The National Committee is looking for volunteers to help out with their tenth anniversary U.S. Foreign Policy Colloquium. This is an annual event held in partnership with the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. The Colloquium brings together about 150 PRC graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines at universities around the United States to help them better understand the complex forces that influence and shape American foreign policy. The two-and-a-half-day program gives these bright young men and women with potential for leadership in China an opportunity to interact with current and former Administration officials and members of Congress, as well as representatives from academia, the military, think tanks, the media and business. And, hopefully, you!

One of the reasons for the success of past FPCs is that it has been able to rely on volunteers in the D.C. area to help out; and this year is no exception. The main help we will need is with site visits the afternoon of Thursday, May 30. We need escorts to lead small groups of 10 to 15 FPC participants to foreign policy-relevant organizations in D.C. Briefings at the sites will last for an hour – from 3:30 to 4:30 (with about 20 minute presentations with 30-40 minutes of Q&A). Volunteers need to report to the Elliott School (E Street between 18th and 19th Streets) at 2:00 for a general briefing and to pick up their name lists, subway fare cards (if necessary) and then assemble their groups and depart between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., depending on where their site venue is. (Some require a 5-15 minute walk, others require subway rides of various lengths.) For a listing of past site visit venues, please click on the link below.

We also may need assistance with set up and check in on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28 and 29, as well as some miscellaneous help on Thursday and Friday during the event. If you are interested and available any of those days, please let us know.

All volunteers are welcome to attend not just the opening night ceremony (this year’s speaker is former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao) but any (or all) of the sessions as well.

To sign up for the event and for more information, consult the volunteer information sheet.

Engaging Asia 2013: How Will the 113th Congress Address the Rebalance toward Asia?

In recognition of Asia’s increasing global importance, the United States is rebalancing to focus more attention on the region politically, economically, and militarily. The 113th Congress takes office as this strategy is being implemented. At a time of constrained resources and competing domestic priorities, Congress will play a pivotal role in determining and executing many aspects of the rebalance as it allocates funds, provides oversight, and ratifies trade agreements.

With this in mind, The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) will host “Engaging Asia 2013: How Will the 113th Congress Address the Rebalance toward Asia?” on April 17 in Washington, D.C. This half-day conference will provide high-level expert insight and discussion on the congressional priorities that will shape U.S. strategy in the region.

The event will feature remarks from Congressman Rick Larsen on the role of Congress in the U.S.-China relationship, Indonesia's Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal on how Southeast Asia views the U.S. rebalancing, and a panel discussion assessing the new NBR Analysis report “Whose Pacific Century? The 113th Congress and Asia” with co-author Edward Gresser (Progressive Economy) and practitioners from Capitol Hill. Complimentary copies will be available at the conference.

Additional Participants

Jamie Fly is Counselor for Foreign and National Security Affairs to Senator Marco Rubio. (off-the-record).

Meredith Miller is NBR’s Senior Vice President for Trade, Energy and Economic Affairs & Outreach, and Director, Washington, D.C. Office.

Pamela Passman is President and CEO of the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe.org).

Michael Schiffer is Senior Advisor and Counselor (Democratic Staff) to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. (off-the-record).

Nien Su is the Senior Director for the Asia-Pacific (Republican Staff) at the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (off-the-record).

Please RSVP via online registration. Seating is limited. All inquiries should be directed to Sonia Luthra, Assistant Director for Outreach, at NBRdc@nbr.org or (202) 347-9767.

Background on the Conference:

Engaging Asia is a comprehensive initiative that encourages integrated high-level discussion of U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific. The initiative convenes experts from government and academia to provide analysis and policy recommendations for future U.S. engagement with the region. “Engaging Asia 2013: How Will the 113th Congress Address the Rebalance toward Asia?” is the sixth conference in this series.

Now Accepting Applications for the 2013 Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit (CLS)

CLS, now in its third year, is a three-day conference hosted between Duke University and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. CLS aims to strengthen Duke-UNC collaboration by bringing together undergraduate and graduate students from Duke, UNC, and other top universities in the US and China with acute and demonstrated interests in US-China affairs. CLS aims not only to offer a series of esteemed US-China speakers to the general Duke and UNC public, but also to generate interdisciplinary interest and discussion, create opportunities for research presentation and collaboration, and present networking opportunities to explore potential careers and other China-related opportunities for delegates and attendants. The conference will create a networking platform for members of both campuses to discuss issues related to the growing US-China rivalry and present and collaborate on innovative ideas for tackling future issues.

In addition to applying to be a delegate, students can be chosen as moderators for panels during the conference. We also encourage applicants who would like to present relevant research at the conference to apply.

This year’s conference theme is Sustainability: the sustainability of China’s environmental policies, its economic policies and trade relations with the United States, prevalent political trends and models, as well as issues of cultural and social transition.

For a tentative schedule along with a list of confirmed speakers please visit our website, dukeunccls.org.

