Text
Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies
Suffolk University, Boston
Annual Report for 2017-2018 Academic Year
Ronald Suleski, PhD, Director
Overview
The 2017-2018 academic year was a year in which the Rosenberg Institute
awarded its largest number to date of student scholarships for Suffolk
students traveling to Asia for study abroad. We also made a grant to launch
the joint Suffolk-Fudan Workshop on Urban Ecological Security and
Sustainability. These and all of our major activities are reported more fully below.
In the spring of 2018 Dr. Marisa Kelly was appointed President of Suffolk
University Boston. Her appointment continued the sense of stability and orderly
process for Suffolk which began when she was named acting president in August
2016.
In September 2017 Dean Maria Toyoda appointed an Advisory Council for
the Rosenberg Institute. Members are all professors in various departments. The
Director is Micky Lee (Communication and Journalism) who is also Director of
our Program in Asian Studies, Audrey Goldstein (Chair of NESAD), Patricia
Hogan (Center for Urban Ecology), Kathy Sparaco (Director of INTO Program),
Jane Zhu (Marketing). The Council met repeatedly in the course of the academic
year to consider budgetary and program issues.
This past academic year the Institute awarded Rosenberg Asian Studies
Scholarships to 7 students who attended programs in Asia for study abroad at our
1
partner institutions. These institutions are in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore,
Taiwan, and India.
For the Alternative Winter Break Program in January 2018, the Institute awarded
partial scholarships to 10 Suffolk students who traveled to Cambodia. The
program is also funded by the Center for Community Engagement at Suffolk; the
professor accompying the students was Roberto Dominguez (Government).
An Alternative Spring Program saw 6 students travel to Vietnam with their
professor Elizabeth Robinson (Sociology). They were studying teaching English as
a Second Language (TESOL) and actually taught some classes while in Vietnam.
At the request of the China Travel Seminar Program run by the Sawyer Business
School, the Institute was able to provide partial scholarships to 6 students who
went on the program to China.
The Institute made a grant to help fund the 2018 Workshop on Urban Ecological
Security and Sustainability, held in June 2018. The project was spearheaded by
Professor Patricia Hogan, a member of our Council, who made the proposal to us
in the fall of 2017. The Workshop is co-organized with Fudan University, one of
China’s top-rated research schools. The Fudan organizer was Professor Wang
Xiangrong, Director of their Center for Urban Eco-Planning and Design. It is
envisioned that this Workshop will held yearly, alternating between the two
campuses.
In the fall of 2017 the Institute once again co-sponsored the China Town Hall
forum. The nation-wide meeting conducted partially via a web broadcast, was
organized by the National Committee on US-China Relations, and is co-sponsored
in Boston by Suffolk and with WorldBoston, a member of the World Affairs
Council.
The Institute continued to sponsor academic lectures held on campus that were
open to the university community and the wider public. We also continued our
outreach activities with the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE)
and with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Community Center (BCNC).
2
Activities
In Summer 2017 Suffolk once again hosted a group of Chinese students from
Beijing on our campus. They were part of the Suffolk English Language
Program (SELP), which is well-organized to offer English language instruction
for speakers of other languages. They were accompanied by two professors.
Below is a photo taken at the conclusion of the graduation ceremonies.
In August 2017 Suffolk hosted a group of sixty-four new Fulbright scholars.
These scholars were graduate students coming from universities all over the world.
They had just entered the United States, and before proceeding to their graduate
3
programs they were invited to Suffolk for several days for an introduction to
American academic life. It is called the Fulbright Gateway Program.
Suffolk University Chaplain Rev. Amy Fisher gave a talk An Introduction to
World Religions: What is Religion? On 14 September 2017. The talk was part of
History 100, Introduction to Asian Studies. It was sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute and was open to the public.
The Government Department at Suffolk presented a talk: Military First! What
Makes North Korean Tick? Speakers were Professor Gregory Fried, Chair of
Philisophy; Professor Friedrich Lohr, former German Ambassador to North
Korea; Professor Weiqi Zhang who was teaching a class on Introduction to
Comparative Politics; and Professor Ronald Suleski, Director of the Rosenberg
Institute. Members of the general public joined many Suffolk students for the
presentation. This was held on 3 October 2017, sponsored by the government
Department and the Rosenberg Institute.
Suffolk University celebrated DIWALI the Indian festival of light.
Families in India set up candles in front of their homes once night falls. They
enjoy a meal together. They make symbolic patterns using sand and colored stones,
called Rangoli. Suffolk celebrated this on the evening of 19 October 2017. An
image of a hand-made Rangoli is below.
4
Again in 2017 Suffolk hosted the China Town Hall. It featured a special guest via
live webcast, Hon. Susan E. Rice, former National Security Advisor and U.S.
Ambassador to the UN. Visiting the Suffolk campus was Professor Joseph
Fewsmith from Boston University, a respected scholar on elite politics in China.
The meeting was Free and Open to the Public. Refreshments were Served. The
meeting was organized by the National Committee on United States-China
Relations (NYC), and co-sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute and WorldBoston.
Held on 24 October 2017.
Suffolk University had an opportunity to meet local movie director Ken Eng, on
Monday 6 November 2017. He spoke in Professor Micky Lee’s class. Later his
recent film “Kokoyakyu High School Baseball,” was shown on 9 November
2017. This was part of the Suffolk Cinema Series, co-sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute for East Asian Studies, the Japanese Studies Association, and the Asian
Studies Program at Suffolk.
