Stanford University

Kasumi Yamashita

616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060

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Kasumi Yamashita is an Instructor for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), currently teaching an online course for high school students in Oita Prefecture, Japan, called Stanford e-Oita. Kasumi’s academic interests are in cultural anthropology, international education, and language technologies, and her research focuses on the Japanese diaspora in the United States and Latin America. While conducting fieldwork for her PhD in Anthropology at Harvard University, she spent a year at the University of São Paulo, as a Fulbright Scholar. She explored narrations of memory and migration, and community involvement in the emergence of Japanese diaspora museums throughout Brazil, including the Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil (Historical Museum of Japanese Immigration to Brazil). Kasumi researched Nikkei Latin American communities in Japan while at Hitotsubashi University on a Japanese government scholarship. She earned an AM in Regional Studies–East Asia from Harvard University. 

Kasumi received a BS in Studio Art from New York University. She was a University Scholar and spent her junior year in Spain at the Instituto Internacional in Madrid. After graduating from NYU, she taught English as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) and later worked as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. As a CIR at Yukuhashi City Hall, Fukuoka Prefecture, she founded a Japan–U.S. student and teacher exchange program between middle schools in Yukuhashi City and the Grace Church School in New York. More than 500 students and teachers from the United States and Japan have participated in the program since she launched it in 1994. That year, she published a book of essays chronicling her experiences as a Japanese American woman in a small Japanese town, Kasumi no Yukuhashi Nikki (Kaichosha Press).

In New York, she served as a member of the local staff of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations under the leadership of Ambassador Hisashi Owada. She also served on the Executive Committee of the Convención Panamericana Nikkei (COPANI XI) in New York and has been involved in past conferences across the Americas, most recently COPANI XX in San Francisco (CA) in 2019.

Kasumi also teaches and develops web-based curricula for the Translation and Interpretation Program at Bellevue College (WA). Kasumi frequently interprets for Japanese delegations in various fields (including education, technology, international relations, film, art, and museums) and serves on the Board of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW).

 

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Instructor, Stanford e-Fukuoka

Videos to Educate Lawyers on Interviewing Traumatized Migrant Kids at Border

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A team of Stanford experts has produced a series of videos aimed at benefiting children detained at the U.S. border. Intended for lawyers who work with detained migrants, the videos describe how to interview young people using techniques informed by scientific knowledge on trauma. 

“Many of the attorneys working at the border have little experience interviewing children who have undergone serious emotional trauma, and it’s essential that those interviews — which are being done for kids’ benefit — don’t exacerbate the trauma they’ve experienced,” said Stanford Health Policy's Paul Wise, MD, professor of pediatrics and one of the project’s leaders. “In addition, having good, sensitive interviewing skills makes it far more likely that the lawyers will get the information they need to represent the best interests of children at the border.”

The project, which consists of four videos that were released today, is an example of how Stanford experts from a variety of disciplines can tackle a real-life problem with complex health, psychosocial, legal and political angles, according those involved in the work. The series of videos, each about 8 minutes long, can be viewed for free online. The full toolkit can be accessed here.  

“We’re a medical school, dedicated to improving health and well-being in the real world,” Wise said. “This project came together quickly because of the transdisciplinary, collaborative environment at Stanford.”

“We all brought different expertise to the work, with the shared goals of underscoring our common humanity and the love we all have for our children,” said Maya Adam, MD, director of health education outreach for the Stanford Center for Health Education, which produced the videos. 

 

Children detained near border

Over the last few years, tens of thousands of migrant children and teenagers — mostly from Central America — have been detained near the U.S. border while awaiting decisions on their immigration cases. Often, they are kept in jail-like facilities and do not know how long they will be detained. Many of these young migrants experienced significant trauma, such as witnessing violence or having family members die at the hands of gangs, before they arrived at the border. The hazards of the journey and the experience of being detained once they arrive can further traumatize them, Wise said. 

Two groups of lawyers are working with children and teenagers in the U.S. immigration system: Some conduct interviews to help monitor the government’s treatment of detained children, while others offer legal representation to migrants who may qualify for asylum. But these lawyers, who work with nonprofit agencies or are volunteering their time pro bono, may lack information about the unique challenges of interviewing traumatized children, a need the Stanford team hopes to fill.

