Leading Korean Studies Scholars to Examine the Field’s Future at Stanford Conference
October 16, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STANFORD, CA — The Korea Program at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is pleased to announce it will convene distinguished Korea scholars from across North America at the conference “Future Visions: Challenges and Possibilities of Korean Studies in North America” on November 1-2, 2018. Participants will gather at Stanford to discuss how the field has evolved over time, the challenges and opportunities it faces, and its future direction and potential.
“The panels and panelists at this conference represent the quality and depth of Korean Studies in North America,” says APARC Director and the Korea Program Director Gi-Wook Shin. “This is our opportunity to take stock of our achievements in nurturing Korean studies to date, while also considering frankly where we go next and how we might go there together as peers.”
Six unique panels are scheduled over the course of the two-day conference, on themes including literature, language education, social sciences, history, and library collections and services. Each section will consist of three or four panelists who will discuss the state of the discipline.
Stanford faculty will be joined by scholars from twelve North American institutions, including Harvard University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of British Columbia, University of California-Los Angeles, and the University of California-Berkley. They will consider issues such as the research trends in each discipline, the challenges and possibilities for graduate student training, and what intuitional structures may better support faculty.
Additionally, a closing panel discussion on the rise of K-Pop (“Korean Wave”) will be headlined by two prominent artists of Korean Wave, Dominique Rodriguez, Director of SM Entertainment USA, and CHOI Si-Won of Super Junior.
“We’ve only just begun to examine Korean popular culture through a more rigorous academic lens,” notes Shin. “This conference can serve as a significant first step in exploring what our intersecting disciplines can learn from K-Pop, as well as the other cultural forms that comprise Korean Wave.”
Serving as cosponsor of the conference is Foundation Academia Platonica. Based in Seoul, Korea, the Academy supports the development of research in the humanities. The Foundation endowed a senior fellow in Korean studies position at FSI/APARC and supports research at the Korea Program.
“Foundation Academia Platonica is honored to be involved in this conference,” says Chairman of the Foundation Academia Platonica Chang Won Chey. “We share similar commitments to those of the Korea Program, and agree with them on the great importance this event holds for the future of Korea studies.”
The Korea Program at APARC is proud to partner with the academy and looks forward to future collaborations
For more information about the conference and to view the complete agenda (including the scheduled panelists), visit stanford.io/2ygFxih.
About the Korea Program
The Korea Program at Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, directed by Gi-Wook Shin, conducts multidisciplinary, social science-oriented research on policy-relevant Korea topics and supports teaching and outreach on Korean issues through courses, fellowships, seminars, and conferences. For more information, visit aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/korea.
About the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Center
The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center is dedicated to the study of critical issues affecting the countries of Asia and their regional and global relations. Our scholar community is comprised of distinguished academics and practitioners in government, business, and civil society. Through policy-relevant research, publications, education, public programs, and international collaborations, we address pressing challenges in a world in which Asia plays an increasingly central role. For more information, visit aparc.fsi.stanford.edu.
About Foundation Academia Platonica
Foundation Academia Platonica, the first foundation dedicated to support humanities studies in Korea, was established in November, 2010, with an ambitious mission; “To develop and spread the ‘Humanities of soul-searching’ which aims to see the universal progress of the human-spirit and pursue Arete(excellence in virtue).” For more information, visit www.platonacademy.org
Media Contact
Noa Ronkin, DPhil
noa.ronkin@stanford.edu
For more information about the conference, visit: https://stanford.io/2ygFxih, or contact the Korea Program Manager
Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Stanford University
hjahn@stanford.edu