Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Internship Opportunity at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is offering paid internships to qualified undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates this coming spring in Washington, D.C. Interns must be U.S. citizens. The application deadline is December 1, 2010 for the Spring 2011internship that runs from February to May 2011. Spring internships are generally part-time; interns are expected to work from 15 to 20 hours per week but may be allowed to work additional hours. See application instructions below.

CECC internships provide significant educational and professional experience for undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates with a background in Chinese politics, law, and society, and strong Chinese language skills.

Interns work closely with the Commission and its staff on the full array of issues concerning human rights, the rule of law, and governance in China (including criminal justice, democratic governance institutions, environmental problems, religious freedom, freedom of expression, ethnic minority rights, women's rights, etc.).

Interns perform important research support tasks (often in Chinese), attend seminars, meet Members of Congress and experts from the United States and abroad, and draft Commission analyses.

The CECC staff is committed to interns' professional development, and holds regular roundtables for interns on important China-related issues.

Spring 2011 interns will be paid $10/hour. Those unable to apply for the spring internship may apply for the Summer (June-August) or Fall (September-December). Further details are available on the Commission's Web site at (www.cecc.govwww.cecc.gov>)

Qualifications:

* Interns must be U.S. citizens.
* Interns should have completed at least some China-related coursework. It is also desirable that they have some background in one or more of the specific human rights and rule of law issues in the CECC legislative mandate<>.
* Interns should be able to read Chinese well enough to assist with research in newspapers, journals, and on Web sites. More advanced Chinese language capability would be a plus. The successful candidate for an internship often will have lived or studied in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan.
* Although our interns are generally undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates, others are also welcome to apply.

Application Instructions for Spring 2011:

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information for two references, to the CECC via e-mail to Judy Wright, Director of Administration at judy.wright@mail.house.gov<> by December 1, 2010. Applications must be received by our office no later than 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on December 1. Please discuss in your cover letter how your professional goals, interests, and background relate to the Commission's legislative mandate regarding human rights and the rule of law in China.

Alumna Jennifer Park Stout Named Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Jennifer Park Stout (M.A. '06) was recently named the U.S. Department of State's deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs. In her new position, Ms. Stout will oversee all public diplomacy operations including Fulbright programs, cultural exchanges, and English language teaching programs.

"The region is home to a third of the world's population and to some of our most important security and trade partners," said Ms. Stout. "Americans understand that our future is linked to the future of the Asia-Pacific region, and so we remain deeply engaged."

Ms. Stout most recently served as senior advisor and director of Senate affairs in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the Department of State, where she coordinated the development of the department's and administration's foreign policy-related legislative priorities. Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Stout, who studied international affairs with a concentration in security studies at the Elliott School, spent 11 years on Capitol Hill as a staff member to Senators Joseph Biden, Patrick Leahy, and Jim Webb, and to Representative James Moran.

"After spending my entire career prior to the State Department on Capitol Hill, it has been fascinating to witness a different perspective of foreign policymaking," said Ms. Stout. "I have enjoyed the ability to focus on a particular region of the world and drill down to a more detailed level of policy. I have been impressed with the caliber of the professionals who work for the State Department and who work hard every day in support of our foreign policy goals and objectives."

Ms. Stout credits her Elliott School education with providing her a good foundation on which to pursue a career in foreign policy.

"The classes were a good mixture of theoretical and practical application and were a valuable complement to what I was getting in the workplace."

http://elliott.gwu.edu/news/briefing/nov10/stout.cfm

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Opportunity for Graduate Students to Serve as a Mentor to Elliott School Undergraduate Scholars

Coffee, Inspiration and a Stipend: Become a Mentor to an Elliott School Undergraduate Scholar!


With Thanksgiving break on the horizon and finals coming up after that, it can be difficult to see past the next econ problem set, let alone remember what inspired you to choose a career in International Affairs in the first place. Let us refresh your memory…Become a mentor to an Elliott School Undergraduate Scholar!

We are looking for graduate students to serve as mentors for promising undergraduates participating in the Elliott School Undergraduate Scholars program. Through this exciting initiative, top undergraduates work with a faculty advisor to conduct independent research on an international affairs topic and produce a 30-page paper. The Undergraduate Scholars, who also receive a research stipend, meet weekly to learn research skills and explore possible outlets to further their research (such as publication, conference participation, graduate study, Fulbright grants, and career paths).

In addition to working with a faculty advisor, another highlight of the program is that each Scholar is paired with one or two graduate student mentors. Mentors will discuss their research and professional interests in the international affairs field and serve as a research and career resource. We will do our best to pair Scholars with mentors whose expertise or interest is relevant to the research topic. Even when a Scholar’s project does not fit the mentor’s professional or academic focus, the relationship can still be meaningful.

