In the 1930s, with Japan’s expansions into the Asian continent, colonial Korean culture in general, and literature in particular, came to take important roles as both subject and object of such imperial expansions. This paper reexamines the colonizer and colonized binary by re-contextualizing the rise of translated texts packaged as ethnographic “colonial collections.”  In particular, this paper historicizes the ethnographic turn relegated to colonial culture by examining the rise of colonial collections as a manifestation of mass-produced objects of colonial kitsch at this time. The complex position of the colonial artist/writer cum (self-)ethnographer situated in between the colony and the metropole embodies an uncanny contact zone as the artist and work of art become reified as objects of imperial consumer fetishism.  In the colonial encounter, the artist as producer and the art object of his or her labor meld into indistinguishable and interchangeable forms, as producer and product of kitsch. In such relations of colonial alienation, cultural producers struggled to map out spaces as agents of artistic expression, while agency for the colonized artist often meant further alienation through self-ethnography or through mimicry of the colonizer’s racialized forms and discourses.

RSVP required at http://ceas.stanford.edu/events/rsvp.php

ABOUT THE TOPIC: Culture is often understood as a system of "shared understandings." But what does that mean? Amir Goldberg argues that having a shared understanding with others does not necessarily imply espousing similar beliefs or attitudes. Rather, culture prescribes which beliefs and attitudes go with one another; sharing an understanding therefore suggests being in agreement about the structures of relevance and opposition that make symbols and actions meaningful. Amir uses relational class analysis - a network-based method for analyzing survey data - to map these structures, and find groups of people who share distinctive cultural schemes. This approach lends new insights into understanding the social underpinnings of Americans' complex understandings of music, politics, economic morality, and more.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Professor Goldberg received bachelors' degrees in Computer Science and Film Studies from Tel Aviv University, and an MA in Sociology from Goldsmith’s College, University of London. Before pursuing a PhD in Sociology at Princeton University, he worked for several years as a software programmer, an IT consultant and a technology journalist. An Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, his research projects all share an overarching theme: the desire to understand the social mechanisms that underlie how people construct meaning, and consequently pursue action. His work has been published in the American Journal of Sociology, and he was awarded Princeton University’s Harold W. Dodds Honorific Fellowship.

ABOUT THE COMMENTATOR: Marc Ventresca is University Lecturer in Strategic Management at Said Business School (University of Oxford), England's foremost graduate school of business. Dr. Ventresca, who earned his PhD in Sociology at Stanford, specializes in governance, entrepreneurship, market and network formation, and technology strategy.

This talk is presented by the Greater China Business Club (GCBC) of Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Stanford (ACSSS). 

In July 2013, a Ted Talk “A tale of two political systems” was posted, and was instantly viewed millions of times around the world. In the talk, Mr. Eric X. Li, a venture capitalist and a political scientist argued that the universality claim of Western democratic systems was going to be "morally challenged" by China.  

Do you agree? What do you think? Now you have the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Li face to face!

On Nov.6, Mr. Li will come to Stanford and talk with Professor Thomas Fingar on China’s Political System, its status, development, competitiveness and so on. Watch the Ted Talk and come to the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Eric X. Li is a political scientist and an active participant in the intellectual discourses on the re-emergence of China as a great power and its impact on the world.  His writings on comparative political governance and international relations have been widely published in leading publications such as the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, and Huffington Post.  His most recent publications, The Life of the Party (Foreign Affairs, January/February, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138476/eric-x-li/the-life-of-the-party), Warring States (http://www.theasanforum.org/warring-states-the-coming-new-world-disorder/) and his talk at TED Global 2013 (http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_systems.html), have generated active debates around the globe.

Mr. Li is a native of Shanghai.  He received his B.A. in Economics from University of California, Berkeley, M.B.A. from Stanford Business School, and PhD from Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs.

Thomas Fingar is the inaugural Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He was the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford during January to December 2009. 

From May 2005 through December 2008, he served as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and, concurrently, as chairman of the National Intelligence Council. He served previously as assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2004–2005), principal deputy assistant secretary (2001–2003), deputy assistant secretary for analysis (1994–2000), director of the Office of Analysis for East Asia and the Pacific (1989–1994), and chief of the China Division (1986–1989). Between 1975 and 1986 he held a number of positions at Stanford University, including senior research associate in the Center for International Security and Arms Control.

