Stanford University

Society

FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.

The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.

Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.

Muslim Politics in Southeast Asia: Democratic Islam Hijacked? Or Re-invigorated?

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Civil Islam - Beyond the Headlines     

A lecture and three seminars by Robert W. Hefner, 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University 

April 28 - May 1, 2008 

Media coverage of Islam and Muslims, especially since 9/11, has featured violence and the threat of violence.  In his opening lecture and three seminars to follow, Prof. Hefner will explore a different reality "beyond the headlines."  Is there a "civil Islam"?  Are Islam and democracy compatible?  Is "Islamism" always radical, or can it be democratic?  How does Muslim schooling affect the answers to these questions?  Prof. Hefner will also look beyond the media's focus on the Middle East to examine the interactions between Islam, Muslims, and democracy in Southeast Asia.  

This is the third and final seminar in this series scheduled with Dr. Hefner.

Robert W. Hefner's latest books include Schooling Islam (co-ed., 2007); Remaking Muslim Politics (ed., 2005); and Civil Islam (2000). He is the invited editor of the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.  He directs the program on Islam and civil society at Boston University since 1991. 

All four events are co-sponsored by the the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Southeast Asia Forum in the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University.

The Board Room
Humanities Center
424 Santa Teresa Street
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Robert W. Hefner

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

0
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia
Website_Headshot.jpg PhD

Robert William Hefner, professor of anthropology and associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, is the inaugural Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia.

Professor Hefner has been associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he has directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991. Hefner has carried out research on religion and politics in Southeast Asia for the past thirty years, and has authored or edited a fourteen books, as well as several major policy reports for private and public foundations. His most recent books include, Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education (edited with Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton 2007); ed., Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization (Princeton 2005), ed., and Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton 2000). Hefner is also the invited editor for the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.

Hefner is currently writing a book on Islamic education, democratization, and political violence in Indonesia. The research and writing locate the Indonesian example in the culture and politics of the broader Muslim world. His book also revisits the the question of the role of religious and secular knowledge in modernity.

Hefner will divide his time between Boston University, the National University of Singapore, and Stanford, where he will teach a seminar during the spring quarter.

Robert W. Hefner 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Speaker
Conferences
Southeast Asia Program

Schooling Islam: Madrasas and the Remaking of Muslim Modernity

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Civil Islam - Beyond the Headlines     

A lecture and three seminars by Robert W. Hefner, 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University 

April 28 - May 1, 2008 

Media coverage of Islam and Muslims, especially since 9/11, has featured violence and the threat of violence.  In his opening lecture and three seminars to follow, Prof. Hefner will explore a different reality "beyond the headlines."  Is there a "civil Islam"?  Are Islam and democracy compatible?  Is "Islamism" always radical, or can it be democratic?  How does Muslim schooling affect the answers to these questions?  Prof. Hefner will also look beyond the media's focus on the Middle East to examine the interactions between Islam, Muslims, and democracy in Southeast Asia.  

This is the second of the three seminars scheduled with Dr. Hefner.  

The third and final seminar in this series will be on Thursday, May 1 and is titled Muslim Politics in Southeast Asia: Democratic Islam Hijacked? or Re-invigorated? 

Robert W. Hefner's latest books include Schooling Islam (co-ed., 2007); Remaking Muslim Politics (ed., 2005); and Civil Islam (2000). He is the invited editor of the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.  He directs the program on Islam and civil society at Boston University since 1991. 

All four events are co-sponsored by the the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Southeast Asia Forum in the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University. 

The Board Room
Humanities Center
424 Santa Teresa Street
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Robert W. Hefner

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

0
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia
Website_Headshot.jpg PhD

Robert William Hefner, professor of anthropology and associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, is the inaugural Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia.

Professor Hefner has been associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he has directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991. Hefner has carried out research on religion and politics in Southeast Asia for the past thirty years, and has authored or edited a fourteen books, as well as several major policy reports for private and public foundations. His most recent books include, Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education (edited with Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton 2007); ed., Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization (Princeton 2005), ed., and Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton 2000). Hefner is also the invited editor for the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.

Hefner is currently writing a book on Islamic education, democratization, and political violence in Indonesia. The research and writing locate the Indonesian example in the culture and politics of the broader Muslim world. His book also revisits the the question of the role of religious and secular knowledge in modernity.