Although the relationship with the Scholar is the main benefit of graduate student participation, mentors will also receive a stipend of $200 and gain experience that they can include on their résumés.

Mentors will meet their Scholars at a kickoff reception on January 24. Each mentor/Scholar pair will have coffee together (paid for with the Scholar’s research stipend) and stay in touch throughout the spring semester as the Scholar’s project develops. At certain points in the semester, the undergraduates will share drafts of their papers. There will be a breakfast get-together for all mentors and Scholars on February 28, and then there will be a final research symposium on April 11 at which Scholars will present their research and mentors will serve as moderators.


In addition to the coffee date, mentors should plan to attend these events:

Please attend one training session.

Mentor Training Session – Wednesday, January 12, 8:00 to 9:00 am, Academic Advising Conference Room (1957 E Street NW, Suite 302); Light breakfast provided

Mentor Training Session – Tuesday, January 18, 5:00 to 6:00 pm, Academic Advising Conference Room (1957 E Street NW, Suite 302); Snacks provided

Kickoff Reception – Monday, January 24, 5:00 to 6:30 pm, Lindner Family Commons, 1957 E Street NW, 6th Floor

Scholar/Mentor Breakfast Get-Together – Monday, February 28, 8:00 to 9:30 am, Academic Advising Conference Room (1957 E Street NW, Suite 302); Light breakfast provided

Final Research Conference – Monday, April 11, 1:00 to 5:00 pm, Lindner Family Commons, 1957 E Street NW, 6th Floor


If you are interested in applying, please email the following to http://us.mc596.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=esiamentors@gmail.com by December 6:

1. A paragraph explaining why you are interested in serving as a mentor.
2. A list of the countries/regions and the functional areas in which you have expertise and/or interest
3. Your résumé.

If you have questions, please contact Annie Vinik, Associate Director of Academic Advising & Student Services.* Alternatively, if you would like to speak to a graduate student who served as a mentor last year, please contact one of the lead mentors, Anna Applefield (http://us.mc596.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=aha@gwmail.gwu.edu) or Nathalie Allam (http://us.mc596.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=nathalie.allam@gmail.com).

*Please note that Annie will be out of the office until Monday, November 29 and will respond to your email the week after Thanksgiving.

Full-time position available with Prof. Mike Mochizuki - Apply Today!

The Assistant to the Office of Academic Programs (within the ESIA Dean's Office) position has recently become available. This is a great opportunity to work very closely with the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Asian Studies Professor Mike Mochizuki.

This is a great position for current graduate students since, in addition to being paid a regular salary, full-time employees at GW receive 96 percent tuition remission.

A job description can be found here: https://www.gwu.jobs/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=148808.

You must apply through the link above but are strongly encouraged to let Matt Grieger at the Sigur Center know of your intent to apply.

Good luck!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The 2010 Elliott School Faculty Book Party

Come meet the Sigur Center for Asian Studies authors and congratulate them on their recent accomplishments! Authors in attendence will include:

Jonathan Chaves - West Cliff Poems: The Poetry of Weng Chuan

Bruce Dickson - Allies of the State: China's Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change

Barbara Miller - Cultural Anthropology in a Globalizing World, 2d edition

Henry Nau - International Relations in Perspective: A Reader
  • Wednesday, November 17, 2010
  • 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
  • City View Room, 7th Floor
  • 1957 E Street, NW

Monday, November 15, 2010

Fudan University for M.A. students, now in the Fall semester!

Fall semester study at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs is now a possibility for our M.A. students. The previous Fudan calendar provided only a spring semester option, giving M.A. students only one viable semester (their first spring semesters) an option for study abroad. The new calendar for the Fudan program taught in English will allow Western students to leave around December 20th and finish class papers back home.

Friday, November 12, 2010

In An Innovative Twist To Study Abroad

Seven Columbian College freshmen shared an intense yearlong learning experience with their peers from half-way across the globe at the National University of Singapore. The students were participants in the Dean’s Scholars in Globalization program, a highly competitive cohort experience that combines coursework with the opportunity to perform research with students at universities outside of the United States.
Information sharing is a cornerstone of the program. In addition to traveling to the host countries, participants establish a virtual relationship via teleconferences, webchats, blogs, and webcams to study significant issues in a global context. The level of collaboration between students and faculty is intense.
In addition to traveling to Singapore, participants made stops in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia’s Yogyakarta and Surabaya. They worked side-by-side with their counterparts, interviewing scholars, students, journalists, business people, and representatives from human rights organizations. The topics researched ranged from Facebook use in Islamic boarding schools to the nuances of modesty between men and women in Islamic society. Many of the interviews were arranged through Steele and Kuipers’ extensive regional contacts.