Fingar is a graduate of Cornell University (AB in government and history, 1968), and Stanford University (MA, 1969 and PhD, 1977 both in political science). His most recent book is Reducing Uncertainty: Intelligence Analysis and National Security (Stanford University Press, 2011).

Vietnamese diasporic relations affect and are affected by events inside Viet Nam.  In her recent book, Transnationalizing Viet Nam, Prof. Valverde explores these connections to convey a nuanced understanding of this globalized community.  She will argue that Vietnamese immigrant lives are inherently transnational.  Drawing on 250 interviews and nearly two decades of research, she will show how diasporic Vietnamese form virtual communities in cyberspace, organize social movements, find political representation, and engage in dissent—and how tensions based on generation, gender, class, and politics threaten to divide them.  Copies of the book will be available for sale.

Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde is Associate Professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her teaching, research, and organizing interests include: Southeast Asian American history and contemporary issues, mixed race and gender theories, social movements, Fashionology, Aesthetics, Diaspora, and Transnationalism Studies. She authored Transnationalizing Viet Nam: Community, Culture, and Politics in the Diaspora. Professor Valverde founded Viet Nam Women's Forum (1996-2006), a virtual community with hundreds of women internationally that mobilized for change in Viet Nam and abroad, and Fight the Tower (2013), a movement to resist and demand justice against discriminatory practices directed against women of color in the academy. Professor Valverde was a Luce Southeast Asian Studies Fellow at the Australian National University (2004), Rockefeller Fellow for Project Diaspora at the University of Massachusetts, Boston (2001-02), and a Fulbright Fellow in Viet Nam (1999). As a passionate advocate for the arts, she curated the exhibit Áo Dài: A Modern Design Coming of Age (2006) for the San Jose Museum of Quits and Textiles in partnership with Association for Viet Arts, and consults for the annual Áo Dài Festival held in San Jose, California (2011-present). She is currently co-curating an upcoming exhibit (2015) for the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the end of the Second Indochina War.

Copies of Transnationalizing Viet Nam will be available for signing and sale by the author following her talk.

Vietnamese news accounts of labor-management conflicts, including strikes, and even reports of owners fleeing their factories raise potent questions about labor activism in light of this self-proclaimed socialist country’s engagement in the global market system since the late 1980s. In explaining Vietnamese labor resistance, how important are matters of cultural identity (such as native-place, gender, ethnicity, and religion) in different historical contexts? How does labor mobilization occur and develop? How does it foster “class moments” in times of crisis? What types of "flexible protests" have been used by workers to fight for their rights and dignity, and how effective are they?

Based on her just-published book, Ties that Bind: Cultural Identity, Class, and Law in Vietnam's Labor Resistance, Prof. Trần will highlight labor activism since French colonial rule in order to understand labor issues and actions in Vietnam today. Her analysis will focus on labor-management-state relations, especially with key foreign investors/managers (such as from Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) and ethnic Chinese born and raised in Vietnam. She will convey the voices and ideas of workers, organizers, journalists, and officials and explain how migrant workers seek to empower themselves using cultural resources and appeals to state media and the rule of law. Copies of her book will be available for sale at her talk.

Prof. Trần's current research on global south-south labor migration focuses on Vietnamese migrants working in Malaysia and returning to Vietnam. In 2008 she was a Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Distinguished Fellow on Southeast Asia. Her co-authored 2012 book, Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitiveness for SMEs in Developing Countries: South Africa and Vietnam, compared the experiences of small-and-medium enterprises in these two countries. Her many other writings include (as co-editor and author) Reaching for the Dream: Challenges of Sustainable Development in Vietnam (2004). She earned her PhD in Political Economy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California in 1996 and an MA in Developmental Economics at USC in 1991.

Copies of Ties that Bind: Cultural Identity, Class, and Law in Vietnam's Labor Resistance will be available for signing and sale by the author following her talk.

SPEAKERS
Eze Vidra - Head of Campus London and Google for Entrepreneurs European Outreach, Google

Samantha Evans - Vice Consul, Software, UK Trade & Investment

ABOUT THE SEMINAR

Innovation Hub: London
Eze Vidra, Head of Campus London and Google for Entrepreneurs European Outreach, Google
Samantha Evans - Vice Consul, Software, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)

Wednesday, October 30, 12:00-1:00 pm 
Venue: McClelland Building, Room M109 - Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

London's Tech City, or Silicon Roundabout, is the fastest growing tech cluster in Europe with over 1300 startups, and has managed to attract industry leaders such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Intel, and more to establish a presence there. 

