In The News

Will Japan Emerge from its Shell? – Part I

Edward J. Lincoln February 3, 2010
For the world’s second largest economy, Japan takes a decidedly backseat approach to involvement in global affairs. While there are no rules to force global intercourse, Japan-specialist Edward J. Lincoln believes that as a key beneficiary and user of global public goods, Japan should become more involved. But the hurdles preventing greater interchange between the world and the Japanese are many...

A Modern Tale of Meatpacking and Immigrants

Kate Linthicum February 2, 2010
For many years, Grand Island in Nebraska has hosted many immigrants passing through in search of work. But migration has come in distinctive waves: refugees from the Vietnam War in the 1970s, refugees from Eastern Europe in the 1990s, Mexican and Latino immigrants in the last couple of decades, and now a new wave of African refugees, including Somalis and Sudanese. Many of the new immigrants are...

English or Hinglish - Does It Matter What Indian Students Are Learning?

Anjoo Mohun January 29, 2010
In India's bustling cities, language-mixing between English and India's other dozens of languages has led to the emergence of a culture that uses “Hinglish” – or Hindi mixed with English – in everything from casual conversation to Bollywood films. While “proper” English remains the language of job possibilities, Hinglish reveals how languages adapt to the societies where they spread,...

Confucius vs. Avatar: And the Winner is…

Mary Kay Magistad January 25, 2010
When the movie Avatar was mysteriously pulled from the cinemas in China, bloggers and pundits alike suspected censorship. But why would a science fiction movie about 10 foot tall blue hominids cause such a stir? For one, the themes of land expropriation and forced evictions featured in the movie resonated with the experiences of many Chinese, according to Beijing-based journalist Mary Kay...

The Internet: A Missing Link

Kathrin Hille January 22, 2010
Despite predictions that its spread would bring Chinese society more in tune with the West, the Internet in China “is growing less like the Internet in the rest of the world, not more like it.” Because Western companies like Google, hoping to foster freedom through information, fail to account for Chinese tastes, such as an affinity for playing online games rather than looking for news by...

Laos Steps into the Globalized World

Bertil Lintner December 15, 2009
Laos’ hosting of the Southeast Asian Games is in some way a metaphor for the country’s entrance into the globalized world. And Laos has crossed that threshold holding China’s hand, according to journalist Bertil Lintner. As a land-locked country, Laos decided to become “land-linked” to China. In other words, the constraints of geo-politics meant Vientiane had two choices: wallow in isolation or...

Brazil: Dances with Dragon

Alexandre de Freitas Barbosa December 1, 2009
The Confucius Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, one of the few cosmopolitan cities that does not feature a Chinatown, recently celebrated its first anniversary. The presence of the Institute is not only a sign of China’s rising soft power, but also the many ways in which China and Brazil have become intertwined, according to professor Alexandre de Freitas Barbosa. The most important, of course, is...