The link to the application is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fD1AK0wOAfN2Q86ktuZSm6dBv7v8Tg_rHf5P9S_pEtM/viewform

Application is due FEBRUARY 22, 11:59 PM. All interviews will be conducted before March 7 and all decisions 

made by March 8. Please contact dukeunccls@gmail.com with any questions.

Conference Participants Wanted

The School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) seeks papers, performances, and panel proposals for its 24th annual graduate student conference. The conference will be held on the UHM campus in Honolulu, HI on April 3-5, 2013. The theme this year is “CONTINUITY, CHANGE, AND CONTESTATION: MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ASIA-PACIFIC.”

In particular, we are looking for papers that:

Incorporate multidisciplinary approaches

Challenge approaches based on a national or regional focus

Engage new and emerging trends in Pacific and/or Asian Studies

Involve any original research on Asia and/or the Pacific

Present Asian and/or Pacific performance practices

As this year's theme indicates, we are interested in accepting papers, performances, and panel proposals that continue, change, and/or contest disciplinary and regional approaches to the study of the Asia/Pacific. With this goal in mind, we also encourage those with a background in the arts to apply with performance proposals. 

We are happy to announce that we have two keynote speakers joining us this year: Dr. Naoki Sakai (Cornell University) and Dr. Barbara Andaya (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa). Information about our keynotes can be found on our website. 

Please submit the application form by February 1, 2013. When submitting the application, please rename the file from “2013 SPAS Abstract Submission Form.doc” to “Applicant’sLastName_Applicant’sFirstName.doc” and email it to gradconf@hawaii.eduby the submission deadline.

Additionally, all accepted papers/panels will have discussants, so presenters should be prepared to submit their papers by March 18, 2013.

Abstract submission deadline: February 1, 2013

For the submission form, please visit the 2013 SPAS Graduate Conference Website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/spas/?page_id=881

Limited partial travel grants to the conference site may be available.

If you have any questions, please contact the conference planning committee at gradconf@hawaii.edu. For more information, please refer to our Facebook page, “2013 SPAS Graduate Conference.” 

We look forward to receiving your abstracts!

Both graduate and undergraduate students are invited to submit individual paper and panel proposals. The theme of this year's conference is "50 Years of Exploring Frontiers"

The conference will be held at Brigham-Young University, Idaho from October 11-13. For more information, please visit: http://www.wcaas2012.com/index.html

---

Information about conference travel support for GW students:

The Sigur Center provides travel support to graduate and undergraduate students invited to present scholarly papers at conferences. If you are selected to present an Asian Studies-specific paper, you may apply for conference travel funding. Please submit the following three items to Dr. Ed McCord (mccord@gwu.edu) and Matt Grieger (mgrieger@gwu.edu): (1) confirmation that your paper has been accepted for the conference; (2) an itemized budget; and (3) your academic paper. Requests for funding are decided on a rolling basis. Students who seek and receive cost-sharing commitments from other GW and non-GW sources will be considered favorably.

The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) is a partnership between the students and faculty of Harvard University, offering a sustained academic program and a forum of exchange to facilitate discussion of the most important economic, political, and social issues relevant to the Asia-Pacific region. HPAIR's international conference has emerged as the largest annual Harvard event in Asia and the largest annual student conference in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting a wide variety of distinguished speakers and future leaders as Harvard's student outpost in Asia. Past speakers at our conferences include South Korean President Kim Young Sam, Governor General of Australia Peter Hollingworth, Singapore President S.R. Nathan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The conference this year, co-hosted by National Chengchi University, will be held on August 24-28th, 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan. The theme will be "Challenges and Prospects: Envisioning Global Transformations". Our panels will focus on the following seven topics:

• Defining Private: Public Partnerships in Energy and Environment
• Entrepreneurship in Asia: Rising Tigers at the Edge of Innovation?
• The Intersection of Business, Finance, and Government in Asian Economies
• Frontiers in Health and Human Rights
• Asian Attitudes Towards Democracy in International Law
• Shifting Poles: Transition and Security
• Asian Ascendancy: Media in the Age of Globalization

The HPAIR Conference extends invitation to all students in college level and beyond. Please go to http://www.hpair.org/ to apply.

Should there be any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jenny Hsu by phone +886-989-374-709, or by email aconf-help@hpair.org

Asia Pacific Week is an annual conference held by the Australian National University focusing on trends and developments in the Asia Pacific region. The conference is a joint initiative by students and the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. Incorporating a number of innovative and trans-disciplinary sessions, ANU Asia Pacific Week 2012 aims to facilitate communication and forge connections between top academics and students.

ANU Asia Pacific Week will bring leading experts on the Asia Pacific region together with 100 delegates from around the world to engage in a series of dynamic discussions and events focused on developments and trends that will shape the ‘Asia Pacific Century’.

APW organizing committee is seeking delegate applications from top honors, masters and doctoral students from around the world.

Applications will close this Friday 23 March at 5pm (Canberra Time).