Hefner will divide his time between Boston University, the National University of Singapore, and Stanford, where he will teach a seminar during the spring quarter.

Robert Hefner 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Speaker
Conferences
Southeast Asia Program

Varieties of Islamism: From Radical to Democratic

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Civil Islam - Beyond the Headlines     

A lecture and three seminars by Robert W. Hefner, 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University 

April 28 - May 1, 2008 

Media coverage of Islam and Muslims, especially since 9/11, has featured violence and the threat of violence.  In his opening lecture and three seminars to follow, Prof. Hefner will explore a different reality "beyond the headlines."  Is there a "civil Islam"?  Are Islam and democracy compatible?  Is "Islamism" always radical, or can it be democratic?  How does Muslim schooling affect the answers to these questions?  Prof. Hefner will also look beyond the media's focus on the Middle East to examine the interactions between Islam, Muslims, and democracy in Southeast Asia.  

This is the first of the three seminars scheduled with Dr. Hefner.  

The second seminar of this series is on Wednesday, April 30 and is titled Schooling Islam: Madrasas and the Remaking of Muslim Modernity. 

The third seminar will be on Thursday, May 1 and is titled Muslim Politics in Southeast Asia: Democratic Islam Hijacked? or Re-invigorated? 

Robert W. Hefner's latest books include Schooling Islam (co-ed., 2007); Remaking Muslim Politics (ed., 2005); and Civil Islam (2000). He is the invited editor of the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.  He directs the program on Islam and civil society at Boston University since 1991. 

All four events are co-sponsored by the the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Southeast Asia Forum in the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University. 

The Board Room
Humanities Center
424 Santa Teresa Street
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Robert W. Hefner

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

0
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia
Website_Headshot.jpg PhD

Robert William Hefner, professor of anthropology and associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, is the inaugural Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia.

Professor Hefner has been associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he has directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991. Hefner has carried out research on religion and politics in Southeast Asia for the past thirty years, and has authored or edited a fourteen books, as well as several major policy reports for private and public foundations. His most recent books include, Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education (edited with Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton 2007); ed., Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization (Princeton 2005), ed., and Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton 2000). Hefner is also the invited editor for the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.

Hefner is currently writing a book on Islamic education, democratization, and political violence in Indonesia. The research and writing locate the Indonesian example in the culture and politics of the broader Muslim world. His book also revisits the the question of the role of religious and secular knowledge in modernity.

Hefner will divide his time between Boston University, the National University of Singapore, and Stanford, where he will teach a seminar during the spring quarter.

Robert W. Hefner 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Speaker
Conferences
Southeast Asia Program

Entrepreneurship in Japan: New Patterns After Post-Bubble Reforms

After the end of the bubble economy in Japan in the early 1990s, policymakers legislated an ambitious program to reform corporate governance, finance, and education. One aim was to improve the climate for fostering successful start-ups.

The Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship's spring seminar series will focus on the efficacy of these reforms and ask the question: Is a new habitat for entrepreneurship and innovation being created in Japan?

Civil Islam Revisited: Prospects and Meanings of Muslim Democracy

-

Civil Islam - Beyond the Headlines

A lecture and three seminars by Robert W. Hefner, 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University

April 28 - May 1, 2008

Media coverage of Islam and Muslims, especially since 9/11, has featured violence and the threat of violence. In his opening lecture and three seminars to follow, Prof. Hefner will explore a different reality "beyond the headlines." Is there a "civil Islam"? Are Islam and democracy compatible? Is "Islamism" always radical, or can it be democratic? How does Muslim schooling affect the answers to these questions? Prof. Hefner will also look beyond the media's focus on the Middle East to examine the interactions between Islam, Muslims, and democracy in Southeast Asia.

The evening program on Monday, April 28 with Dr. Hefner will begin with a public reception at 6:15 p.m.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The following three seminars are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will take place in the Board Room of the Stanford Humanities Center. Reservations are not required for the seminars.

The seminar on Tuesday, April 29 is titled Varieties of Islamism: From Radical to Democratic.

The seminar on Wednesday, April 30 is titled Schooling Islam: Madrasas and the Remaking of Muslim Modernity.

The seminar on Thursday, May 1 is titled Muslim Politics in Southeast Asia: Democratic Islam Hijacked? or Re-invigorated?