“I have to say that never in my 24 years of teaching have I had quite this kind of experience in which we fostered the development of a community of young scholars who were all working on research projects related to a single interdisciplinary theme, in this case ‘Media and Education in Islamic Southeast Asia,” said School of Media and Public Affairs Professor Janet Steele, who led the cohort last year with Professor of Anthropology Joel Kuipers.
To read more about this visit the GWU Columbian College Arts and Sciences Magazine:

http://magazine.columbian.gwu.edu/?p=79

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Faculty Luncheon for Sophomores Interested in Asia

The Elliott School Office of Academic Advising & Student Services

is pleased to announce a special Faculty Lunch for sophomores

considering or pursuing a major in Asian Studies or an Asia concentration.

Join us for lunch with Professors Shawn McHale and Edward McCord!

Tuesday, November 16

12:00 to 1:30 pm

Sigur Center for Asian Studies

1957 E Street, Suite 503


RSVP to esiasophomores@gmail.com now!

In the subject line, please specify “Asian Studies.”

Twelve attendees will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please only RSVP if you are a sophomore and are certain that you will be able to attend.

You will hear back within 48 hours whether you have secured a spot.

At the luncheon, Professors McHale and McCord will discuss their academic backgrounds and research and will answer students’ questions about their own academic plans, as well as about opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom.

This event is part of the Elliott School’s efforts to offer special opportunities and programming to sophomores as they transition from first-year life and prepare to move on to the heart of the curriculum, declare their concentrations, and plan for internships, study abroad – and even life after GW!

The luncheon also falls under of GW’s observance of International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and Education. International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. Our celebration includes a variety of programs that highlight the international richness of our community and the many international opportunities available to our students. More information on GW’s observance of International Education Week is available here.