There is no fee to attend APW2012 and a number of scholarships will be available to both international and Australian delegates.

These include:

• assistance with travel expenses for international students
• full scholarships for one student from each IARU partner university
• ANU Economics Fellowship for domestic economics students

All delegates will be considered for the scholarships they are eligible for.

An information flyer is located on the home page of the ANU website.

For more information, please visit the website http://asiapacificweek.anu.edu.au/ or email asiapacificweek@anu.edu.au

Don't forget to join us this morning for our conference, "India as a Global Power: Contending Views From India," happening this morning at 9:30.

Please click:


http://elliott.gwu.edu/news/events/2012/india-global-power.cfm

On Monday, January 23, 2012, around 9:30 am EST, there will be a live conference streaming of India As A Global Power: Contending Views From India sponsored by The Sigur Center for Asian Studies' Rising Powers Initiative at the Elliott School and The Center for New American Security.

This session includes prominent speakers:

ManMani Shankar Aiyar, Member of the Indian Parliament in Rajya Sabha (Council of States)

Bharat Karnad, Research Professor and Author of Indian's Nuclear Policy, and Future Imperiled: India's Security in the 1990s and Beyond

Lalit Mansingh, Diplomatic Advisor to the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman for the FICCI India - U.S. Policy Group.

TN Ninan, President of the Editor's Guild of India, and Chairman and Chief Editor of Business Standard.

Join us monday morning for the topic discussion of Indian Views on National Security by clicking the following link:

Live Streaming

Sheltered from the record-breaking rainy season that flooded Seoul’s downtown, I spent a week this past summer at a humanities conference in Hanyang University’s mountain-top Paiknam Library.

The conference, which was put on by the Research Institute for Comparative History and Culture,brought together more than thirty researchers, professors, and graduate students from around the world to present their academic papers and explore the theme of borders. Seoul seemed an appropriate backdrop. Less than an hour’s drive from the most heavily fortified border in the world, we discussed topics such as heritage, diaspora, border-crossing, and self-formation in a transnational paradigm.

When it came time to present my research, I found myself standing before a panel of professors and researchers, experts in my research area. Behind them sat a room full of Korean citizens who are directly impacted by the issues that I can only read about in books. Showing proper deference for the collective knowledge of the participants in the room, I cautiously set about explaining the points of my controversial argument that, contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of North Korean women migrating to China are not victims of trafficking, but rather travel there of their own volition to marry ethnic Korean men of higher socioeconomic status. I found my audience to be receptive and, after presenting, I was able to engage Korean experts on the subject in discussions of how to improve my hypothesis and conduct further research on the topic. This experience has enhanced my standing for research grants that will allow me to lay the foundation for a doctoral degree.

The perspective and the contacts that I took away from the conference would not have been available to me without the support of GWU including the Sigur Center and the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department (EALL). By taking advantage of funds made available by the University, in this case a Conference Travel Grant, I was able to fly to the other side of the world for a weeklong trip to present my research. Such travel would have otherwise been prohibitively expensive. In doing so, I have enhanced not only my understanding of my research topic, but also my standing for future applications to academic programs and conferences. Too often, such grants and scholarship funds go unused. Necessary components of any area studies education include both overseas travel and language study. Funds supporting such travel and study are available to complement GWU’s academic programs. I encourage any students interested in Korean language, Korean studies, or any language or area focus to seek out these opportunities and apply. Had I not done so I would have missed another great opportunity to enhance my own education and enjoy Korea’s hallmark rainy summer nights.

East Asian Literature & Language Fall 2011 Newsletter: http://resources.columbian.gwu.edu/newsgen/public/41/89043c7f16fef9fbd99ed0bb3c8cbf7c.html#267

2011 Lewis N. Cotlow Student Research Conference

FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2011
2-5 p.m. with reception following
1957 E Street NW, room B-12

At this annual event, ten undergraduate and graduate students will present findings from their anthropological fieldwork. All students are encouraged to attend the conference and reception, especially if you're interested in pursuing Cotlow-funded research in the coming years. Students will present on a wide range of topics including:

• Allopathic health care in Bangalore India
• Children’s rights in Senegalese Koranic schools (Madrassas)
• Social Problems for Pokot women recovering from obstetric fistula surgery
• Unshod Daasanach runners from Kenya and the interpretation of 1.5 million-year-old fossil footprints
• Ancient Mayan political organization
• Pilgrims and Tourists on the Route of St. Jacques de Compostella, Spain
• Yoga as a commodity in Mysore, India
• The rise in Chinese organic farming
• The impact of tourism on the women of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
• Late formative era figurines from Oaxaca, Mexico

Student interested in applying for 2012 funds should review the proposal form and instructions found on the website. The deadline for application is 5 p.m. Friday, March 2

For more information, contact the GW Anthropology department at 202-994-6075 or anth@email.gwu.edu. A list of all projects funded to date is on our website: http://departments.columbian.gwu.edu/anthropology/Cotlow