS
Website: http://tinyurl.com/2s35e4sj
Panels
What are the outlooks for East Asia in business, and for business in East Asia?
Panelists: Satohiro Akimoto, Richard Dyck, Greer Meisels Moderator: Glen Fukushima
How is East Asia important for the future of journalism?
Panelists: Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Joseph Kahn, Scott MacKenzie
Moderator: Mable Chan
Possible political futures of East Asia – how can we shape them for the better?
Panelists: Lars Fredén, Anka Lee, Scott Snyder Moderator: Alastair Iain Johnston
How are Asian arts shaping the world?
Panelists: Virginia Moon, Anne Morse, Joseph Scheier-Dolberg Moderator: TBA
What is the future role of East Asia in higher education – or of higher education in East Asia?
Panelists: Mark Henderson, Katherine Wilhelm, Don Wyatt Moderator: Bill Kirby
Followed by an RSEA Alumni and Student Dinner (Alumni may register to attend the dinner here!)
Alumni Updates
Jannis Jizhou Chen, AM ’17, Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Joseph Doyle, AM ’17, started a new position as an International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Nick Drake, AM ’16, is now the Associate Director of Graduate & International Admission at St. Mike's and is teaching a survey course on Modern East Asia this semester.
John Ferguson, AM ’22, graduated from the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in late June 2023.
Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee by Peter Banseok Kwon, AM ’08, was just published by the Harvard University Asia Center and released in February 2024. Kwon is Assistant Professor of Korean Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Robert Joo-Hyung Lee, AB/AM ’12, has just become a Managing Partner at Anseres Capital Management.
Hideki Murai, AM ’10, was appointed the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Kishida cabinet in September 2023 (Read more here).
Masaki Naito, AM ’21, returned to Tokyo in January 2023 from his duty at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. He now serves as an Assistant Director at the Space and Maritime Security Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Tieu-Bich Nguyen, AM ’95, is currently based in Hong Kong and serves as the Director of Research for Fidelity International.
Hannah Waight, AM ’14, postdoc at NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics, will be Assistant Professor at University of Oregon Sociology.
After graduation, Adrianus L.G. Waworuntu, AM ’92, returned to Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta. He was Head of the Chinese Studies Program there from 1999-2004 and then served as the Vice Dean for Administrative Affairs from 2004-2008. Waworuntu was Dean of Faculty of Humanities from 2017-2021. He retired in August 2023 but is still engaged in teaching and research activities.
Rachel Wong, AM ’15, is currently a doctoral student in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. The Fall 2023 was spent on a Fulbright grant at the University of Leipzig in Germany, On April 25, 2024, Rachel will be delivering the Pawar Lecture at the English Goethe Society in London (join the lecture at this link!)
Jason Jia-Xi Wu, AM ’20, received his J.D. from Harvard Law and is now a Law Clerk at Milbank LLP.
Yue Wu, AM ’23, has just accepted a position as Director of Point Space.
Send us your news! We enjoy hearing from alumni and welcome your news - professional and personal - via email to rsea2@fas.harvard.edu. Or, you may update your information by using this form. |
Previous Newsletters:
Summer 2023 Newsletter Winter 2023 Newsletter Summer 2022 Newsletter Winter 2022 Newsletter Summer 2021 Newsletter Winter 2021 Newsletter Summer 2020 RSEA Newsletter Winter 2020 RSEA Newsletter Summer 2019 RSEA Newsletter We enjoy hearing from alumni and welcome your news - professional and personal - via email to rsea2@fas.harvard.edu