# Asia and Asians at Harvard Conference ![1](/sites/g/files/omnuum10896/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2025-11/1_0.jpg?itok=jgJqdahR) #### calendar\_today Date and Time **November 13 - November 14, 2025** All day #### pin\_drop Location **(In-Person) Tsai Auditorium (S010), CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138** Asia and Asians at Harvard Conference *Organized by the Harvard Asia Center* *Co-sponsored by the Harvard Asia-related Centers and WCFIA* Harvard’s long-standing, reciprocal relationships with Asia have shaped scholarship, policymaking, and cultural life—both on our campus and across the region. This two-day conference will Illuminate history – showcase pivotal encounters, initiatives, and collaborations linking Harvard and Asia since the late-19th century; Celebrate contributions – honor Asian students, faculty, and visitors whose work redefined disciplines and campus culture; Critically assess impact – examine Harvard’s role in Asian policymaking, development, and institution-building, acknowledging successes and shortcomings; and Imagine futures – spark new, equitable collaborations that broaden Asia-related teaching, research, and public engagement at Harvard. ![1](/sites/g/files/omnuum10896/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-11/1_1.jpg?itok=4tLvEUOE) [***Registration***](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK-tbdRspCLqxdqFviadqUyQET8cdurWizKg9YJdGoGwTDSA/viewform) ***is not required but appreciated for planning purposes.*** ## **Day 1: Thursday,** **November 13, 2025** [**Belfer Case Study Room (S020),CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street**](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. *Welcome and Opening Reflections* [**Michael Puett**](https://puett.scholars.harvard.edu/), Victor and William Fung Foundation Director, Harvard University Asia Center; Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology, FAS; Harvard College Professor *Opening Panel* **“Harvard’s Japan Encounter”** [**Susan J. Pharr**](https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/susan-j-pharr), Edwin O. Reischauer Research Professor of Japanese Politics, FAS, Harvard University **“Harvard and Asia: Brief Encounters, Abiding Relationships”** [**Sugata Bose**](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/sugata-bose), Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, FAS, Harvard University **Traditional Sumatran Dance Performance** Presented by [**Harvard Indonesian Students Association**](https://www.instagram.com/indonesiaharvard/) **Reception** [Concourse Area, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) ## **Day 2: Friday, November 14, 2025** [**Belfer Case Study Room (S020),CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street**](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) ***8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast*** 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. [***Distinguished Visitors: Asian Intellectuals and Public Figures at Harvard*** ](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/distinguished-visitors-asian-intellectuals-and-public-figures-harvard) *Moderator:* [**Shigehisa Kuriyama**](https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/people/director), Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History; Director, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies; Interim Chair in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, FAS; and Faculty Director for the Humanities, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study *Panelists:* **“Imperfect Encounters: South Asians and Harvard in the Early 20th Century”** [**Mou Banerjee**](https://history.wisc.edu/people/banerjee-mou/), Assistant Professor of History, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Ph.D. in History, Harvard University **“Repurposing the ‘Civilizing Mission’: A Japanese Sinologist at Harvard, 1915–1916”** [**Yan Yu**](https://icci.sjtu.edu.cn/en/faculty/view/117), Associate Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Visiting Scholar, Harvard History Department, FAS **“****Kissing Harvard Goodbye: The Cold War Considerations of Lee Kuan Yew’s American Visits****”** [**Eugene Chua**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/eugene-chua), Harvard College Student ***10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Break*** 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. [***Pioneers and Pathways: Asian Student Experiences at Harvard*** ](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/pioneers-and-pathways-asian-student-experiences-harvard) *Moderator:* [**Sun Joo Kim**](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/sun-joo-kim), Harvard-Yenching Professor of Korean History, FAS, Harvard University *Panelists:* **"Shared Paths, Unique Stories: Harvard's Korean Alumni”** [**Sujin Elisa Han**](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/sujin-elisa-han), Ph.D. candidate in History and East Asian Languages, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University **Title Forthcoming** [**Mui Poopoksakul**](https://www.poetrytranslation.org/poet/mui-poopoksakul/), Independent Literary Translator, Berlin; Harvard College Graduate **“The Earliest Asian Women at Radcliffe College”** [**Shayna Leng**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/shayna-leng), Harvard College Student **“'Democratizing Monarch?' Harvard in the Himalaya and King Birendra at Harvard”** [**Kashish Bastola**](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/kashish-bastola), Harvard College Student ***12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Lunch*** 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. [***Harvard’s Engagement in U.S. Policy towards Asia*** ](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/harvards-engagement-us-policy-towards-asia) *Moderator:* [**Sugata Bose**](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/sugata-bose), Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, FAS, Harvard University *Panelists:* **“****Making Subjects of Subjects: Harvard and the Transnational Project of U.S. Colonial Education in the Philippine****”** [**Eleanor Wikstrom**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorwikstrom/?originalSubdomain=uk), M.Sc. in Social Science of the Internet, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford; Harvard College Graduate **"Harvard Eugenicists and Immigration Restriction in the U.S."