A student experience in North Korea


My family’s connection in North Korea has encouraged me to learn more about my heritage, and as a result, I have always had a vested interest in North Korea and its politics. While I have always dreamed of somehow visiting the Northern half of the peninsula to personally talk to residents and better understand the country, the opportunity suddenly appeared before me in the form of the Pyongyang Project. While I was initially skeptical of its authenticity as an organization, I decided that the chance to experience North Korea exponentially outweighed my initial suspicions. I applied for the August program and arranged my flights into Beijing.
Once I arrived in Beijing, I went to the designated hotel and met the founders of the Pyongyang Project. I was honestly expecting older men to greet me at the entrance, but was very surprised to meet two young men. Nick Young and Matt Reichel are recent graduates from Brown University, and despite their youth, they were very organized and capable in running the organization. They planned our lodging in several cities throughout northeastern China and North Korea, took us to delicious restaurants, and even arranged several activities for us.
However, all the fun we experienced in China was nothing compared to our excitement as we prepared to depart from the Shenyang Taoxian Airport to Pyongyang via Koryo Airlines. To be quite frank, I was absolutely terrified once I arrived on the tiny plane. I was going to risk my life riding a 1980s Soviet plane. But I was able to distract myself from my fears by talking to my fellow passengers who were students from Chosun University, a North Korean government sponsored university. These students held no citizenship, but did have Japanese permanent residency cards. They looked very excited to visit their “motherland,” talked about what they wanted to do once they arrived and even prepared themselves by wearing their North Korean pins.
I became friendly with one particular girl. While she was indoctrinated with North Korean philosophies, she also embodied Western culture; she sported a stylish Fendi purse and was passionate about fashion and American pop culture. She even expressed interest in possibly visiting both South Korea and the United States and asked me several question about my experiences in both countries. I was very intrigued by this girl who worships the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung, adores Lady Gaga, believes in the Juche ideology, and keeps up with the latest fashion trends.
After an hour flight, we arrived in North Korea’s Sunan International Airport, probably the smallest airport in the world. There were only five airplanes lined on the side and the terminal included customs, baggage claim, and security all in one big room. We had our phones taken from us, and I was surprised to see that the North Korean customs officer could distinguish an iPhone from an iPod. While we were waiting for our luggage (which was placed on a tiny manually controlled conveyer belt), we noticed that we were not the only foreigners in the country; we talked to several German, Dutch, Saudi, and Chinese nationals among others and most seemed to be visiting North Korea for business purposes.
We met our three North Korean guides who were extremely friendly (although they were frequently critical of each other – correcting minor errors and such) and well spoken in English. They were particularly fascinated with the Korean-Americans in the group and spoke to us in Korean. I became particularly friendly with Mr. Kim, and we spoke of many different topics. Although he tended to avoid answering the more sensitive questions, he demonstrated an extensive knowledge of the outside world due to his interactions with foreigners. Even when I showed him pictures of Seoul, he did not seem surprised by its level of technological development (most North Koreans are taught that South Koreans live in extreme poverty). Mr. Kim, however, was not aware of Kim Jong-un attended school in Switzerland or was even in the country.
Our tour guides strictly controlled our schedule, what we were supposed to see and do, and tried to severely limit our interactions with the local populations. They first took us the much-anticipated Arirang Mass Games where we watched hundreds of thousands of people act as one, performing stunning acrobatic feats and dances. The most popular act was undoubtedly the children’s performance, in which thousands of boys and girls tumbled and cheered for the Great Leader. The most astonishing part of the Mass Games was the mosaic background; tens of thousands of people each flip through a book with colored pages to create an enormous mural. Despite the vast crowds that have shown up for this event, I noticed that most of them were foreigners, mainly Chinese tourists.
We arrived in our “five-star” hotel, and we were served essentially Western cuisine during our stay. In the morning we went to Kim Il-Sung’s mausoleum, and it was so big that it took us almost twenty to thirty minutes to weave through the pavilion and the inside of the building. When we arrived in the main room that housed the Great Leader’s dead body, we bowed to it four times and then left for the pavilion. There, we observed that the North Korean women were dressed in bright and gaudy hanboks (Korean traditional dress) for this particular occasion. Although it is illegal to take pictures of North Korean soldiers, I managed to sneak quite a few, as they marched by me.
The next day, we were bussed to Wonsan, a port city on the eastern coast, where we all went to the beach and enjoyed ourselves. The most significant aspect of this trip was our tour guides’ lack of scrutiny or control over our actions on the beach. We were free to whatever we wanted on the beach, even talk to the local residents. I took advantage of this opportunity and acquainted myself with a family who offered me some of their packed lunch and introduced themselves. The mother and father owns a state-run market, and their elder daughter serves in the North Korean military while their younger son attends middle school. I asked them if their life was difficult, and they said that while times are difficult and rice is scarce nowadays, they find pleasure in just coming to the beach and spending their time together as a family.
Another group of people I talked to were older men who traveled from Pyongyang to enjoy the day in the beach. They said that it was difficult to obtain permission from the government to travel outside of their home cities and even finding a means of travel was almost impossible. Then, the gentlemen offered to buy me beer (a bottle of Heineken for $2), and we talked about the United States. They asked me questions about life in America and were fascinated with the pictures I showed them of South Korea. I asked them how they felt about America and South Korea, and they demonstrated no animosity towards both nations. In fact, they felt as though North Korea could become allies with America if President Obama were to accept Kim Jong-Il’s offer of friendship and that South Korea desperately wants to unite with the north (a large portion of South Koreans citizens are against reunification).
After spending the night in Wonsan, we drove back to Pyongyang and immediately drove southwards to Kaesong. It was then I learned that all roads lead to the capital in order to prevent rebellions and insurrections. In Kaesong, I noticed that the city was considerably less developed than Pyongyang or even Wonsan; there were dirt roads, most of the buildings looked dilapidated and the people’s clothing looked outdated and worn. However, the city felt more familiar to me because it resembled South Korea in term of food and the traditional architecture. In our hotel, I asked Mr. Lee to let me leave the hotel for a little bit so I could take a few pictures, and he was reluctant at first but obliged after I kept begging him and offered him $20. It was a very brief excursion though, probably did not even last one minute, and the streets were deserted. After 10pm, electricity stopped running, but that didn’t stop us from socializing with our tour guides and drinking beer by candlelight.
We drove further south to the DMZ where we met a military officer who acted as our tour guide. He went into extensive detail about the Korean War, of course form the North Korean perspective. I was particularly surprised by how lax the North Korean soldiers seemed to be; they freely let us wander around the museums and the Pamunjeon as long as we didn’t cross the line into South Korea, and take as many pictures as we wanted to, including soldiers. I remember going to the DMZ from the south and it was so much stricter, as we had to follow our tour guide at all times and were limited to taking photos at a certain time. We even saw tourists from the South Korean border and while we waved at them, they unfortunately did offer us the same courtesy.
Afterwards, we drove up to the Sariwon commune, which was probably the lowest point of the trip; it is essentially a model farm that constantly boasts of the many times the Great Leader and the Dear Leader have visited the commune and praised its innovative farming techniques. They even have a museum, which includes the chair Kim Il-Sung sat on as well as the bowl and chopsticks he once used. Then, we drove back to Pyongyang and made it in time for the Pyongyang Circus. I noticed that the entire audience consisted of military personnel, so it was interesting to see break away from their hardened image as soldiers and just laugh like normal people. While the circus was highly entertaining, I was disturbed by one of their propaganda acts that criticized Lee Myung-Bak and claimed that the Cheonan incident was a complex CIA conspiracy to implicate North Korea.
We also attended the Children’s Palace to watch artistically talented girls and boys perform for a mostly foreign audience. Adorable little boys and girls sang about North Korea’s strong military, which was accompanied by projections of military vehicles and Kim Jong-Il’s salutations to his soldiers. They also performed with traditional instruments and dances, while others used Western instruments. The children were phenomenal, and after the performances, we met them and gave them candy and school supplies. We were so impressed that we kept on talking about the Children’s Palace all day until we thought of the pain the children had to endure and how much they had to sacrifice, including school. They were essentially used by the government as pawns to endear tourists.
As we spent our last day in North Korea, we toured Pyongyang to the capital’s main landmarks and even went to the Planetarium located in a technology and science research community (which ironically also fell victim to the city’s many blackouts). We watched the sunset over the city. Of course, we spent the night drinking bottle after bottle of Western whiskey, North Korean beer and soju (which has over 10% more alcohol than the standard in South Korea). With hangovers and stomachaches, we headed for the airport and had a slightly bumpy right back to (relative) freedom and capitalism in China.

