New Modern Middle East Studies Major Ambassador Hill Gives Walker Lecture Rinpoche Visits Yale
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Ambassador Hill Gives Walker Lecture “...the development of China has been the story of the century so far.” Diplomacy is an art that requires patience and a long view toward progress, a top American diplomat told the audience at the MacMillan Center for the annual George Herbert Walker Jr. Lecture in International Studies on April 24. Christopher R. Hill is Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He’s been the chief U.S. negotiator in the six-party talks over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program that include North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S. Hill said progress has been slow, but achievements have been made, and he’s looking forward to the last phase, in which North Korea will declare its nuclear materials and turn them over to the international community, “and North Korea would then be de-nuclearized and would return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Verification is the key to all of this,” he said. “There’s no ‘Trust me’ in the six-party process. It is all about our ability to verify commitments that people make, and we will make sure From left: Ian Shapiro, Henry R. Luce Director, The MacMillan Center; Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; our verification regime within the six parties can deal and George Herbert Walker III, formerly the United States Ambassador to Hungary. adequately with these problems.” continued on page 11… New Modern Middle East Studies Major Rinpoche Visits Yale Bhutanese Lama Khyentse Rinpoche, the third Less than one year after South Asian Studies major was added to the recognized reincarnation of the Buddhist saint, curriculum, Yale College faculty members voted unanimously this past February for the creation of a new, interdisciplinary Modern Middle Jamyang Wangpo, makes rare appearance. East Studies major. Students may declare the major beginning in the 2008-09 academic year. Through the efforts of Phyllis Granoff, Lex “Buddhism is a study of life and self, Hixon Professor of World Religions and and how we look at the world. Film [acts “The creation of the Modern Middle East Studies major really South Asian Studies Council Chair, Yale had like] a utensil to that end.” Recalling the represents the culmination of effort of numerous colleagues under the rare opportunity to meet a great figure shocked reaction of many Westerners the leadership of Middle East Studies Chair Ellen Lust-Okar,” said in Tibetan Buddhism, the Bhutanese Lama when they discover he’s a filmmaker and Henry R. Luce Director Ian Shapiro, The MacMillan Center. “We are Khyentse Rinpoche, the third recognized lama, Rinpoche humorously commented actively searching for incremental faculty to assist in this important reincarnation of the Buddhist saint, “I don’t see filmmaking effort. To this end, the Department of Anthropology has appointed Jamyang Wangpo. On January 25, as sacrilegious. There Assistant Professor Narges Erami, who will begin teaching in fall 09, he met a small group of faculty are worse things and additional searches are underway.” and students for lunch, and I do than making participated in an afternoon films!” He compared The Modern Middle East Studies major, spearheaded by members discussion about the early Buddhism’s of the Council on Middle East Studies at the MacMillan Center study of Buddhism in discouragement for Area and International Studies and professors in the Near Western Academia. on statues of Eastern Languages and Civilizations department, will largely That evening, the Buddha consist of existing courses offered in Near Eastern Languages and Rinpoche lectured to modern Literatures and other departments relating to the Middle East. The to a group of reactions 12-course major requires students to attain proficiency in one of four 500 students, against Middle Eastern languages – Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish. teachers, and Buddhist Foundational requirements include three term courses including others on films. He Modern Thought; Classical Thought; and Seminar on the Modern “Projecting commented Middle East. Elective courses must include six further term courses the Dharma: that “maybe on the modern Middle East that examine culture and thought, history, Film and the even video religion, politics and society. Courses are to be spread geographically Transmission games can be and substantively including courses focusing on at least two different of Buddhism to used to bring us sub-regions and from two or more departments. the West.” closer to the truth.” “I have been lucky with For details on the major, films,” stated please consult the Yale College Bulletin. Rinpoche. continued on page 5… The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale NewsletterSpr08.indd 1 5/5/08 4:04:01 PM The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale www.yale.edu/macmillan IR Students See Policy Being Made in Laos Children are often referred to as the future