5
“DACA: A Story of Dreams and Fears,” was a talk presented by Stephen H.
Legomsky. It is the story of the “Dreamers” who were brought to the United States
illegally as children. It was the 4th Harry Dow Lecture Series on Immigration
Law, held on 15 November 2017. The event was co-sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute, The Office of Advancement, the Moakley Archive and Institute, and the
Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund.
On 16 November 2017 the Rosenberg Institute arranged for a delegation of
scholars from China, funded by the Chinese government, to visit the Suffolk
campus. They were all specialists on Contemporary China, and briefly presented
their major research findings. The seminar was titled China in the New Era.
6
7
Ding Junping of Wuhan University, Zhang Hairong of Beijing Normal University, and Suffolk VP for
Diversity, Access & Inclusion Joyya Smith are seated. Behind them are Sawyer Library Director Sharon
Britton, Rosenberg Institute Director Ronald Suleski, Peking University graduate student Zhang Shuwei,
Lu Keli of Renmin University, Center for Teaching and Scholarly Excellence Director Linda Bruenjes,
Song Jian of Wuhan University, and Zhao Zhikui of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Jane Hirshfield visited Suffolk on 7 February 2018. Her poetry talks about desire and loss,
beauty and impermanence. Her poetry draws on ideas taken from Buddhism, and the “succinct
wisdom” of Haiku. Her books of poems keep winning national prizes. Her visit was sponsored by
the Poetry Project/Day One Fund, the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies, the English
Department, and the CAS Dean’s Office.
Professor Monica Fan was a Visiting Scholar at Suffolk 2017-18. She teaches at Shanghai Jiao
Tong University. She talked to us on 6 March 2018 about why scholars need to emphasize personal
history and individual experience when they write biographical studies. Here in Boston she has
been consulting several archives about many Chinese Americans whose papers are held in local
collections. The program was sponsored by the English Department and the Asian Studies Program.
8
Arn Chorn Pond was about to be killed. It was in Cambodia in the late 1970s and
the Khmer Rouge killed wantonly. His teacher and friends were killed, but as a
child of 10 he managed to survive. He told us about his experiences and about
how music and the arts kept him sane. The title of his talk was Healing from
Genocide: Creating Peace Through the Arts in Cambodia. Held on 8 March
2018. This program was part of the Alternative Winter Break Program. It was
sponsored by the Center for Community Development, the Government
Department, the Philosophy Department, and the Rosenberg Institute for East
Asian Studies at Suffolk.
Documentary Film GOOK Shown at Suffolk. The Los Angeles Riots took place
in 1992. Many black people clashed with the Koreans living within their
community. The Koreans often ran small shops which in some cases became
targets of looters, and in other cases strengthened the friendships between the
beleaguered Koreans and their black neighbors. The Koreans were derisively
referred to by the term “gook.” This is the title of the film recounting those days
and the complex interactions behind the riots. The film GOOK was shown 27
March 2018 at Suffolk. This event was sponsored by the Communication and
Journalism Department, the Sociology Department, the Public Policy and Practice
Hub, the Asian Studies Program, and the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian
Studies, all at Suffolk University Boston.
A number of our Suffolk students are studying the European Union, and they want
to explore How the EU deals with China. Suffolk invited an expert Team Leader
of the EU’s Asia Pacific and Research Network to speak to us. Dr. May-Britt
Stumbaum, who also is affiliated with the free University of Berlin, spoke about
Germany and the EU’s China Policy: Analysis, Assessment and Areas for
Competition and Cooperation with the US. Her talk was on 17 April 2018. The
program was sponsored by the Warburg Chapter of the American Council on
Germany and Suffolk. It was hosted by Professor Frederich Lohr of the
Government Department. The Rosernberg Institute was involved in advertising the
program.
9
The Art of Resistance, a talk about Chinese writers who opposed the oppression
of Mao Zedong. Before 1976 during the difficult days of rule by Mao Zedong in
China, artists were especially watched. Their ability to express themselves by
drawing images or painting a picture were powerful ways to convey ideas. The
Communist Party only wanted its own approved ideas circulated, so they feared
and persecuted artists who had their talent as powerful tools. Artists also often had
a free spirit inside themselves, struggling to fly with their own ideas. Dr. Shelley
Drake Hawk recently published an illustrated book about artists in Communist
China during the Cultural Revolution who reisted the extreme Communist
ideology, titled The Art of Resistance. She spoke to us on 18 April 2018. The
talk was sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies.
North Korea was much in the news in April and May 2018. Dr. Micky Lee of
Communication and Journalism gave a talk on Pop Culture in East Asia: The
Korean Wave in North Korea, based on her recently published research. The talk
was on 25 April 2018. It was sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian
Studies at Suffolk University Boston.