The writer, Debbie Kye, is a junior double majoring in Asian Studies and International Affairs. She traveled to North Korea during summer 2010 as part of a delegation with the Pyongyang Project.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Call for Papers for the 13th Annual Southest Asian Studies Graduate Conference at Cornell University

Call for Papers

The Cornell Southeast Asia Program invites submission for its 13th Annual Southeast Asian Studies Graduate Conference. This annual event will be held at the Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on March 11-13, 2011.


Graduate students at any stage engaged in original research related to Southeast Asia. are encouraged to apply Graduate students whose papers fall under any of the following categories are welcome to apply:


· Gender Studies

· Social and Economic Development

· Culture/Musicology/Art

· History

· Religion

· Politics/Government/International Relations

· Linguistics


Submission Information

Please submit an abstract and a 1 page curriculum vita to the following email address: seapgradconference@gmail.com. All abstracts should be limited to 300 words (using 1” margins on all sides, Times New Roman, and 12 pt font size) and sent in MS Word format. Please name your abstract using your first initial and last name (for example, jsmith.doc for John Smith’s abstract). The subject of the message should specify “Abstract”, and the body should include the following information:

Author’s name(s), affiliation and e-mail address

Title of paper

Paper category


SUBMISSION DEADLINE: January 10, 2011
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: Late January 2011

COMMITMENT TO PRESENT: January 28, 2011

Final papers will be due by February 28, 2011. Papers must be in English. Presentations should be no more than 20 minutes and will be followed by 10 minutes of discussion.


Go to http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/southeastasia/academics/2011spring.asp for more information.

Monday, November 8, 2010

TLC Language Programs - Summer 2011

Summer 2011 Programs for Intensive Southeast Asia Language Study

Please click on the respective programs you are interested in for more details and application deadlines.

1. Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute
2. Khmer Language and Culture Study Program

3. Advanced Study of Khmer

4. Advanced Filipino Abroad Program


5. Advanced Study of Thai

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Internship at Freeman Chair in China Studies (CSIS)

Subject: Internship Posting: Freeman Chair in China Studies (CSIS)


The Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS is currently seeking an unpaid intern to work 30-40 hours a week for the spring 2011 semester. The applicant, preferably a recent college graduate or graduate student, should be interested in U.S.-China relations and Chinese foreign policy, particularly China-Taiwan and China-North Korea. Ideally, the applicant should be fluent in Mandarin Chinese and able to research and translate from Chinese research sources into English. Strong writing skills are a must. Excellent communication skills and attention to detail are a requisite. This position is also expected to provide administrative support to program meetings, conferences and other tasks as required.

Eligibility:

-- Must be at least a college junior in good standing, an advanced student or a recent graduate.

-- Must have at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent from a non-U.S. institution.

-- Must be eligible to work in the United States.

To apply: http://www.csisopportunities.org/internships/application/

Deadline for applications: November 30, 2010