The videos are a collaboration between Stanford experts from several disciplines, including pediatrics, global health, psychology and psychiatry, as well as faculty at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and medical and legal specialists who work regularly with children at the southern U.S. border. The series was produced by the Digital Medical Education International Collaborative, an initiative of the Stanford Center for Health Education. 

The videos give advice about how to connect with children and teens to gain their trust. They explain basic information about the emotional needs of younger children and adolescents, especially in regard to their developmental understanding of traumatic experiences, and discuss how each age group may respond to talking about trauma. The videos also show vignettes, illustrated with simple animations, that provide examples of what detained children and their families may have experienced before arriving at the border and during their interactions with U.S. immigration officials.

‘Pretty scary questions’

“For children in need of defense, attorneys who may be taking their cases on will be asking very sensitive questions to see if they qualify for asylum,” said Marsha Griffin, MD, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, who participated in the videos because of her extensive experience treating detained children. “Attorneys may ask, for instance, if children were neglected, abused or abandoned by their parents, or if the child saw a local gang try to kill somebody. They’re pretty scary questions.”

Paul Wise
To ask such questions in a sensitive way, the videos recommend giving children and teens as much control as possible: For example, attorneys are encouraged to explain that they want to help; familiarize themselves beforehand with what they need to say so that they can speak warmly instead of reading from a list; praise interviewees for their effort rather than the content of their answers; and tell kids they can take breaks or end the interview at any time, or skip answering questions if they wish.

“There’s an inherent power differential in interviewing, especially when an adult attorney is working with a child who is new to the country,” said Ryan Matlow, PhD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, who contributed to the videos. “The adult needs to take care to give the child as much control and agency in the process as possible so that the interview is not retraumatizing for them.”

The videos offer advice about how to recognize when a young person needs additional mental-health support after an interview, such as when a teen who has been interviewed shows signs of being suicidal. They also recommend how lawyers working with migrants can seek emotional support for themselves and avoid burnout.

Shifting immigration policies mean that, in recent months, more migrants have been sent to Mexico to await the outcome of their U.S. immigration cases, the experts said, noting that the videos could act as a resource to lawyers working in Mexico or elsewhere. “The context and settings for interviews may vary based on changing government policies, but the general best-practice approaches for interviewing remain the same,” Matlow said.

Children’s and teens’ needs should be accounted for not just in the interview process but throughout their experiences as migrants arriving in the United States, he added. Children are not able to take on adult perspectives while detained and will likely feel much more traumatized than adults under similar circumstances.

“Adults may think if you keep kids in detention for a short time, it’s not a big deal, but kids are very in-the-moment,” Matlow said. “For them, it really matters ‘what’s happening to me now.’ A resolution in weeks is not as encouraging as for an adult who has a broader perspective on time.”

 

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SPICE Director Gary Mukai interviewed by The Education Newspaper of Japan

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This summer, SPICE Director Dr. Gary Mukai was interviewed at Stanford by The Education Newspaper of Japan about his long experience working with American and Japanese students. In particular, the two-part feature highlighted his impactful work in education and U.S.–Japan relations over his 40-year career.

In Part 1 of the “close-up” interview, Mukai shares his educational philosophy derived from 40 years working with students in Japan and the United States. In Part 2 of the interview, he talks about Stanford e-Japan, the Reischauer Scholars Program, and SPICE’s other Japan-focused projects and online learning courses for high school students.

“I feel honored to be interviewed by The Education Newspaper,” reflected Mukai. “And I’m grateful for the opportunity to share about some of the cross-cultural work we do at Stanford University to promote mutual understanding between students in the United States and Japan.”

Read the two articles here:

To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Stanford e-Japan is an online course on U.S. society and culture for high school students in Japan. The Reischauer Scholars Program is an online course on Japanese society and culture for high school students in the United States. They are two of the several online courses that SPICE offers to students in the United States and abroad.

 

 

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The Great Goal of China: Does Beijing Seek an End to the US-Japan Alliance?