10
Pop Culture in East Asia
The Korean Wave in North Korea
Professor Micky Lee
Talks about research she did with fellow Suffolk professor
Weiqi Zhang, about how the youth in reclusive North Korea
have been able to enjoy pop music from South Korea. As
explained in her recently published book Understanding the
Business of Global Media in the Digital Age
Wednesday 25 April 2018 73 Tremont Street
Boston
Room 5040 3:05pm to 4:30pm
The Talk is Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies at
Suffolk University Boston
11
Alternative Spring Break in Vietnam. Six students went with their professor
Elizabeth Robinson in order to teach in Vietnamese schools. The students were in
the TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages) program and
all were working to earn the TESOL Certificate. The Vietnamese students were
eager to learn from native English speakers, so the experience was a win-win
situation. The Rosenberg Institute helped to subsidize the cost of this experience
for our students. A review of the experience and student presentations was held on
the Suffolk campus following the trip
Student Teachers Learn Priceless Lessons in
Vietnam
June 11, 2018
Students explored a market on their teaching trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. (Photo:
Elie Crief)
Two weeks before Spring Break, eight Suffolk students learned they’d be
traveling halfway around the world from snow-covered Boston to humid
Hanoi for a whirlwind week of student teaching. They set out with their
newly-obtained VISAs, a few helpful Vietnamese conversational phrases,
and teaching theories they’d learned but never practiced. They returned
with a wealth of experience and, for some, a passion for teaching abroad.
Full cultural immersion
The students are enrolled in the teaching English to speakers of other
languages (TESOL) certificate program, which offers international teaching
preparation and opportunities to work with international students studying in
12
the United States. The Hanoi trip fulfilled the program’s practicum
requirement, as students worked with a wide variety of English language
learners throughout the week.
Funds from the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies helped defray
the students’ travel costs, making the life-changing trip possible on short
notice. Travel scholarships from the Rosenberg Institute have allowed
Suffolk students to study in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan,
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
TESOL students and Professor Elizabeth Robinson visited the Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum (Photo: Elie Crief)
Benjamin Mimoso’s family experience spurred an enduring interest in how
non-native speakers learn English. His father grew up in a Portuguesespeaking community in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and learned English
at school. Mimoso, Class of 2019, a history major, wants to teach English
as a second language overseas before pursuing a career as a history
teacher. The trip to Vietnam was his first time leaving the United States.
“I thought I’d be uncomfortable and in culture shock,” he says. “Instead, I
fell in love with everything quickly. We weren’t in tourist areas. We were
riding motorbikes through the city, and little kids would shout ‘hello’ from
the backs of their bikes.”
Gaining classroom experience
For Georgia Bourikas, Class of 2018, the trip was a chance to have a fully
immersive cultural experience before graduation. Bourikas is a fine arts
13
major and all-star basketball player for the Suffolk Rams whose year-round
practice and game schedule precluded a traditional study abroad semester.
Although she has worked as a teaching assistant in the Art & Design
Department’s printmaking shop, Bourikas had never before been in charge
of a classroom. That changed as she and her classmates planned for and
taught English lessons to Vietnamese students ranging in age from 18
months to 45 years-old.
“Working with little kids is very difficult, but they were remarkable. Three
year-olds could have little conversations with us in English already, telling
time, counting, sharing emotions,” says Mimoso.
Working with pre-schoolers at Golden Key Language School (Photo: Mai Tran)
Bourikas and Mimoso teamed up to present a conversational English class
on clothing and shopping to a group of first-year students at Hanoi
University. The experience gave them practice with crafting and presenting
a lesson and also led to valuable cultural exchange with their peers.
“They wanted to know about American culture -- like are we obsessed with
superheroes? -- and we talked about the differences in our schools. We
became Facebook friends,” says Bourikas.
One common bond was music, says Mimoso, who noted that a love for the
rapper Jay-Z knows no geographical bounds.
14
Teaching at Hanoi University (Photo: Mai Tran)
Exploring Vietnam
The director of the Golden Key Language School, which provides Englishlanguage instruction for students of all ages, hosted the Suffolk students.
And although the students spent long days teaching and many evenings
lesson planning, they were able to experience some of the sights -- and
tastes -- of Vietnam.
Bourikas and Mimoso both enjoyed the country’s food culture, which
included everything from a wide array of vegetarian options for Mimoso to a
feel-good start to their kindergarten teaching day preparing a hot breakfasts
for the kids.
They visited temples and waited in a silent, winding line for three hours to
enter the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, one of Vietnam’s most popular and
revered sites.
A trip outside the city to Vietnam’s oldest pottery workshop showed the
students another side of Vietnamese life and made a big impression on fine
arts major Bourikas, who reveled in watching the delicate hand-painting by
skilled craftspeople.
15
Suffolk students try their hands at pottery-making (Photo: Elie Crief)
Lasting lessons
Working with students in Vietnam has reaffirmed Mimoso’s plans to pursue
a teaching career. “It was interesting to see how another culture teaches,”
he said. “Taking the positive and negative lessons from that will make me a
better teacher.”
Running wildly different classes each day was an eye-opening trial by fire
for Bourikas:
“I learned that it’s never a good idea to fly by the seat of your pants.
Prepare, and be ready to handle the things that can go wrong. As a teacher
you need to have a bag of tricks and be able to improvise. If I want to teach,
now I know I can do it.”
16
A class of young students in Vietnam visit with the American teachers from
Suffolk University Boston.
In June Suffolk hosted the 2018 International Workshop on Urban
Ecological Security and Sustainability. This was jointly organized by
Professor Patricia Hogan at Suffolk and Professor Xiangrong Wang of Fudan
University in Shanghai. Fudan is one of China’s leading universities with many
17
international research and outreach programs. During the meetings colleagues from
Suffolk and other institutions in Boston, and from various academic institutions in
China came together to discuss pressing issues such as Urban Planning and
Sustainability, Climate Change Responses, and Data Collection and Interpretation.