Robert W. Hefner's latest books include Schooling Islam (co-ed., 2007); Remaking Muslim Politics (ed., 2005); and Civil Islam (2000). He is the invited editor of the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800. He directs the program on Islam and civil society at Boston University since 1991.

All four events are co-sponsored by the the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Southeast Asia Forum in the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University.

Download pdf

Levinthal Hall
Humanities Center
424 Santa Teresa Street
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

Robert W. Hefner

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

0
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia
Website_Headshot.jpg PhD

Robert William Hefner, professor of anthropology and associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, is the inaugural Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia.

Professor Hefner has been associate director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he has directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991. Hefner has carried out research on religion and politics in Southeast Asia for the past thirty years, and has authored or edited a fourteen books, as well as several major policy reports for private and public foundations. His most recent books include, Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education (edited with Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton 2007); ed., Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, Democratization (Princeton 2005), ed., and Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia (Princeton 2000). Hefner is also the invited editor for the sixth volume of the forthcoming New Cambridge History of Islam, Muslims and Modernity: Society and Culture since 1800.

Hefner is currently writing a book on Islamic education, democratization, and political violence in Indonesia. The research and writing locate the Indonesian example in the culture and politics of the broader Muslim world. His book also revisits the the question of the role of religious and secular knowledge in modernity.

Hefner will divide his time between Boston University, the National University of Singapore, and Stanford, where he will teach a seminar during the spring quarter.

Robert W. Hefner 2008 NUS-Stanford Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC and Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Speaker
Conferences
Southeast Asia Program

The Outlook for Japanese Startups--Perspectives from a Japanese Firm's CEO

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About the talk
SPRIE's spring seminar series on the emerging environment for entrepreneurship in Japan has examined the state of venture capital (Michael Korver), changes in corporate governance (Robert Eberhart), and the division within Japanese society on the future of the Japanese economy (Yoko Ishikura).

Now, to conclude the series, Brian Nelson will provide his views on the outlook for Japanese startups--a unique perspective from the (non-Japanese) CEO of a Japanese Internet sales and marketing company.

About the speaker
As CEO of ValueCommerce, Brian Nelson negotiated and completed a TOB (Tender Offer Bid) with YAHOO! Japan in 2005. In 2006, he led ValueCommerce to a successful IPO resulting in a market capitalization of more than $300 million.

Prior to ValueCommerce, Nelson was Director of Sales and Marketing for the Gallup Organization in Japan. He also worked in Business Development with a non-life insurer, Tokyo Marine and Fire Insurance, and as a sales executive for Ashisuto, a Japan computer software company. Nelson has a degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. He has been a resident of Japan since 1990 and is a fluent Japanese speaker.

Download pdf

Philippines Conference Room

Brian Nelson CEO Speaker ValueCommerce
Seminars
Entrepreneurship in Japan: New Patterns After Post-Bubble Reforms

Finding a Better Fable: After 10 Years of Sunshine Policy

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"Sunshine" policy, named after one of Aesop's fables, has been the catch phrase of South Korea's appeasement policy toward North Korea to stimulate and restructure the already collapsed North Korean economy and eventually to convert North Korea to a more conciliatory and cooperative state.

After 10 years of shining the sunlight on North Korea, however, evidences that those self-imposed goals have been achieved are rather scarce. This suggests that, from the beginning, the basic premises of Sunshine policy must have been fatally incongruous with the reality: North Korea should not have been portrayed as an innocent traveler leisurely walking down the street. Or, perhaps, the policy toward North Korea should have pursued more serious goals than just stripping a man of his coat.

In this talk, Dr. Park proposes an alternative to the "Sunshine vs North Wind", and discusses the policy implications of his proposal.

For the past 14 years, Dr. Jongkyu Park has worked on various macroeconomic policy issues of Korean economy including economic forecasts, monetary policy, inflation, budget deficit, exchange rate, savings rate, population aging, real estate bubble, and Japan's economic slowdown and revival. He received B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University in Korea, M.S. in Statistics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University.