** [**Erika Lee**](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/erika-lee), Bae Family Professor of History, FAS and the Faculty Director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard University **“A Cold War Redux in Asia: Harvard’s Legacy and Role”** [**Thitinan Pongsudhirak**](http://www.polsci.chula.ac.th/content/view?pid=8&ref=pbMZcAHCJO), Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) and Associate Professor of International Political Economy, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University **“Harvard and the Vietnam War: Contestation vs. Support”** [**Nghia Nguyen**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nghialnguyen/), Harvard College Student ***2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Break*** 3:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. [***Harvard’s Asian Futures: Rethinking Institutional Legacies and Regional Engagement***](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/harvards-asian-futures-rethinking-institutional-legacies-and-regional-engagement) *Moderator:* [**Jay Rosengard**](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/jay-rosengard), Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School *Panelists:* **“Studying China at Harvard in the 1960s”** [**Joseph Esherick**](https://history.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/esherick.html), Emeritus Professor of Modern Chinese History, University of California, San Diego "**Impact Taking Many Forms"** [**Bill Alford**](https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/william-p-alford/), Jerome A. and Joan L. Cohen Professor of Law; Director, East Asian Legal Studies Program; Chair, Harvard Law School Project on Disability **"Exporting Expertise: Institutionalizing Planning Education in Southeast Asia"** [**Robin Albrecht**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/robin-albrecht), MArch Candidate, Department of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design **“Recovering Voices: Using Museum Collections to Address Institutional Histories”** [**Ingrid Ahlgren**](https://peabody.harvard.edu/people/ingrid-ahlgren), Curator for Oceanic Collections, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, FAS, Harvard University; Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History **Title Forthcoming** [**Michael Puett**](https://puett.scholars.harvard.edu/), Victor and William Fung Foundation Director, Harvard University Asia Center; Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and AnthropologyFAS; Harvard College Professor 4:50 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ***Closing Acknowledgement*** [**Rachelle Walsh**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/rachelle-walsh), Executive Director, Asia Center, FAS, Harvard University \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Exhibition** [**Memories and Milestones: Asia and Asians at Harvard**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/memories-and-milestones-asia-and-asians-harvard) **On view November 2025 – March 2026** [*Harvard Asia Center*](https://google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) [*First Floor Lounge, GIS South*](https://google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) [*1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge*](https://google.com/maps/@42.3753201,-71.1132452,3a,75y,167.49h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DVWcCYpOQZFwXg-a7ek_QuQ%26yaw%3D167.49!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) **Concurrent Pop-up Exhibition at Houghton Library** 15 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA [**On view November 14–15, 2025**](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/concurrent-pop-exhibition) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **Organized by the Harvard University Asia Center** **Director:** Professor [Michael Puett](https://puett.scholars.harvard.edu/) **Faculty Lead:** Professor [Sugata Bose](https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/sugata-bose) **With guidance and support from:** Professors [Sun Joo Kim](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/sun-joo-kim); [Annette Damayanti Lienau](https://complit.fas.harvard.edu/people/lienau-annette-damayanti/); [Malavika Reddy](https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/people/malavika-reddy); [James Robson](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/james-robson); [Jay Rosengard](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/jay-rosengard); [Mark Wu](https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/person/mark-wu/). \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Co-sponsored by the [Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs](https://us-japan.wcfia.harvard.edu/), the [Korea Institute](https://korea.fas.harvard.edu/), the [Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies](https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/), the [Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute](https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/), the [Harvard-Yenching Institute](https://www.harvard-yenching.org/), and the [Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies](https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/). \*\* For more information, please visit [here](https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/asia-and-asians-harvard-conference-0). See also:- [ Special and Co-sponsored Events ](/eventtypelecture/special-and-co-sponsored-events) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://korea.fas.harvard.edu/node/1948681/event-feed.ics) Copy link link