They also held a planning session to arrange for the next Workshop, which will be
held next year on the Fudan campus. A group of local high school students were
invited to attend sessions on virtual reality and visit our new physics, science, and
IT laboratories. Major funding for the Workshop was provided by the Rosenberg
Institute, with additional funds from the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s
Office. The logo used by the Workshop shown below was designed by Peter Kery
who teaches in the Department of Art and Design at Suffolk.
The Workshop was a major international initiative for Suffolk and a major project
for the Rosenberg Institute. A report prepared by Professor Hogan is below.
18
Working Together for a Greener World
July 17, 2018
Xiangrong Wang, Director of the Center for Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan
University, addressed the International Workshop on Urban Ecological Security &
Sustainability at Suffolk University.
Because climate change is a global condition best addressed through
interdisciplinary research, institutional investment, and international
collaboration, members of the Center for Urban Ecology &
Sustainability (CUES) at Suffolk University are joining forces with their
counterparts at the Center for Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan
University in Shanghai to work toward a greener future.
The first step took place in June at the inaugural International Workshop on
Urban Ecological Security and Sustainability in Boston, sponsored by
the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies of Suffolk University.
19
Patricia Hogan, director of the Center for Urban Ecology & Sustainability at
Suffolk University
All hands on deck
Organized by environmental researchers from both Suffolk and Fudan
University, the three-day conference drew wide participation from other
research institutions, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups,
and professional societies.
Speakers and participants from Fudan University, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Shanghai Academy of
Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, and Zhejiang
University were part of the scientific delegation from the Shanghai area.
Local universities represented included Northeastern University, UMASSBoston, Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy,
Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Brown University. Boston-area
speakers included representatives from GreenRoots, Inc. of Chelsea, the
Neponset River Watershed Association, the Institute of International Urban
Development, and the Sustainable Remediation Forum.
Faculty from each of Suffolk’s three schools attended -- representing
departments as diverse as chemistry, biochemistry, art & design, physics,
international business, marketing, and law.
20
“With the multifaceted environmental challenges we’re facing right now, it
doesn’t matter what a student’s major is. It’s all hands on deck,” says
Suffolk Professor Patricia Hogan, director of the Center for Urban Ecology
& Sustainability and co-organizer of the conference.
Topics ranged from broad policy and eco-security issues to detailed
research data analysis.
One thread woven throughout the conference was the concept of
environmental justice. John Walkey, the waterfront coordinator for Chelseabased GreenRoots, spoke about reducing disparities in environmental
impact and education among Boston-area immigrant communities.
Professor Sean Solley of Suffolk’s Art & Design Department explored a
similar theme through the lens of sustainable urban development for the
aged, another vulnerable population.
Sean Solley, associate professor & program director, Interior
Architecture & Design
“All populations won’t be impacted equally by climate change,” says Hogan.
“Those most at risk—the poor and marginalized—will suffer most. We don’t
always think of sustainable design in an equitable way, but we need to
keep environmental justice at the forefront.”
The workshop also included a session for high school students as both
universities share a commitment to involving young people in sustainability
work. Students learned about the history of Boston’s development from
21
History Professor Robert Allison, used virtual reality technology to visualize
both the greenest and the most polluted cities around the world with
Suffolk’s Physics Department, and worked with physical models of the city
with Reed Brockman of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section.
Problem solving from multiple perspectives
Both China and the United States have work to do to reduce pollution and
mitigate the effects of climate change. China is the overall highest carbon
dioxide emitter in the world, but the more urbanized U.S. remains the
highest emitter per capita. While America grapples with climate change
denial and weakening environmental protections, China is in the midst of a
“Green China and Eco-civilized China” backlash from industrial urban
pollution—even as it continues to invest heavily in a more sustainable
economy.
As coastal urban cities, Boston and Shanghai face many of the same
climate challenges – but on very different scales. Boston is the largest city
in the New England region but Shanghai is one of the largest megacities in
the world. Comparing the effects of increasing global temperatures,
pollution, and sea-level rise and the efforts to combat these issues could
yield valuable data for both cities and others around the world.
“The city of Shanghai is located at the Yangtze River Delta, an area with
high economic growth, high urbanization and high eco-environmental risk,”
says Hogan’s counterpart Xiangrong Wang, Director of the Center for
Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan University. “It has the typical fragile
features of the development of urban agglomeration in China. It is of great
significance to strengthen the research and the demonstration of ecological
security technology and sustainability here.”
A path forward
Hogan and Wang plan to establish academic and research collaborations
in the coming years, including: joint research projects, student and faculty
exchange programs, training and, potentially, joint online courses.
A strategic planning session held on the workshop’s third day brought
faculty from both schools together to find common interests and lay the
groundwork for future partnerships. The colleagues will meet again next
year when Fudan University hosts the second Urban Ecological Security
and Sustainability Workshop in Shanghai.
22
“This workshop is a very good platform for scholars, governmental officials
and business people to create academic exchange and potentially explore
markets for urban ecological sustainability. It will be huge benefit for both
China and America,” says Wang.
“The first workshop was a huge success and opened up many
opportunities for cooperation,” says Hogan. “Now we need to take the next
steps forward and make these projects and discoveries happen.”
Faculty and researchers from Suffolk University and Fudan University
gathered for the three-day workshop.