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The Sino-Japanese competition for influence in Asia is often overlooked by Western observers. While the US-Japan Alliance has been the cornerstone of security in East Asia for over a half-century, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has modernized its military, steadily enhanced it regional activities, and deepened relations with countries around the region. Economically, as well, Tokyo has offered a counterpart to Chinese investment and development aid. The alliance with the United States is a indispensable element in Japan's regional strategy, one which Beijing would like to disrupt. How has China pursued its goal of driving a wedge between Tokyo and Washington? From military buildup, through pressure in the East China Sea, to diplomatic initiatives, Beijing has sought to raise the perceived risk to both Japan and the United States of maintaining their unique relationship. What are the prospects for the future of the US-Japan alliance, especially in the post-Abe era?

 

SPEAKER

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Michael Auslin is the Payson J. Treat Fellow in Contemporary Asia at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. A historian by training, he specializes in contemporary and historical U.S. policy in Asia and political and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. A best-selling author, Dr. Auslin’s latest book is The End of the Asian Century:  War, Stagnation, and the Risks to the World’s Most Dynamic Region (Yale). He is a longtime contributor to the Wall Street Journal and National Review, and his writing appears in other leading publications, including The Atlantic, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Politico. He comments regularly for U.S. and foreign print and broadcast media. Previously, Dr. Auslin was an associate professor of history at Yale University, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Fulbright Scholar, and a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund, among other honors, and serves on the board of the Wilton Park USA Foundation. He received a BSc from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and his PhD in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

PARKING

Please note there is significant construction taking place on campus, which is greatly affecting parking availability and traffic patterns at the university. Please plan accordingly. Nearest parking garage is Structure 7, below the Graduate School of Business Knight School of Management.
 

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The Logistics Operations Underlying Retail: US, China, and Japanese Models Compared

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This event is part of the Stanford Silicon Valley-New Japan Project Public Forum Series.

 

Consumption is a major driver of national economies, and scholars often study important differences across consumption patterns across countries, which influence many aspects of their societies and economies. Yet, the underlying business of logistics operations, and how they support countries’ respective retail industries, has as much, if not more impact than simply examining consumer behavior. In this public forum, Ryuichi Kakui, with deep expertise in eCommerce logistics, will explain how logistics are used in retail industries, comparing across the world’s three largest economies: the US, China, and Japan. He will introduce the concept of strategic logistics thinking and the “4C” framework and informs leading strategic logistics thinking. A conversation with Kenji Kushida, who examines how technologies and specific industry dynamics shape varying models of political economies around the world, will then link the area of logistics and retail to important systemic differences and underlying similarities across the world’s leading economies, which are pursuing contrasting models of social, economic, and political organization.

 

SPEAKERS

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Ryoichi Kakui is the founder of E-Logit, the leading eCommerce logistics company in Japan. He has published 29 books related to logistics, Amazon, and “omnichannel” distribution, which have been published in Japan, the US, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam. He is a frequent commentator on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other media. Educated in Sophia University in Japan with an MBA from Golden Gate University, he founded UKETORU in 2015, a app addressing the issue of re-delivery, which escalated to a social issue in Japan.

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Kenji Kushida is a research scholar at the Japan Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. One of this research themes examines how IT technologies shape political economies around the world, and how varying national political economic models shape the development trajectories of technologies. He leads the Silicon Valley – New Japan Project, a sustained platform for research and collaboration between Silicon Valley and the new and emerging aspects as Japan transforms itself.

 

PARKING

Please note there is significant construction taking place on campus, which is greatly affecting parking availability and traffic patterns at the university. Please plan accordingly. Open parking at Stanford University available starting 4:00pm unless otherwise marked. Nearest parking garage is Structure 7, below the Graduate School of Business Knight School of Management.

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Inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day

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Upon seeing the printed agenda for the “Inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day” on August 23, 2019, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Takeshi Homma, whose hometown is in Tottori Prefecture, remarked that he never thought that he would see Tottori high school students at a ceremony at Stanford University. This prompted me to recall the initiative that Homma took several years ago to introduce me to Tottori Prefecture, the least populated in all of Japan. His vision was to bridge his ancestral home with his current home, the United States, through the establishment of an online class on U.S. society and culture for high school students in Tottori. Through Homma’s vision and the support of Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai and the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education, Stanford e-Tottori was established over three years ago. Jonas Edman has been the Instructor of Stanford e-Tottori since its inception.

The inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day honored Ayaka Ikei of Seishokaichi High School and Yua Kodani of Tottori Nishi High School for achieving at the highest levels in the course. It began with remarks by Takuya Fukushima, Office Director of the English Education Advancement Office, Tottori Prefectural Board of Education. Fukushima commented on the significance of Stanford e-Tottori to the students who have participated, noting their growth not only in terms of their English communication skills but also their understanding of U.S. society and culture. Fukushima, as a graduate of Hiroshima University and also someone who has studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Ohio State University, knows well the significance of the U.S.–Japan relationship. During his remarks and much to the delight of the audience, he shared a television news program that featured a class that Edman taught in person in Tottori in July.

Rie Kusakiyo makes opening remarks at Stanford e-Tottori Day. She is Advisor for Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. Rie Kusakiyo makes opening remarks at Stanford e-Tottori Day. She is Advisor for Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco.
Fukushima’s comments were followed by remarks by Rie Kusakiyo, Advisor for Educational Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. Her words were not only inspiring to the students but she is also someone to whom Ayaka and Yua can aspire, as both students expressed an interest in studying and living in the United States, as Kusakiyo has done.

The highlight of the program was Edman’s introduction of his student honorees, Ayaka and Yua, and their heartfelt presentations, which included their aspirations for the future. During the question and answer period, their passion for helping others surfaced. Ayaka would like to go into the field of education and Yua into the field of medicine. Edman expressed how proud he is of their accomplishments and presented them with plaques.

Visiting Scholar Kenichirou Oyama, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, noted, “I was very impressed by the presentations of the two young high school students. In addition, as I am from a provincial town myself, I feel strongly that this program offers hope for young students who live in provincial areas.” By “hope,” Oyama was referring to the fact that students in more rural areas generally have fewer educational opportunities than students in metropolitan areas like Tokyo.

Edman shares a similar sentiment. “The fact that Tottori is quite isolated is what makes the teaching of Stanford e-Tottori so rewarding for me. Making Stanford scholarship accessible to them really captures the heart of SPICE’s mission.” Earlier this year, Edman facilitated a joint online class between his students in Tottori and Japanese language students at Nueva School in Hillsborough, California, whose teacher is Yoko Sase. It was remarkable for Edman to observe how much the students shared and learned from each other. During their trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, Ayaka, Yua, and Fukushima had the chance to visit Nueva and met several of the students with whom they had previously met only virtually. Through Stanford e-Tottori, more students, entrepreneurs, and scholars in the United States are also learning about Tottori.

The fourth Stanford e-Tottori course will commence this fall with the highest enrollment to date.

To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook or Twitter.

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High school student honorees Yua Kodani and Ayaka Ikei with Jonas Edman and Takuya Fukushima at the inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day.
Jonas Edman and Takuya Fukushima with Stanford e-Tottori student honorees Yua Kodani and Ayaka Ikei at the inaugural Stanford e-Tottori Day.
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Advice for President Zelenskyy as he Prepares to Meet President Trump

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This article originally appeared in the Ukrainian journal Novoye Vremya.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet President Donald Trump this weekend in Warsaw and is expected to travel to the United States later in the fall.  This gives Mr. Zelenskyy the opportunity to reinforce Kyiv’s relationship with the United States.  It also offers the opportunity to try to establish a connection to Mr. Trump, something that has proven elusive for most foreign leaders.  Here are a few suggestions for Mr. Zelenskyy on dealing with the American president.

Mr. Zelenskyy should bear in mind that Mr. Trump lacks a strong grasp of the U.S. interest in and what is at stake with regard to Ukraine and the conflict that Russia wages against it.  His administration has pursued sensible policies in supporting Kyiv, strengthening NATO and sustaining sanctions on Moscow.  By all appearances, however, Mr. Trump does not instinctively agree with the necessity of his administration’s own policies.  Witness his recent suggestion about inviting Vladimir Putin to join with other G7 leaders when he hosts the G7 summit next year.