Observing national policy-making leaders of nations and the key to economic up-close was a novel experience growth and development. In order to reach for the Yale students. Liora their full potential, however, a growing Danan, International Relations body of research suggests that it is essential MA ’09, noted that, “It was really to focus on early childhood development interesting to observe the process (ECD). This also makes economic sense; and see what worked and what did there is a high return on investments in not work as well. This is really early childhood, especially in comparison to helpful for those of us who will costly interventions later on. Over spring be doing this type of work in the break, eight graduate students traveled future.” During the course of the with Pia Rebello Britto, Associate Research workshop, participants discussed Scientist, Child Study Center at Yale, and various aspects of ECD policy Cheryl Doss, Director of Graduate Studies, including governance, financing, International Relations, to the Lao People’s and accountability. One of the Democratic Republic to examine these main obstacles identified for the issues in a Laotian context. implementation of this policy is the cultural and linguistic diversity Laos is a mountainous, landlocked country of Laos. The Deputy Director in Southeast Asia. Currently ranked as of the Department of Statistics a Least Developed Country (LDC), its noted that there are 49 different economic and social development indicators ethnic groups in Laos, with at least are among the poorest in the world. The as many spoken dialects. There Laotian government is committed to are also wide regional variations, in other countries.” While Laos has a long the norm in Laos, where many children graduating from the ranks of LDCs by particularly between rural and urban way to go in order to leave the ranks of lack access to basic primary education and 2020, and has decided to invest in ECD as areas, which compound the problems of LDCs, investing in ECD is a promising health care. one of its primary strategies for doing so. predominantly rural ethnic minorities. The pathway toward this goal. The government invited Professor Rebello Deputy Director of Statistics stated that the Britto to conduct a four-day workshop, literacy rate for one ethnic minority, the Outside of the workshop, the Yale students in conjunction with UNICEF and Plan Akha, is only 11 percent. visited several kindergartens in the capital International, for over 60 different Laotian city Vientiane. Jael Humphrey-Skomer, stakeholders, including government The workshop illustrated the challenges a joint International Relations and Law officials, legislators, and representatives of designing and implementing national student ’08, spoke to the preschoolers from Laotian unions and nongovernmental ECD policy in a developing country. It also about the importance of their education, organizations (NGOs), with the goal of emphasized the benefits of a partnership urging them to study hard. She pointed formulating a comprehensive national ECD between national governments and out that, “We are students, just like policy. international experts. Pauline Hilmy, you. We first went to kindergarten, then International Relations MA ’08, observed primary school, then secondary school, and that, “The international consultant team finally university.” The kindergarten visits brought a lot of expertise about early highlighted the regional differences in Laos. childhood development to this The kindergartens in Vientiane had brightly process. There was also much to decorated classrooms, playgrounds, and be gained from their experience average student-teacher ratios of 20 to 1. with ECD policy development However, high quality preschools are not Left to right: Liora Danan (IR ’09), Sinéad Hunt (IR ’09), Cheryl Doss (DGS, IR), Jael Humphrey (IR/Law ’08), Lesley Yen (IR/FES ’10), Janice Wu (East Asian Studies ’08), Pilyoung Kim (Child Study Center), Nurper Ulkuer (UNICEF representative from New York City headquarters), and Pia Rebello Britto kneeling in front. 2 3 NewsletterSpr08.indd 2 5/5/08 4:04:06 PM The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale www.yale.edu/macmillan Narrative, Memory, and History in Indonesian Arts, Media, and Culture The Yale Indonesia Forum, with support from the Council on Southeast Asia Studies and the Department of History, hosted a workshop on April 12, bringing seven Panel Held on Tibetan junior and senior scholars from across the continent into an interdisciplinary dialogue. The day began with papers by Demonstrations Tony Day, and independent researcher and visiting professor at Wesleyan University, and Intan Paramaditha, a graduate On April 17, The Yale Globalist, student in Film Studies at New York University. Professor Day’s presentation with support from the MacMillan on “Landscape and Memory in Indonesia” took examples from paintings, literature, Center, hosted a panel discussion and film to demonstrate the contested and memory-charged approach to place on the demonstrations that have in Indonesian arts.