End
23
Suffolk University, Boston
Annual Report for 2017-2018 Academic Year
Ronald Suleski, PhD, Director
Overview
The 2017-2018 academic year was a year in which the Rosenberg Institute
awarded its largest number to date of student scholarships for Suffolk
students traveling to Asia for study abroad. We also made a grant to launch
the joint Suffolk-Fudan Workshop on Urban Ecological Security and
Sustainability. These and all of our major activities are reported more fully below.
In the spring of 2018 Dr. Marisa Kelly was appointed President of Suffolk
University Boston. Her appointment continued the sense of stability and orderly
process for Suffolk which began when she was named acting president in August
2016.
In September 2017 Dean Maria Toyoda appointed an Advisory Council for
the Rosenberg Institute. Members are all professors in various departments. The
Director is Micky Lee (Communication and Journalism) who is also Director of
our Program in Asian Studies, Audrey Goldstein (Chair of NESAD), Patricia
Hogan (Center for Urban Ecology), Kathy Sparaco (Director of INTO Program),
Jane Zhu (Marketing). The Council met repeatedly in the course of the academic
year to consider budgetary and program issues.
This past academic year the Institute awarded Rosenberg Asian Studies
Scholarships to 7 students who attended programs in Asia for study abroad at our
1
partner institutions. These institutions are in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore,
Taiwan, and India.
For the Alternative Winter Break Program in January 2018, the Institute awarded
partial scholarships to 10 Suffolk students who traveled to Cambodia. The
program is also funded by the Center for Community Engagement at Suffolk; the
professor accompying the students was Roberto Dominguez (Government).
An Alternative Spring Program saw 6 students travel to Vietnam with their
professor Elizabeth Robinson (Sociology). They were studying teaching English as
a Second Language (TESOL) and actually taught some classes while in Vietnam.
At the request of the China Travel Seminar Program run by the Sawyer Business
School, the Institute was able to provide partial scholarships to 6 students who
went on the program to China.
The Institute made a grant to help fund the 2018 Workshop on Urban Ecological
Security and Sustainability, held in June 2018. The project was spearheaded by
Professor Patricia Hogan, a member of our Council, who made the proposal to us
in the fall of 2017. The Workshop is co-organized with Fudan University, one of
China’s top-rated research schools. The Fudan organizer was Professor Wang
Xiangrong, Director of their Center for Urban Eco-Planning and Design. It is
envisioned that this Workshop will held yearly, alternating between the two
campuses.
In the fall of 2017 the Institute once again co-sponsored the China Town Hall
forum. The nation-wide meeting conducted partially via a web broadcast, was
organized by the National Committee on US-China Relations, and is co-sponsored
in Boston by Suffolk and with WorldBoston, a member of the World Affairs
Council.
The Institute continued to sponsor academic lectures held on campus that were
open to the university community and the wider public. We also continued our
outreach activities with the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE)
and with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Community Center (BCNC).
2
Activities
In Summer 2017 Suffolk once again hosted a group of Chinese students from
Beijing on our campus. They were part of the Suffolk English Language
Program (SELP), which is well-organized to offer English language instruction
for speakers of other languages. They were accompanied by two professors.
Below is a photo taken at the conclusion of the graduation ceremonies.
In August 2017 Suffolk hosted a group of sixty-four new Fulbright scholars.
These scholars were graduate students coming from universities all over the world.
They had just entered the United States, and before proceeding to their graduate
3
programs they were invited to Suffolk for several days for an introduction to
American academic life. It is called the Fulbright Gateway Program.
Suffolk University Chaplain Rev. Amy Fisher gave a talk An Introduction to
World Religions: What is Religion? On 14 September 2017. The talk was part of
History 100, Introduction to Asian Studies. It was sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute and was open to the public.
The Government Department at Suffolk presented a talk: Military First! What
Makes North Korean Tick? Speakers were Professor Gregory Fried, Chair of
Philisophy; Professor Friedrich Lohr, former German Ambassador to North
Korea; Professor Weiqi Zhang who was teaching a class on Introduction to
Comparative Politics; and Professor Ronald Suleski, Director of the Rosenberg
Institute. Members of the general public joined many Suffolk students for the
presentation. This was held on 3 October 2017, sponsored by the government
Department and the Rosenberg Institute.
Suffolk University celebrated DIWALI the Indian festival of light.
Families in India set up candles in front of their homes once night falls. They
enjoy a meal together. They make symbolic patterns using sand and colored stones,
called Rangoli. Suffolk celebrated this on the evening of 19 October 2017. An
image of a hand-made Rangoli is below.
4
Again in 2017 Suffolk hosted the China Town Hall. It featured a special guest via
live webcast, Hon. Susan E. Rice, former National Security Advisor and U.S.
Ambassador to the UN. Visiting the Suffolk campus was Professor Joseph
Fewsmith from Boston University, a respected scholar on elite politics in China.
The meeting was Free and Open to the Public. Refreshments were Served. The
meeting was organized by the National Committee on United States-China
Relations (NYC), and co-sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute and WorldBoston.
Held on 24 October 2017.
Suffolk University had an opportunity to meet local movie director Ken Eng, on
Monday 6 November 2017. He spoke in Professor Micky Lee’s class. Later his
recent film “Kokoyakyu High School Baseball,” was shown on 9 November
2017. This was part of the Suffolk Cinema Series, co-sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute for East Asian Studies, the Japanese Studies Association, and the Asian
Studies Program at Suffolk.