Mr. Trump is not detail-oriented.  He reportedly reads little, leading White House staff to resort to graphs and pictures to capture his attention.  The smart way to approach Mr. Trump is to avoid detail, sticking instead with a few clear and easily understood themes.

Flattering the American president would not hurt.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have mastered that.  North Korea has reduced none of its nuclear or ballistic missile capabilities—in fact, they have increased—but Mr. Trump swoons over Mr. Kim’s letters and professes not to be bothered by Pyongyang’s shorter range ballistic missile tests.

That said, keep expectations for flattery modest.  No European leader invested more heavily in flattering Mr. Trump than former British Prime Minister Theresa May.  She gave him a state visit in June with all the bells and whistles.  Yet Mr. Trump could not resist sending a series of tweets denigrating her handling of the Brexit conundrum and all but welcoming her replacement.

This underscores the point that, in many foreign policy relationships, Mr. Trump is transactional.  He will be asking what can America get, or what can he get.

Mr. Zelenskyy thus should consider whether there is a topic on which he could offer Mr. Trump a win-win.  Progress toward resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donbas could provide such an issue.  Real movement toward peace would be a major win for Kyiv, but it could offer Mr. Trump a win as well.  He has repeatedly made clear his desire for improved U.S.-Russia relations, and a genuine settlement in Donbas could lift the biggest obstacle to his goal.

The question is how to shape a proposal to accomplish this.  Bringing Mr. Trump into the current Normandy negotiating format in a way that made it appear as if Mr. Trump sparked a breakthrough would appeal to the Nobel Prize-hungry American president.

However, the key to peace in Donbas lies in Moscow.  The Kremlin seems interested in sustaining a simmering conflict as a means to pressure the government in Kyiv.  Still, aligning interests with Mr. Trump on pressing for peace would be a plus for Mr. Zelenskyy.

While in the United States, the Ukrainian president should not neglect the Congressional leadership.  Both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill support Ukraine and display considerable skepticism toward Russia.  Congress could serve as a check on Mr. Trump should he choose to pursue his less well-thought-out ideas on Russia.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s American interlocutors in Congress want Ukraine to succeed, with success measured by its progress in becoming a normal democratic, market-oriented and prosperous European state.  In the past, developments in Ukraine have disappointed both Ukrainians and the country’s friends in the West.  To the extent that Mr. Zelenskyy can make a persuasive case that this time it is different—that he and the new parliament will take the tough steps to achieve success—he will return home having forged a stronger basis for the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship.  He can bolster his case by coming to Washington with one or two signature reforms under his belt, such as an end to the moratorium on sales of private agricultural land.

One last piece of advice.  Mr. Zelenskyy and his team should be wary of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to drag Ukraine into U.S. domestic politics.  That would risk making Ukraine a partisan political issue in America, which could undermine the bipartisan support that Ukraine has enjoyed since regaining independence in 1991.

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Steven Pifer is a William Perry fellow at Stanford University and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

 

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Applications Now Open: Stanford Online Courses for High School Students on China, Korea, and Japan

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Applications open today for the China Scholars Program (CSP), Sejong Korean Scholars Program (SKSP), and Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) on Japan—three intensive online courses offered by SPICE, Stanford University, to high school students across the United States. All three applications can now be viewed at https://spicestanford.smapply.io/. Interested students must submit their completed application (including an essay and letter of recommendation) by the deadlines listed below.

 

Spring 2020 Online Course Application Deadlines

China Scholars Program: October 15, 2019
Sejong Korean Scholars Program: October 15, 2019
Reischauer Scholars Program: October 15, 2019

 

All three online courses are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2020 term, which will begin in February and run through June. Designed as college-level introductions to East Asia, these academically rigorous courses present high school students the unique opportunity to engage in a guided study of China, Korea, or Japan directly with leading scholars, former diplomats, and other experts from Stanford and beyond. High school students with a strong interest in East Asia and/or international relations are especially encouraged to apply.

“Our students always come hungry to learn,” says Dr. Tanya Lee, instructor of the China Scholars Program. “The ones who choose to apply to these kinds of online courses are typically looking for an academic challenge beyond what their normal school can offer. We’re incredibly fortunate to have Stanford faculty conducting world-class research on Korea, Japan, and China willing to share their knowledge directly with our students.”

Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the United States are eligible to apply to any of the three programs. Students who are interested in more than one program can apply to two or three and rank their preferences on their applications; those who are accepted into multiple programs will be invited to enroll in their highest-preference course.

For more information on a specific course, please refer to its individual webpage at chinascholars.org, sejongscholars.org, or reischauerscholars.org.

9/9/19 EDIT: Application deadlines updated. The deadlines for the SKSP and RSP were previously October 4, 2019. All three application deadlines are now October 15, 2019.

The RSP, SKSP, and CSP are SPICE’s online courses for high school students. In addition, we offer online courses for high school students in Japan (Stanford e-Japan) and China (Stanford e-China). To be notified when the next application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Lauren Borja

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Dr. Lauren J. Borja is fellow at the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She is also an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. Her research focuses on high energy laser directed energy weapons. Specifically, Dr. Borja investigates the implications of the range of their possible uses from tactical to space to missile defense. She is also interested in issues in emerging technology and the role of science and technology in national security. She was a 2019–2020 Stanton Nuclear Security postdoctoral fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and a Simons postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs from 2017–2019. In 2016, she received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in physical chemistry. She was part of the NSquare Innovators Network (Cohort 3).

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Twenty High School Students Accepted into Stanford Online Course on Modern China

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The Stanford China Scholars Program (CSP) is about to launch its fifth session this fall, with 20 high school students from across the country participating in the online course. The Northeast, South, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Texas, and California are all represented in this cohort of 10th through 12th graders. Thursday evenings, these high school students will log in and join a real-time session with a scholar from Stanford or another university to discuss an aspect of contemporary China—the U.S.–China trade war, perhaps, or the legacy of the Mao era, or internet censorship and surveillance technologies in China, or China’s efforts to combat pollution and climate change. The rest of the week is filled with readings on that theme, discussed online with classmates.

The Stanford CSP’s focus on contemporary China means that the course material is constantly changing, to keep up with the ever-shifting political landscape under the leadership of Xi and Trump. It also requires the students to engage with the idea of China as not only a thoroughly modern nation but a forward-looking one, challenging the tendency to essentialize China as an ancient civilization mired in the past. Former CSP student Angela Yang (Fall 2018) credits the online course with helping her “contextualize China’s transformation as it’s happening, which is something you wouldn’t really be able to study in any other kind of course.”

Although all of the high school students are exceptionally well prepared academically, their background knowledge on China at the beginning of the online course varies considerably. Some bring strong knowledge of international issues generally, but little specific to China; some have already studied China in some depth. A few come from Chinese families, and a third to a half of the students have been studying Chinese language for several years.

Over the past year, attention has gravitated towards the U.S.–China trade war, perhaps inevitably, and its roots and possible outcomes, as well as the PRC’s ramping up of censorship and surveillance technologies, particularly in Xinjiang. Yet overall, discussions with our guest experts and among the students are fundamentally optimistic: constructive change is possible, and the United States and China have far more to gain from peace than from conflict.

The students round out the program with an independent research paper. Students’ chosen research topics in 2018–19 were as diverse as they were. Example research papers included a discussion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as it applies to China’s claims in the South China Sea; the mental health of rural “left-behind” children; China’s economic expansion in Africa; rock ‘n’ roll in the democracy movement of the 1980s; the international effects of China’s restrictions on imported waste for recycling; and many others. 

In synthesizing knowledge this diverse, students come to understand just how complex China and the challenges it faces are. They can no longer reduce China to simple generalizations. “The truth is that all of China’s problems aren’t just limited to numbers, statistics or graphs,” Junhee Park (CSP Spring 2018) wrote in response to a documentary film on migrant workers. “They affect everyone of us, whether we are Chinese or not.”

To be notified when the next China Scholars Program application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The China Scholars Program is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, Stanford University, including the Sejong Scholars Program (on Korea) and the Reischauer Scholars Program (on Japan).

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In the CSP online course, high school students study various aspects of modern China. Jackal Pan
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