Philippines Conference Room

Jongkyu Park

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall, Room E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

(650) 723-2408
0
DPP_0003.JPG PhD

For the past 14 years, Jongkyu Park has worked on various macroeconomic policy issues of Korean economy including economic forecasts, monetary policy, inflation, budget deficit, exchange rate, savings rate, population aging, realestate bubble, Japan's economic slowdown and revival, etc. He received B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University in Korea, M.S. in Statistics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Ph. D. in Economics from Princeton University.

Jongkyu Park Visiting Scholar Speaker Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Seminars
Korean Studies Colloquium Series
Korea Program

Multilateralism in Northeast Asia: Combining Values with Security

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In the midst of leadership changes and rethinking of the Six-Party Talks, the time is ripe for reassessing how multilateralism can be advanced in Northeast Asia. The earlier stress on economic integration as the engine of regionalism has lost credibility, although the forces of interdependence continue to grow. The tendency to treat security in isolation also may be receding, as the Six-Party Talks and Sino-U.S. relations both reveal the multi-sided nature of building trust. At the same time, the pessimism associated with overemphasis on the history issue between Japan and its neighbors has receded in the face of renewed Sino-Japanese and South Korean-Japanese diplomacy. Yet, finding common ground in strategic thinking about the future of multilateralism demands a new approach that takes into account lessons from recent years.

As the building blocks of a new approach, this presentation will focus on four themes: 1) re-examination of ways to accelerate regionalism, with attention to leadership, energy cooperation, and the role of Russia; 2) development of a more comprehensive outlook on values, with attention to shared modernity, gradualism, and the role of Japan; 3) discussion of the next phase in managing North Korea, attentive to Sino-U.S. accord and the role of South Korea; and 4) evaluation of U.S. priorities and how a new president may view Northeast Asia within an overall agenda.   The objective of this talk will be to stimulate thinking on a region at a crossroads in order to capitalize on recent currents of change.

Gil Rozman attended Princeton's Critical Languages Program, returning to Carleton College as an independent major in Chinese and Russian studies. He received his PhD in sociology at Princeton with a field on Chinese, Japanese, and Russian societies and a plan to concentrate on historical comparisons first and on the domestic roots of international relations later. His books have appeared in clusters, including: four on comparative pre-modern urban development and stages of modernization; three on debates in the Soviet Union, China, and Japan over bilateral relations and changes in socialism; two on regionalism; and four on strategic thinking in Northeast Asia. Although he is still learning about Korea, many recent writings have looked at Korea within a regional context.

Philippines Conference Room

Gil Rozman Professor of Sociology Speaker Princeton University
Seminars

Justice or Farce? The Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia

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The UN and the Cambodian government have finally established a “hybrid-style” tribunal in Phnom Penh to begin prosecuting senior leaders from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime that caused the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians more than thirty years ago. This tribunal is widely viewed as one of the most important experiments in transitional justice in a post-conflict society. Prof. Hall will show, however, that the hybrid structure mixing international and local lawyers, judges, and staff is deeply flawed. Cambodia’s legal system is notoriously corrupt, inefficient, and politically controlled. Predictably, the UN-sponsored tribunal has been plagued by accusations of corruption, opacity, distrust, and woeful human resource management. Against this backdrop, the international lawyers and judges at the tribunal continue their up-hill battle to forge a venue that meets minimum international legal standards.

John A. Hall specializes in international law and human rights. His controversial 21 September 2007 op ed in the Wall Street Journal (“Yet Another U.N. Scandal”) helped focus international attention on corruption and mismanagement at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. In addition to writing widely on Cambodia, he has worked for Legal Aid of Cambodia in Phnom Penh and the Public Interest Law Center in the Philippines. He holds a doctorate in Modern History from Oxford University, graduated from Stanford Law School in 2000, and before going to law school was a tenured professor of history.

John Ciorciari is Senior Legal Advisor to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a leading NGO dedicated to accountability for the abuses of the Khmer Rouge regime. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD from Oxford University.

Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room

John Hall Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Global Trade & Development Speaker Chapman University School of Law
John Ciorciari Discussant - 2007-2008 Shorenstein Fellow Commentator
Seminars
Southeast Asia Program

Li Han

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

(650) 724-9747 (650) 723-6530
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Assistant Professor, Hong Kong University. Research Team, Rural Education Action Project China.
Li_Han.JPG MA

Li Han is an assistant professor of economics at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Li Han's research interests are development economics and political economy. Her recent work examines the recent wave of centralization reforms in rural education system in China.

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