5
“DACA: A Story of Dreams and Fears,” was a talk presented by Stephen H.
Legomsky. It is the story of the “Dreamers” who were brought to the United States
illegally as children. It was the 4th Harry Dow Lecture Series on Immigration
Law, held on 15 November 2017. The event was co-sponsored by the Rosenberg
Institute, The Office of Advancement, the Moakley Archive and Institute, and the
Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund.
On 16 November 2017 the Rosenberg Institute arranged for a delegation of
scholars from China, funded by the Chinese government, to visit the Suffolk
campus. They were all specialists on Contemporary China, and briefly presented
their major research findings. The seminar was titled China in the New Era.
6
7
Ding Junping of Wuhan University, Zhang Hairong of Beijing Normal University, and Suffolk VP for
Diversity, Access & Inclusion Joyya Smith are seated. Behind them are Sawyer Library Director Sharon
Britton, Rosenberg Institute Director Ronald Suleski, Peking University graduate student Zhang Shuwei,
Lu Keli of Renmin University, Center for Teaching and Scholarly Excellence Director Linda Bruenjes,
Song Jian of Wuhan University, and Zhao Zhikui of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Jane Hirshfield visited Suffolk on 7 February 2018. Her poetry talks about desire and loss,
beauty and impermanence. Her poetry draws on ideas taken from Buddhism, and the “succinct
wisdom” of Haiku. Her books of poems keep winning national prizes. Her visit was sponsored by
the Poetry Project/Day One Fund, the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies, the English
Department, and the CAS Dean’s Office.
Professor Monica Fan was a Visiting Scholar at Suffolk 2017-18. She teaches at Shanghai Jiao
Tong University. She talked to us on 6 March 2018 about why scholars need to emphasize personal
history and individual experience when they write biographical studies. Here in Boston she has
been consulting several archives about many Chinese Americans whose papers are held in local
collections. The program was sponsored by the English Department and the Asian Studies Program.
8
Arn Chorn Pond was about to be killed. It was in Cambodia in the late 1970s and
the Khmer Rouge killed wantonly. His teacher and friends were killed, but as a
child of 10 he managed to survive. He told us about his experiences and about
how music and the arts kept him sane. The title of his talk was Healing from
Genocide: Creating Peace Through the Arts in Cambodia. Held on 8 March
2018. This program was part of the Alternative Winter Break Program. It was
sponsored by the Center for Community Development, the Government
Department, the Philosophy Department, and the Rosenberg Institute for East
Asian Studies at Suffolk.
Documentary Film GOOK Shown at Suffolk. The Los Angeles Riots took place
in 1992. Many black people clashed with the Koreans living within their
community. The Koreans often ran small shops which in some cases became
targets of looters, and in other cases strengthened the friendships between the
beleaguered Koreans and their black neighbors. The Koreans were derisively
referred to by the term “gook.” This is the title of the film recounting those days
and the complex interactions behind the riots. The film GOOK was shown 27
March 2018 at Suffolk. This event was sponsored by the Communication and
Journalism Department, the Sociology Department, the Public Policy and Practice
Hub, the Asian Studies Program, and the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian
Studies, all at Suffolk University Boston.
A number of our Suffolk students are studying the European Union, and they want
to explore How the EU deals with China. Suffolk invited an expert Team Leader
of the EU’s Asia Pacific and Research Network to speak to us. Dr. May-Britt
Stumbaum, who also is affiliated with the free University of Berlin, spoke about
Germany and the EU’s China Policy: Analysis, Assessment and Areas for
Competition and Cooperation with the US. Her talk was on 17 April 2018. The
program was sponsored by the Warburg Chapter of the American Council on
Germany and Suffolk. It was hosted by Professor Frederich Lohr of the
Government Department. The Rosernberg Institute was involved in advertising the
program.
9
The Art of Resistance, a talk about Chinese writers who opposed the oppression
of Mao Zedong. Before 1976 during the difficult days of rule by Mao Zedong in
China, artists were especially watched. Their ability to express themselves by
drawing images or painting a picture were powerful ways to convey ideas. The
Communist Party only wanted its own approved ideas circulated, so they feared
and persecuted artists who had their talent as powerful tools. Artists also often had
a free spirit inside themselves, struggling to fly with their own ideas. Dr. Shelley
Drake Hawk recently published an illustrated book about artists in Communist
China during the Cultural Revolution who reisted the extreme Communist
ideology, titled The Art of Resistance. She spoke to us on 18 April 2018. The
talk was sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies.
North Korea was much in the news in April and May 2018. Dr. Micky Lee of
Communication and Journalism gave a talk on Pop Culture in East Asia: The
Korean Wave in North Korea, based on her recently published research. The talk
was on 25 April 2018. It was sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian
Studies at Suffolk University Boston.