Learn more about what is going on in this hub of innovation in a one-hour seminar with Eze Vidra, the head of Campus London, Google's first physical startup hub worldwide providing entrepreneurs with work and event space, mentorship, and educational programs. Joining him will be Vice Consul Samantha Evans of UKTI, who will offer a government/policy perspective on Tech City.

This talk is part of a seminar series hosted by the Silicon Valley Project at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

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Eze Vidra is the Head of Campus London and Google for Entrepreneurs Europe. In March 2012, Eze launched Campus London, Google's first physical startup hub worldwide providing entrepreneurs with work and event space, mentorship and educational programs as well as access to a vibrant startup community.

Before Campus, Eze spearheaded Google's commerce strategic partnerships in EMEA, launching Google Shopping in Spain and Local Shopping in the UK among other projects. In the years before joining Google, Eze held product management leadership roles at Shopping.com in Israel, Gerson Lehrman Group in New York, Ask.com in Silicon Valley and AOL Europe in London, where was the Principal Product Manager for Search in EMEA. In 2003, Eze co-founded a startup in Israel, developing text-input technology for mobiles.

In 2005, Eze founded VC Cafe, a highly regarded venture capital blog shining a spotlight on Israeli startups. In 2012, he founded Techbikers, a non-for-profit cycling community responsible for starting a school and 20 libraries for children in the developing world. Eze serves as advisory board member of BBC Worldwide Labs and is a trustee of StartupWeekend Europe. He holds a BA in Business and Entrepreneurship from IDC in Israel (Cum Laude) and an MBA from London Business School. A native Argentinean raised in Israel, Eze is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew and English and lives in London with his family.

Eze Vidra's bio on the Campus London website: http://www.googleventures.com/team/eze-vidra
Eze Vidra on twitter: www.twitter.com/ediggs

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Samantha Evans is the Vice Consul for Software at UK Trade & Investment. Her role is to advise Enterprise software companies and fast growing start-ups on the opportunities in the UK and European Market as well as providing practical support to accelerate their success in the UK. UKTI is a UK Government organization based in 90 cities across the world – with a overall aim of economic development for the UK – both through import and export.

Sam moved to San Francisco for her current role in January 2013. She previously worked for MIDAS – Manchester’s Investment Agency and a Technology Accelerator in Manchester.

Robert Mueller was nominated by President George W. Bush and became the sixth Director of the FBI on September 4, 2001.

Born in New York City, Mr. Mueller grew up outside of Philadelphia. He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 and later earned a master’s degree in International Relations at New York University.

After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an officer for three years, leading a rifle platoon of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals, the Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Following his military service, Mr. Mueller earned a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1973 and served on the Law Review.

After completing his education, Mr. Mueller worked as a litigator in San Francisco until 1976. He then served for 12 years in United States Attorney’s Offices, first in the Northern District of California in San Francisco, where he rose to be chief of its criminal division. In 1982, he moved to Boston as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorist, and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics conspiracies and international money launderers.

After serving as a partner at the Boston law firm of Hill and Barlow, Mr. Mueller returned to public service. In 1989 he served in the United States Department of Justice as an assistant to Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh. The following year he took charge of its Criminal Division. In 1991, he was elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In 1993, Mr. Mueller became a partner at Boston’s Hale and Dorr, specializing in complex white collar crime litigation. He again returned to public service in 1995 as senior litigator in the Homicide Section of the District of Columbia United States Attorney’s Office. In 1998, Mr. Mueller was named United States Attorney in San Francisco and held that position until 2001.

Mr. Mueller and his wife, Ann, have two daughters.

The Payne Lectureship is named for Frank E. Payne and Arthur W. Payne, brothers who gained an appreciation for global problems through their international business operations.

The Payne Distinguished Lecturer is chosen for his or her international reputation as a leader, with an emphasis on visionary thinking; a broad, practical grasp of a given field; and the capacity to clearly articulate an important perspective on the global community and its challenges.