Seminar Series
Asia Beyond the Headlines Seminar Series
The Asia Beyond the Headlines Seminar Series, inagurated in the fall of 2017, focuses on contemporary issues that cut across Asia. The first seminar, titled "One Belt/One Road in Historical and Global Context," featured a discussion of China's Belt and Road Initiative in the context of similar programs that have changed human history worldwide. The series has covered important topics affecting the stability of not only Asian nations but the entire world from elections, and political protests to border conflicts, migration, and plight of refugees.
Asia Center Author Talk Series
The Asia Center Author Talk Series showcases authors of books recently published by the Asia Center Publications Program. Each talk may feature one single author or two or more authors who have written books on closely related topics. After presenting their research and discussing their books, authors will answer questions from the audience. The series was launched in Spring 2024.
Asia Center Seminars
The Asia Center Seminar Series, previously called as the Modern Asia Seminar Series, is the longest-running series of the Asia Center. It was created to bring senior scholars, government officials, journalists, and other specialists to Harvard to speak on key issues from a regional perspective. Talks in the seminar series have covered topics such as community organizing in Japan and China, spatial planning in refugee camps in Southeast Asia, journalistic reporting on Asia, and on legacies of colonial rule and wartime memories in East Asia for UNESCO nominations.
Science and Technology in Asia Seminar Series
This seminar series features talks on both historical and contemporary issues in science and technology in East, South, and Southeast Asia. The Science and Technology in Asia seminar series is convened by Victor Seow, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University, and is sponsored by the Harvard University Asia Center.
Stanley J. Tambiah Lecture in Thai Studies
The Asia Center supports an annual lecture series named for the late Professor Stanley Tambiah, the Esther and Sidney Robb Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus at Harvard University. The inaugural Tambiah Lecture was delivered by Professor Katherine A. Bowie, University of Wisconsin, Madison, in October 2014. This was followed by lectures from Professor Justin McDaniel, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania,Thongchai Winichakul, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Penny Van Esterik, Professor, Department of Anthropology, York University, Toronto, Canada.
Surin Pitsuwan Lecture in Thai Politics and Society
The Surin Pitsuwan Lecture in Thai Politics and Society began in 2012 (as the Thailand@Harvard Lecture Series) with a lecture given by Dr. Komatra Chuengsatiensup, Director, Society and Health Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, who presented After the Flood: Reaction, Relief, and Recovery in Thailand. Since then, there have been six additional lectures. Korn Chatikavanij, Chairman of Thailand Democrat Party Policy Unit, Chairman of Thai Fintech Association, and former Finance Minister of Thailand delivered the most recent lecture, titled Thailand 4.0: The Rise of a Stagnant Nation: (Moving Beyond Red, Yellow, And Green). The lecture series was renamed the Surin Pitsuwan Lecture in Thai Politics and Society in December 2018. The inaugural lecture was given in the Spring of 2019 by Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
Thai Studies Seminar Series
The Thai Studies Seminar Series brings local and international scholars of Thai studies to Harvard to engage with Harvard students, faculty members, and the local community and to address various developments and issues that are unfolding in the region. The seminar has featured speakers such as Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Quentin Pearson, Scott Stonington, and Sittithep Eaksittipong, among others.
Tsai Lecture Series
The Tsai Lecture Series, established in 2000 with a generous endowment from Felix H.T. Tsai, has become a cornerstone of the Harvard University Asia Center's efforts to foster global dialogue and scholarship. This lecture series enables the Asia Center to invite distinguished leaders from various fields, including academia, government, international organizations, business, architecture, journalism, law, and humanitarian work, from around the world to Harvard, creating a platform for the exchange of ideas that shapes our understanding of Asia and its role in the global community.