10
Pop Culture in East Asia
The Korean Wave in North Korea
Professor Micky Lee
Talks about research she did with fellow Suffolk professor
Weiqi Zhang, about how the youth in reclusive North Korea
have been able to enjoy pop music from South Korea. As
explained in her recently published book Understanding the
Business of Global Media in the Digital Age
Wednesday 25 April 2018 73 Tremont Street
Boston
Room 5040 3:05pm to 4:30pm
The Talk is Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies at
Suffolk University Boston
11
Alternative Spring Break in Vietnam. Six students went with their professor
Elizabeth Robinson in order to teach in Vietnamese schools. The students were in
the TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages) program and
all were working to earn the TESOL Certificate. The Vietnamese students were
eager to learn from native English speakers, so the experience was a win-win
situation. The Rosenberg Institute helped to subsidize the cost of this experience
for our students. A review of the experience and student presentations was held on
the Suffolk campus following the trip
Student Teachers Learn Priceless Lessons in
Vietnam
June 11, 2018
Students explored a market on their teaching trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. (Photo:
Elie Crief)
Two weeks before Spring Break, eight Suffolk students learned they’d be
traveling halfway around the world from snow-covered Boston to humid
Hanoi for a whirlwind week of student teaching. They set out with their
newly-obtained VISAs, a few helpful Vietnamese conversational phrases,
and teaching theories they’d learned but never practiced. They returned
with a wealth of experience and, for some, a passion for teaching abroad.
Full cultural immersion
The students are enrolled in the teaching English to speakers of other
languages (TESOL) certificate program, which offers international teaching
preparation and opportunities to work with international students studying in
12
the United States. The Hanoi trip fulfilled the program’s practicum
requirement, as students worked with a wide variety of English language
learners throughout the week.
Funds from the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies helped defray
the students’ travel costs, making the life-changing trip possible on short
notice. Travel scholarships from the Rosenberg Institute have allowed
Suffolk students to study in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan,
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
TESOL students and Professor Elizabeth Robinson visited the Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum (Photo: Elie Crief)
Benjamin Mimoso’s family experience spurred an enduring interest in how
non-native speakers learn English. His father grew up in a Portuguesespeaking community in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and learned English
at school. Mimoso, Class of 2019, a history major, wants to teach English
as a second language overseas before pursuing a career as a history
teacher. The trip to Vietnam was his first time leaving the United States.
“I thought I’d be uncomfortable and in culture shock,” he says. “Instead, I
fell in love with everything quickly. We weren’t in tourist areas. We were
riding motorbikes through the city, and little kids would shout ‘hello’ from
the backs of their bikes.”
Gaining classroom experience
For Georgia Bourikas, Class of 2018, the trip was a chance to have a fully
immersive cultural experience before graduation. Bourikas is a fine arts
13
major and all-star basketball player for the Suffolk Rams whose year-round
practice and game schedule precluded a traditional study abroad semester.
Although she has worked as a teaching assistant in the Art & Design
Department’s printmaking shop, Bourikas had never before been in charge
of a classroom. That changed as she and her classmates planned for and
taught English lessons to Vietnamese students ranging in age from 18
months to 45 years-old.
“Working with little kids is very difficult, but they were remarkable. Three
year-olds could have little conversations with us in English already, telling
time, counting, sharing emotions,” says Mimoso.
Working with pre-schoolers at Golden Key Language School (Photo: Mai Tran)
Bourikas and Mimoso teamed up to present a conversational English class
on clothing and shopping to a group of first-year students at Hanoi
University. The experience gave them practice with crafting and presenting
a lesson and also led to valuable cultural exchange with their peers.
“They wanted to know about American culture -- like are we obsessed with
superheroes? -- and we talked about the differences in our schools. We
became Facebook friends,” says Bourikas.
One common bond was music, says Mimoso, who noted that a love for the
rapper Jay-Z knows no geographical bounds.
14
Teaching at Hanoi University (Photo: Mai Tran)
Exploring Vietnam
The director of the Golden Key Language School, which provides Englishlanguage instruction for students of all ages, hosted the Suffolk students.
And although the students spent long days teaching and many evenings
lesson planning, they were able to experience some of the sights -- and
tastes -- of Vietnam.
Bourikas and Mimoso both enjoyed the country’s food culture, which
included everything from a wide array of vegetarian options for Mimoso to a
feel-good start to their kindergarten teaching day preparing a hot breakfasts
for the kids.
They visited temples and waited in a silent, winding line for three hours to
enter the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, one of Vietnam’s most popular and
revered sites.
A trip outside the city to Vietnam’s oldest pottery workshop showed the
students another side of Vietnamese life and made a big impression on fine
arts major Bourikas, who reveled in watching the delicate hand-painting by
skilled craftspeople.
15
Suffolk students try their hands at pottery-making (Photo: Elie Crief)
Lasting lessons
Working with students in Vietnam has reaffirmed Mimoso’s plans to pursue
a teaching career. “It was interesting to see how another culture teaches,”
he said. “Taking the positive and negative lessons from that will make me a
better teacher.”
Running wildly different classes each day was an eye-opening trial by fire
for Bourikas:
“I learned that it’s never a good idea to fly by the seat of your pants.
Prepare, and be ready to handle the things that can go wrong. As a teacher
you need to have a bag of tricks and be able to improvise. If I want to teach,
now I know I can do it.”
16
A class of young students in Vietnam visit with the American teachers from
Suffolk University Boston.
In June Suffolk hosted the 2018 International Workshop on Urban
Ecological Security and Sustainability. This was jointly organized by
Professor Patricia Hogan at Suffolk and Professor Xiangrong Wang of Fudan
University in Shanghai. Fudan is one of China’s leading universities with many
17
international research and outreach programs. During the meetings colleagues from
Suffolk and other institutions in Boston, and from various academic institutions in
China came together to discuss pressing issues such as Urban Planning and
Sustainability, Climate Change Responses, and Data Collection and Interpretation.
They also held a planning session to arrange for the next Workshop, which will be
held next year on the Fudan campus. A group of local high school students were
invited to attend sessions on virtual reality and visit our new physics, science, and
IT laboratories. Major funding for the Workshop was provided by the Rosenberg
Institute, with additional funds from the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s
Office. The logo used by the Workshop shown below was designed by Peter Kery
who teaches in the Department of Art and Design at Suffolk.
The Workshop was a major international initiative for Suffolk and a major project
for the Rosenberg Institute. A report prepared by Professor Hogan is below.
18
Working Together for a Greener World
July 17, 2018
Xiangrong Wang, Director of the Center for Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan
University, addressed the International Workshop on Urban Ecological Security &
Sustainability at Suffolk University.
Because climate change is a global condition best addressed through
interdisciplinary research, institutional investment, and international
collaboration, members of the Center for Urban Ecology &
Sustainability (CUES) at Suffolk University are joining forces with their
counterparts at the Center for Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan
University in Shanghai to work toward a greener future.
The first step took place in June at the inaugural International Workshop on
Urban Ecological Security and Sustainability in Boston, sponsored by
the Rosenberg Institute for East Asian Studies of Suffolk University.
19
Patricia Hogan, director of the Center for Urban Ecology & Sustainability at
Suffolk University
All hands on deck
Organized by environmental researchers from both Suffolk and Fudan
University, the three-day conference drew wide participation from other
research institutions, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups,
and professional societies.
Speakers and participants from Fudan University, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Shanghai Academy of
Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, and Zhejiang
University were part of the scientific delegation from the Shanghai area.
Local universities represented included Northeastern University, UMASSBoston, Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy,
Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Brown University. Boston-area
speakers included representatives from GreenRoots, Inc. of Chelsea, the
Neponset River Watershed Association, the Institute of International Urban
Development, and the Sustainable Remediation Forum.
Faculty from each of Suffolk’s three schools attended -- representing
departments as diverse as chemistry, biochemistry, art & design, physics,
international business, marketing, and law.
20
“With the multifaceted environmental challenges we’re facing right now, it
doesn’t matter what a student’s major is. It’s all hands on deck,” says
Suffolk Professor Patricia Hogan, director of the Center for Urban Ecology
& Sustainability and co-organizer of the conference.
Topics ranged from broad policy and eco-security issues to detailed
research data analysis.
One thread woven throughout the conference was the concept of
environmental justice. John Walkey, the waterfront coordinator for Chelseabased GreenRoots, spoke about reducing disparities in environmental
impact and education among Boston-area immigrant communities.
Professor Sean Solley of Suffolk’s Art & Design Department explored a
similar theme through the lens of sustainable urban development for the
aged, another vulnerable population.
Sean Solley, associate professor & program director, Interior
Architecture & Design
“All populations won’t be impacted equally by climate change,” says Hogan.
“Those most at risk—the poor and marginalized—will suffer most. We don’t
always think of sustainable design in an equitable way, but we need to
keep environmental justice at the forefront.”
The workshop also included a session for high school students as both
universities share a commitment to involving young people in sustainability
work. Students learned about the history of Boston’s development from
21
History Professor Robert Allison, used virtual reality technology to visualize
both the greenest and the most polluted cities around the world with
Suffolk’s Physics Department, and worked with physical models of the city
with Reed Brockman of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section.
Problem solving from multiple perspectives
Both China and the United States have work to do to reduce pollution and
mitigate the effects of climate change. China is the overall highest carbon
dioxide emitter in the world, but the more urbanized U.S. remains the
highest emitter per capita. While America grapples with climate change
denial and weakening environmental protections, China is in the midst of a
“Green China and Eco-civilized China” backlash from industrial urban
pollution—even as it continues to invest heavily in a more sustainable
economy.
As coastal urban cities, Boston and Shanghai face many of the same
climate challenges – but on very different scales. Boston is the largest city
in the New England region but Shanghai is one of the largest megacities in
the world. Comparing the effects of increasing global temperatures,
pollution, and sea-level rise and the efforts to combat these issues could
yield valuable data for both cities and others around the world.
“The city of Shanghai is located at the Yangtze River Delta, an area with
high economic growth, high urbanization and high eco-environmental risk,”
says Hogan’s counterpart Xiangrong Wang, Director of the Center for
Urban Eco-Planning & Design at Fudan University. “It has the typical fragile
features of the development of urban agglomeration in China. It is of great
significance to strengthen the research and the demonstration of ecological
security technology and sustainability here.”
A path forward
Hogan and Wang plan to establish academic and research collaborations
in the coming years, including: joint research projects, student and faculty
exchange programs, training and, potentially, joint online courses.
A strategic planning session held on the workshop’s third day brought
faculty from both schools together to find common interests and lay the
groundwork for future partnerships. The colleagues will meet again next
year when Fudan University hosts the second Urban Ecological Security
and Sustainability Workshop in Shanghai.
22
“This workshop is a very good platform for scholars, governmental officials
and business people to create academic exchange and potentially explore
markets for urban ecological sustainability. It will be huge benefit for both
China and America,” says Wang.
“The first workshop was a huge success and opened up many
opportunities for cooperation,” says Hogan. “Now we need to take the next
steps forward and make these projects and discoveries happen.”
Faculty and researchers from Suffolk University and Fudan University
gathered for the three-day workshop.
End
23